AIX

How to access IBM server free of charge ?
Is there such services provided by IBM ?
I want to practice on AIX & learn about administration before go to exam soon
Do you have idea what VLP ( Virtual Loaner Program ) is ?

IBM RS/6000 7043-150, 7043-260, 7044-170, 7044-270, 44p Model 270, Power 265, 275, 285, pSeries says you can get one for under $700 used.

IBM is such a closed culture, try the back of IBM related magazines looking for advertisers. Someone has a warehouse full of aging workstations off lease, which they want to monetize.

VLP is a program for free access to some IBM hardware (and software), but as far as i know it is limited to IBM partners. I might be wrong, though. It is meant for testing purposes ("does my code compile/run on the new Power 7+ processor?") and the like.

The prices from the link DGPickett provided seem a bit steep IMHO. GALL (a german second-hand shop for workstations) has 43ps for as little as EUR 150,-, but beware: the r/6000 hardware is only able to run AIX 5.1! Later versions require p-Series systems.

I hope this helps.

bakunin

43p-140 (and other non chrp, i.e., rspc and mc2) only support up to 5.1.
32-bit chrp platform, and pre-POWER4 (including 64-bit Power-III) support up to AIX 5.3
POWER4 and beyond support, generally speaking up to AIX 7.1, but new hardware does not directly support old versions of AIX.

Ebay offerings start at $20: ibm (server,workstation) aix | eBay Some are leases!