12.7 Summary

We have seen that tools are available to cover the systems management disciplines of Linux on the mainframe. We have stressed that managing hundreds of Linux images calls for tools. We have argued that business objectives come first and that the suitability of tools can be assessed only once the business objectives have been translated into policies and procedures.

The systems management disciplines we have introduced are essentially arbitrary, but they still reflect the division of responsibilities in many larger IT installations. The borders between them are not sharply defined, and there are considerable overlaps and interdependencies.

Security, as one of the disciplines, has already been covered to a large extent in Part 3, "Is Linux on the Mainframe for Me?," because it must be designed into an environment from the outset. Because there is no separate chapter on Security in this part of the book, Figure 12-6 summarizes the security tasks here.

Figure 12-6. Security discipline

The following chapters each focus on one of the disciplines and point to some important decision points to consider when working out policies and procedures to govern Linux on the mainframe.