IBM LinuxONE is a mainframe that exclusively runs Linux, but where does Linux live in the general mainframe ecosystem of operating systems?

First, let’s talk about the terms used when running Linux on the mainframe. LinuxONE is a hardware product line. You can think of it as the sister to IBM Z, with similar hardware and specifications, but it only runs Linux. This is in contrast to when we use the term “Linux on IBM Z” or simply “Linux on Z,” which can be either Linux running on LinuxONE or Linux running on an IBM Z system — typically along with other operating systems like z/OS.

Linux itself was first introduced to the mainframe as a community-driven project in 1998, and then in December 1999 IBM released their first series of patches for the 2.2.13 kernel. This makes Linux a relative newcomer as far as operating systems go in the mainframe space. Over the years, Linux on Z became a staple of many organizations running alongside operating systems like z/OS, z/VSE, and z/TPF, which people more frequently think of when you’re talking about mainframes. In 2015, the first LinuxONE was released, cementing Linux as an operating system that was here to stay on the platform.

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