200 mainframes in IBM’s Poughkeepsie, NY, facility were undamaged following the 4.8 magnitude earthquake on April 5.
The 200 mainframes at an IBM testing site endured a 4.8 magnitude earthquake that struck approximately 100 miles from the Poughkeepsie, NY, location.
Pasquale “PJ” Catalano, an IBM engineer, shared on social media about the event, reporting that Poughkeepsie’s 200 mainframes had all survived this unexpected earthquake test. He noted that Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, the earthquake’s epicenter, is roughly 100 miles southwest of the testing site.
Ross Mauri, the general manager of IBM’s mainframe, affirmed Catalano’s post with a tweet of his own, stating that while earthquakes are rare in Poughkeepsie, all of their continuous running mainframes emerged unscathed. He also revealed that their standard mainframe testing procedure includes a simulated 7 magnitude earthquake.
The 4.8 magnitude earthquake rumbled through the northeastern United States at 10:23 a.m. on Friday, according to the United States Geological Survey. It sent tremors from Philadelphia to Boston and jolted buildings in Manhattan and throughout the five boroughs, the New York Times reported.
Mainframes are engineered to withstand environmental events, including earthquakes. IBM and others have said the Big Iron can endure even an 8.0 magnitude earthquake.
Mainframe ruggedness can vary from model to model, but experts say the boxes are typically built with strong chassis that can deal with shock and vibration. There are also seismic isolation systems that can be utilized around the big boxes to ensure as much protection as possible.
In 2015, the IBM user group SHARE posted a story about a model z13 earthquake being banged around in the earthquake simulator at the University of Nevada at Reno. A video of another earthquake test is available here.
The mainframe celebrates its 60th birthday on April 7, which was the day in 1964 that IBM rolled out the System/360, which is generally regarded as the first modern mainframe.
It has evolved significantly in the following years. The most recent versions of the mainframe support IBM’s AI portfolio assisting customers to securely deploy AI applications co-located with z/OS applications and data. Additional contemporary features include container extensions for Red Hat and Linux applications that enhance support for hybrid cloud applications on the Big Iron.
