The Linux Foundation is announcing new areas of focus for its Open Mainframe Project. The Open Mainframe Project is a collaborative effort launched six months ago as a focal point for the deployment and use of the Linux OS on the mainframe.

The new areas of focus were determined by the project’s technical steering committee, and they emphasize compatibility and support for growing technologies.

The technical initiatives include:

  • JIT for OpenJDK, where the project will work on adding JIT support to the z port of OpenJDK.
  • Docker support to enhance Docker for highly available virtualized systems and mainframe computing environments.
  • Blockchain support that will focus on performance and improvements to the Hyperledger Project, and will target Linux on the mainframe.
  • Assessment and certification of Linux monitoring tools.
  • Acceptances of the anomaly detection engine for Linux logs.

The Open Mainframe Project is also launching a new internship program as an effort to grow student contributions. Students will be paired with mentors who are professionals in the mainframe space, and they will work to complete a project over a 10-week period.

(Related: Linux Foundation launches Zephyr)

In addition, the organization announced new membership investments from DataKinetics, East Carolina University, Hitachi Data Systems, and Sine Nomine Associates.

“Linux continues to be embraced by more mainframe organizations than any other platform because of the flexibility it provides,” said Len Santalucia, chairperson of the Open Mainframe Project Governing Board. “The newest investments in the Open Mainframe Project demonstrate the importance of this work, as does the commitment to specific areas of technical focus and a formal internship program that can speed innovation and bring to bear new ways to take advantage of this powerful technology.”