[ Thanks to An Anonymous Reader for
this link. ]
“Linux on POWER (LoP) was introduced in 2005 with the
introduction of Advanced Power Virtualization (APV) and IBM System
p5. Its introduction allowed users of the IBM System p architecture
to install Linux natively on top of IBM’s logical partitioning
(LPAR) technology. In doing so, it provided users with the ability
to use virtualization features on System p, similar to what they
could do with IBM’s brand of UNIX: AIX. These features included
micro-partitioning, Virtual IO Servers (VIOS) and supported
advanced-level features, such as Capacity on Demand (CoD). It even
is supported by newer innovations available on the Power6, such as
Live Partition Mobility, which allows workloads to be dynamically
moved from one System p server to another with no downtime; and
shared dedicated capacity, which optimizes the use of spare
processor cycles.“Finally, we should note that users of LoP should be aware of a
new innovation brought in by PowerVM. Formerly referred to as
System p AVE, it has since been renamed PowerVM Lx86. PowerVM Lx86
supports the installation and running of most 32-bit x86 Linux
applications on any System p or BladeCenter model with POWER6,
POWER5+, or POWER5 processors, without a native installation of the
application. It works by creating an x86 Linux application
environment running on POWER processor-based systems by dynamically
translating x86 instructions to Power Architecture instructions and
caching them to enhance performance. It also maps x86 Linux system
calls to Linux on POWER system calls. What is unique about this
solution is that no native porting or application upgrade is
required for running most x86 Linux applications. This is supported
by both SLES and RHEL.”