This page provides Web links to the ISX/390 software product whose current availability status is unclear (as far as I can tell, it is no longer distributed, but I don't really know).
ISX/390 creates a virtual machine in an MVS address space, i.e. it runs as an MVS started task in MVS/ESA or OS/390 and creates an environment in which a guest operating system, such as VSE, MVS, Linux/390, DPPX/370 or BS/2000 can run, pretty much like a guest O/S under VM. From what I read in some of these documents, ISX/390 seems able to simulate certain I/O devices, as well as allow the sharing of resources between the host and the guest.
Here is a list of ISX/390 documents currently available on the Web:
GSF Software has no connection with ISX/390, other than the fact that I believe it's a pretty slick product from a technical stand-point - too bad there doesn't seem to be much of a market for it.
As of April 2006, it seems that a U.S. company called GLOBALSYS SERVICES, INC (GSS) may still distribute ISX/390 - contact them directly if you are interested.
As of May 2008, the same people and the same U.S. company (IIS Solutions, LLC) seem to have put ISX/390 back on the market under the name zISX. Great !
In November 2008, IBM added a page on their Web site which briefly describes ISX. It seems like IBM has an agreement with ec-leasing, a Russian company which, perhaps, is the owner of ISX.
Search key-words: mvs os/390 os390 z/os zos VSE zvSE VM zVM CMS DPPX/370 linux/390 zLinux address space, started task, virtual machine, guest, SIE, interpretive execution