Consulting firm releases an OpenSolaris distribution for the IBM mainframe. When will Solaris find its way to IBM's System z? Sine Nomine Associates has released an OpenSolaris distribution for IBM’s System z mainframes. Some of you may remember the Sun and IBM partnership to bring Solaris to the IBM mainframe. However, I still don’t see IBM’s System z as a supported platform on the Solaris specs Web page. I’m not completely sure about the relationship between Sine Nomine Associates and IBM and/or Sun. Clearly Sun and IBM are aware of this effort since Sine Nomine Associates is the key driver behind the Sirus project at OpenSolaris.org. Is Sine funded by IBM and/or Sun to do this work? Will this work be the basis of the Solaris on System z offering (that the Sun and IBM partnership was set to deliver)? A “no” and “yes,” respectively, to these questions would be very cool. It would show that the “community” is scratching an itch. It would also show that Sun is benefiting, through lower development expense and broader platform support, from its decision to open-source Solaris. I’m certain that Linux proponents will not like this news. Linux on the Mainframe has been an extremely hot growth area for Linux. But hey, competition is good for everyone! p.s.: I should state: “The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies, or opinions.” Open Source