Hercules Base Installation

This is the common starting point.  You can learn all about Hercules from the Hercules project website at http://www.hercules-390.org.  Here is a brief summary from the website:

Hercules running on your PC can emulate an IBM mainframe processor. The mainframe can range from a System/360 to a z10 - running in "S/370" mode, "ESA/390" mode, or "z/Architecture" mode.

Hercules executes S/370, ESA/390, and z/Architecture instructions and channel programs. It emulates mainframe I/O devices by using PC devices. For example, 3390 DASD devices are emulated by large files on your hard disk, and local 3270 screens are emulated by tn3270 sessions. (Note: Not all 370 and 390 features have been implemented in Hercules. See the list of particulars later in this document. Also, certain non-standard models, 360/20s, and the 360/67 virtual memory mode are not emulated.)

Hercules implements only the raw S/370, ESA/390, and z/Architecture instruction set; it does not provide any operating system facilities. This means that you need to provide an operating system or standalone program which Hercules can load from an emulated disk or tape device.

TurboHercules, takes the most recent stable release of Hercules and prepares installation routines and instructions to simplify the installation of Hercules.  We then provide consulting and support services to customers using Hercules to accomplish real-world tasks.  The posts below provide complete instructions for installing the Hercules base system.