2015-09-28 12:02 AEST by Arthur Barrett - We have had a tentative customer request for a port of CVS Suite (CVSNT) to SuSE Linux 10 on IBM 
System z ""SuSE 10 for zSystems" (Big Endian)".

Red Hat Linux on System Z doesn't need a port because it has the little endian model:
http://rhelblog.redhat.com/2015/01/28/whats-moving-in-the-world-of-power/#more-642

There seems some suggestion that either more recent versions of SuSE (e.g.: SuSE 12) or more 
recent System Z processors (e.g.: Power 8) do little endian:
http://www.tomsitpro.com/articles/suse-linux-enterprise-ibm-power8,1-1931.html

But SuSE linux 10 on System Z uses big-endian, so therefore needs a port:

We are already partners with IBM, so should be able to have some remote development access.  The 
difficult question is whether this includes SuSE 10.

Need to look into System z Remote Development Program: the development environment for Linux® 
on System z.  Note: Each environment runs as a guest under IBM z/VM which provides the ISV a high 
level of system control.

SuSE release notes:
https://www.suse.com/releasenotes/x86_64/SUSE-SLES/10-SP4/


IBM Redbooks: Practical Migration to Linux on System z
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg247727.html?Open

IBM Redbooks: z/VM and Linux on IBM System z: The Virtualization Cookbook for SLES 10 SP2
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/abstracts/sg247493.html?Open

Article: Porting Applications to Linux for System z
http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/linux/l-systemz/l-systemz-pdf.pdf


Here is a link to SuSE 11, but I can't find anything for 10:
https://www.suse.com/products/sle11/systemz/


Costs to use the IBM system is USD $550 per month, plus USD $22 per hour.  Since we release 
updates to our software every month, or every other month  - we'll need to keep this going 
indefinitely.  So that's a cost to us of at least $6,600 per year.  The basic monthly charge does include  
up to 30 hours per month - which in a typical month is all we would need:
http://dtsc.dfw.ibm.com/MVSDS/'HTTPD2.ENROL.PUBLIC.PDF(LZ268BWW)'

I've applied to the SuSE Parner Program:

https://www.novell.com/docrep/2012/06/suse_developer_services_pg.pdf

Participation in Ready Software Certification is free at the Silver level in PartnerNet which gives the 
ISV access to software downloads for development and testing purposes. For ISVs needing 
developer support for their applications or support for appliances built using SUSE Studio, a 
Developer Services agreement is required.

It's unclear if this includes System Z software...

The DS50 level includes 'certification' but costs $5000 per year
https://www.suse.com/services/support-offerings/developer-services/

2015-09-28 12:02 AEST by Arthur Barrett - Created an attachment (id=2880)
SUSE® Developer Services Program Guide

2015-09-28 12:03 AEST by Arthur Barrett - Created an attachment (id=2881)
VENDOR ACCESS TO IBM PRODUCTS Dedicated Fixed Monthly Cost Advanced SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server 10 for System z (268B-05)

2015-09-28 12:04 AEST by Arthur Barrett - Created an attachment (id=2882)
SUSE® LinuxEnterpriseServer for System z 11

2015-09-28 12:04 AEST by Arthur Barrett - Created an attachment (id=2883)
Porting applications to Linux for System z

2015-10-13 06:22 AEST by Arthur Barrett - Now have access to SuSE 10 System Z trial through IBM PartnerWorld:

etpgl9m:~ # cat /etc/SuSE-release
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 (s390x)
VERSION = 10
PATCHLEVEL = 4

2015-10-21 15:04 AEST by Arthur Barrett - yast -i mysql-client
yast -i mysql-shared
yast -i pam-devel
yast -i pam_krb5
yast -i krb5-devel
yast -i postgresql
yast -i unixODBC
yast -i unixODBC-devel

2015-10-23 13:52 AEST by Arthur Barrett - Corrected list of libraries to install (for compile):

yast -i pam-devel
yast -i pam_krb5
yast -i krb5-devel
yast -i postgresql
yast -i unixODBC
yast -i unixODBC-devel
yast -i sqlite-devel
yast -i openssl-devel

List to install for run, probably:
yast -i expat
yast -i openssl

2015-11-26 13:09 AEST by Arthur Barrett - s390 is 32 bit
s390x is 64 bit