7.1. What is z/VM?
To better understand what is going on today, it is sometimes helpful to revisit the past. In this section, we examine what drove the creation of z/VM and why it plays such a key role in Linux on the mainframe.
Virtual machine (VM) technology development started with the IBM System/360 in the mid-1960s. One reason for developing it was the need for testing facilities. Many software programmers could thus test new programs on the virtual hardware simultaneously.
Another factor driving VM development was the need for multiuser systems. Computers were large and costly. Thus, a need arose for an operating system environment that allowed multiple users to use one machine simultaneously in real-time.
To support testing and multiple ...
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