z/VM V6.4 Statement of Direction

On October 25, 2016, IBM announced multiple statements of direction:

  • Stabilization of z/VM support for the IBM zEnterprise 196 (z196) family:
    z/VM V6.4 is the last z/VM release planned to support the IBM Enterprise 196 (z196) or IBM zEnterprise 114 (z114) family of servers. Either an IBM zEnterprise EC12 (zEC12) or an IBM zEnterprise BC12 (zBC12) is planned as the required minimum level of server for future z/VM releases. Refer to the IBM Support Portal for the most current support lifecycle information for z/VM.
  • Removal of support for IEEE 802.3 Ethernet frame types:
    z/VM V6.4 is planned to be the last z/VM release to support IEEE 802.3 Ethernet frame types. All future z/VM releases are planned to support DIX Version 2 (DIX V2) exclusively. This includes the z/VM Virtual Switch (VSwitch) and the z/VM TCP/IP server.
  • Removal of support for the IMAP server:
    z/VM V6.4 is planned to be the last z/VM release to support IMAP.
  • Removal of support for certain TCP/IP function:
    z/VM V6.4 is planned to be the last z/VM release to support the Graphics Data Display Manager Interface for X Window System (GDDMXD/VM).
  • Installation from 3390 Model 3 DASD:
    z/VM V6.4 is planned to be the last release to allow installation using Model 3 3390 DASD (Direct Access Storage Device) volumes. Future z/VM releases will support 3390 installation using only model 9 or model 27 DASD. Installation on SCSI volumes will not be affected.
  • FIPS certification:
    IBM intends to pursue an evaluation of the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 using National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP) for the System SSL implementation utilized by z/VM V6.4.
  • Security evaluation of z/VM V6.4:
    IBM intends to evaluate z/VM V6.4 with the RACF Security Server feature, including labeled security, for conformance to the Operating System Protection Profile (OSPP) of the Common Criteria standard for IT security, ISO/IEC 15408, at Evaluation Assurance Level 4 (EAL4+).
  • Removal of support for virtual machines with dedicated processors:
    z/VM V6.4 is planned to be the last z/VM release to support dedication of logical to virtual processors via the CP DEDICATE command or with the DEDICATE option on the CPU user directory statement. z/VM running in a logical partition with dedicated processors will continue to be supported.
  • Removal of IBM Wave support for SLES 10:
    In a future deliverable, IBM intends to remove IBM Wave support for the administration of guests that are running the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 10 Linux distribution.
  • Removal of IBM Wave support for second extended filesystem (Ext2):
    In a future deliverable, IBM intends to remove IBM Wave support for the administration of Linux guest file systems that use Ext2.

IBM's statements regarding its plans, directions, and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice at IBM's sole discretion. Information regarding potential future products is intended to outline our general product direction and it should not be relied on in making a purchasing decision. The information mentioned regarding potential future products is not a commitment, promise, or legal obligation to deliver any material, code, or functionality. Information about potential future products may not be incorporated into any contract. The development, release, and timing of any future features or functionality described for our products remains at our sole discretion.