16.6 Summary

Linux on the mainframe can be a platform for isolating the risks that are associated with changing applications in your production environment. This makes your business more responsive to the market place and allows you to rapidly follow up opportunities that you might otherwise lose. Where rapid deployment is not a part of the business opportunity, Linux can benefit from more conservative change management policies, just like any other platform.

The Linux system administrator requires a clear statement of requirements and constraints. Beyond that, the freedom to operate is a necessity. This works best if the Linux system administrator is a trusted member of the decision-making team.

Tools exist to make the system administrator more efficient in performing many system administrator tasks. Like the tasks themselves, selecting the best tools for a given environment requires skill. Because these tools are subject to special considerations, you might want to apply policies to them that are different from those you apply to general tooling.