Mainframe admin and technical data

2011-07-27T11:31:00.002+05:30

What about C/C++? What about Java? Not likely. COBOL can do too many Things that other languages cannot do, or cannot do easily.

Like,
1. accessing indexed-sequential files,
2. producing formatted numeric output,
3. access hierarchical and network databases,
4. run in a pseudo-conversational interactive environment,
5. process huge files.
6. Plus, those other languages have no concept of "records" (at least as being the natural components of a file).

For business applications these are not trivial matters. They are vital.

Remember, C++ and Java weren't developed to compete with, or replace COBOL. COBOL is a business language (that's what the "B" stands for), C/C++ is not. There is no "B" in C or Java. If you knew all these languages and were given an assignment, you wouldn't have to sit and think about which language would be best for a task. It would clearly be one and not the others. A program that should be written in C/C++ would never be written in COBOL, and vice versa. It applies for Java.

I'm not slamming any of these languages. I like C++ and I like Java. They're great for what they were intended for, just like COBOL, SQL and Visual Basic. Take any language out of its element and it quickly becomes inadequate.

You need to develop a web app, go with Java.
You need a Windows-based GUI app or GUI front end for a client-server app, then use Visual Basic.

Middle-tier for that client-server application? C++ or C#.

Need to process large files for a business app? COBOL.

Formatted reports for that business app? COBOL.

How about an on-line interface to that system that could have several, even hundreds of concurrent users (in-house)? COBOL.

OK. Let's pretend that Java was a suitable alternative. So we're saying it either can handle all the things a business needs in its processing or that the company is willing to live without a lot of its current functionality. A big stretch wither way. Let's look at the business case.

How long would it take a small company, with something like 15,000 programs, to convert to Java?

Let's say a person can get two programs done in a week (20 hours each). This includes coding, testing and implementation. Realistic? Probably not. But it's a nice round number.

If you figure a person works about 1,920 hours a year (the standard 2,080 hours in a year, minus 2 weeks vacation and minus another 10 days for holidays and sick time) then he/she can convert 96 programs a year.

This assumes that any non-productive time (in meetings, on the phone, etc.) is made up for. At that pace this conversion would take over 150 man-years. If that coder can get one program done a day it would still take .5 man-years. So at that pace an army of 63 consultants could be brought in for a year and get it all done.

How much would it cost? 63 consultants for a year? Ones that ow COBOL and Java well enough to pull this off? At $75 an hour (a little low, I think, but a round number) it would be over $9 million. What's the end result? If a program is rewritten correctly then will do exactly what it did before. The same results, the same output. The end user will see no difference. Except now you have a program that's harder to read, harder to document and harder to maintain.Hardly worth the effort and definitely not worth the cost.

Can you imagine trying to get approval on a budget item of nine million dollars to reproduce what you're already getting? Maybe the report will come off the printer faster but it still won't get delivered until the guy in the mail room makes his rounds.

Now consider a large company with COBOL programs numbering several more thousands.

There's more new COBOL development going on now than there ever was. Y2K tied up resources so there was a lot of work placed on the back burner that now needs to be done. Those new Y2K-compliant systems will need maintained. Y2K fixes will need corrected.

It's been estimated that over 150 billion lines of COBOL code is currently in use (not just exists, but is in use) with another 5 billion added annually. It's also been estimated that over 98% of the world's economy is processed by COBOL code. More new development in

COBOL than ever. And the language is still being revised. Exisitng COBOL code works as expected. No one has developed a language to challenge it. The future of COBOL is safe.

Source: http://ibmmainframes.com/about4843.html

2011-07-27T10:41:00.001+05:30

Mainframe System

UNIVAC Mainframe

Mainframes have provided the computing power for major corporations for more than 40 years. Sperry Rand (Univac), IBM, GE, RCA, NCR, Burroughs, Honeywell and Control Data were the first companies that made mainframes in the U.S. This picture was taken in the mid-1970s. (Image courtesy of Unisys Corporation.)

mainframe images

Source : http://images.yourdictionary.com/mainframe

2011-07-26T16:21:00.003+05:30

PASSPORT TN3270 Mainframe Emulator

Source: http://blog.sarfu.co.in

PASSPORT TN3270 Mainframe Emulator

(PRWEB) March 31, 2005

PASSPORT is a powerful TN3270 mainframe emulator that also includes VT/100, 5250, SCO ANSI and FTP clients. The package offers a high quality, reliable TN3270 mainframe emulator that is fully compatible with both Windows XP and Windows 2000.

PASSPORT is also extremely cost effective. Zephyr provides a subscription based licensing program that reduces your acquisition cost and maintenance cost significantly. This makes upgrading from older TN3270 mainframe emulators a very attractive proposition.

100-499 units: per unit per year

500-999 units: per unit per year

1,000-1,999 units: per unit per year

2,000-4,999 units: per unit per year

5,000-9,999 units: per unit per year

10,000-19,999 units: per unit per year

Server Component (for WEB TO HOST only): 00 per server per year

As one of the market’s very first IP-based connectivity solutions, the mature, feature-rich package is an ideal replacement for older desktop-based emulators, including Attachmate EXTRA!, IBM Personal Communications, NetManage Rumba and WRQ Reflection. With its competitive pricing and licensing options, you can save 50% to 75% on the amount of money you would normally spend for a mainframe emulator.

Zephyr has a long history of developing its TN3270 mainframe emulator and innovative host access solutions. Founded in 1985, Zephyr is a Citrix Premier Alliance Partner, a member of IBM PartnerWorld for Developers, Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN), Cisco Enterprise Associates Program (EAP), and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) TN3270E/TN5250E Working Group.

TN3270 Mainframe Emulator Deployment

There are actually two versions of the PASSPORT TN3270 mainframe emulator. Each product uses a different method of deployment.

PASSPORT PC TO HOST is desktop based TN3270 mainframe emulator. This product is similar to other desktop Windows programs. PASSPORT is installed with a Windows setup program and can also be installed on a network file server. It can also be deployed using SMS, MSI or deployed from a Citrix MetaFrame or Microsoft Terminal Server.

PASSPORT WEB TO HOST is web based TN3270 mainframe emulator that is deployed from a web server. The TN3270 mainframe emulator is installed on a web server and provides an administrator program for centralized configuration and administration. All software and configuration files reside on the web server. When the mainframe emulator is run, an ActiveX applet is downloaded from the web server to the client desktop and run inside of the web browser. The ActiveX 3270 terminal emulator running inside the web browser makes a direct TN3270 connection to the host system.

PASSPORT Highlights

TN3270E, TN5250E, VT/100, VT/220, and SCO ANSI emulation clients

FTP file transfer client

Compatible with Microsoft Windows XP, 2000, NT, 98 or 95

Allows you to consolidate multiple emulators with one terminal emulation suite

Desktop-based emulation can be deployed using SMS, MSI, Citrix, Microsoft Terminal Server and other deployment methods

Browser-based emulation can be deployed from an Apache/Tomcat, BEA, IBM WebSphere or Microsoft IIS web server

Several advanced integration options for session-based screen interface

PASSPORT HLLAPI and Object Toolkits to ease integration development

Ability to use Visual Basic and VB Script to automate routine host activity

API compatibility for HLLAPI applications written for Attachmate, IBM, Rumba and Reflection

Free Attachmate macro conversion services for clients with an annual subscription license and a minimum of 500 licenses

100% Money Back Guarantee for customers with annual subscription licenses

Quicktrial or Download Options

There are two ways to evaluate the PASSPORT software: either download a copy of the software or do a QuickTrial of the application. With QuickTrial, there is no server installation, you simply download the client from our web server. This is a fast and easy way to look at the PASSPORT software. For those that want to install the software on their own web server, you can download the full working copy of the software and complete a full evaluation.

http://www.zephyrcorp.com/tn3270-mainframe-emulator.htm

2011-07-26T16:17:00.003+05:30

More Insight into IBM's New z114

Rob Enderle's reaction to IBM's introduction of the new z114 mainframe is quite interesting and thought-provoking. In short, he notices that major IT vendors have flipped roles, with Oracle (and Microsoft, I would argue) now emulating IBM's worst behaviors from the 1980s, undermining trust among formerly loyal customers and partners. Enderle also observes something I reported in my reaction to the z114's introduction, that IBM is passing along its cost savings (and perhaps more than that) to its customers — clear evidence that IBM is focused like a laser on growing the mainframe ecosystem. Said another way, Sun customers are to be milked, and IBM customers (current and prospective) are to be delighted.

Another way IBM is delighting current and prospective mainframe customers is on the software side. As most people in IT purchasing know, software licensing and maintenance fees are increasing quickly, in general. I point to these key drivers:

Commercial software is a close substitute for labor. (You can either buy software or build it.) Given long-run global trends in labor and in business sophistication, we would expect commercial software to take a progressively bigger role in IT projects with correspondingly bigger shares of the project budgets.
There has been quite a bit of consolidation in the software industry generally. Less competition tends to result in higher prices. Interestingly, there has been increasing mainframe software diversity in recent years.
Virtualization tends to drive down the number of CPU cores required to perform the same work. Software vendors have been racing to claw back their licensing and maintenance fees as customers have virtualized their software products, most of which are licensed per core.
In some industries there's unexpected growth that's driving additional infrastructure expense (including software). For example, I'm hearing from a lot of banks that smartphones (such as Apple's iPhone) are driving up transaction volumes and infrastructure requirements.
As software becomes more sophisticated, new entrants face tougher challenges getting established. If there's less competitive threat from potential new entrants, then prices will tend to be higher.

That said, IBM is consistently driving down mainframe software unit costs, something that's quite rare or even unique in the industry. The z114 continues that evolution, with even more attractive software licensing terms. IBM dropped prices for z/OS and other mainframe-unique software products. You'll probably see a reduction in z/OS-related software charges ranging from 5% to 18% just by moving from a z10 BC to a z114. Interestingly, IBM's most aggressive z/OS pricing is for single z114 customers. Coincidentally my favorite mainframe configuration is the "single machine virtual cluster" Sysplex approach, and IBM's new pricing is especially friendly to that mainframe-unique, parsimonious way of delivering exceptional reliability and availability.

At the same time, IBM dropped its prices for its Linux-based software products. Pricing per core fell from 120 "value units" to 100, a decrease of almost 17% compared to the z10 BC. Core performance is up substantially, so that means IBM reduced unit prices roughly 29% (by my quick calculation) compared to the z10 BC.

There's no question this IBM behavior is customer-friendly, and it goes a long way toward explaining why IBM is enjoying such phenomenal mainframe growth. I hope more IT shops understand this stuff, and soon.

Source : http://mainframe.typepad.com/

Z/OS basic

2011-07-26T15:23:00.001+05:30

The Z/OS basic

http://sar.informatik.hu-berlin.de/summit07/redbooks/zosbasic.pdf

Hardware Today: Mainframes Are Here to Stay

2011-07-26T15:17:00.000+05:30

the past decade, mainframe computers have taken a back seat to distributed systems, which experienced explosive growth. Some in the industry have even gone so far as to sound the death knell of the breed. Yet far from being put out to pasture, the mainframe is now enjoying a renaissance of sorts.

According to Gartner, the mainframe gained 16 percent of market share in the high-end server category since 2001. During the same period, more mainframe MIPS (millions of instructions per second) were shipped than in the previous 36 years.

The mainframe, in fact, is moving out beyond its traditional areas of strength of bulk data processing and financial transactions. In some cases, it is being used as a hub for the enterprise infrastructure to enhance security, improve manageability, and raise overall availability. Mainframes can also be used to host multiple operating systems, and they can run all of the major software packages.

"Predictions on the death of the mainframe have clearly been incorrect. The mainframe has been around for 40 years, and it will be around for another 40 years." — Colette Martin, program director for System z9, IBM

"Predictions on the death of the mainframe have clearly been incorrect," says Colette Martin, IBM's program director for System z9. "The mainframe has been around for 40 years, and it will be around for another 40 years."

IBM's big iron has been around for 40 years. Mainframe technology has been around a bit longer. It dates back to Unisys' UNIVAC-1, which predicted Eisenhower's landslide in the 1952 election.

IBM Is Big Iron

There are five basic IBM zSeries models: 800, 890, 900, 990, and the z9. IBM unveiled the z9 in the summer of 2005, following a three-year, $1.2 billion development project. The z9 can virtualize hundreds of software applications. It can perform up to 1 billion transactions per day, provide on/off capacity on demand, and scale up to 54-way. It uses the 16-chip IBM Multichip Module as a processor. Logical partitions, known as LPARs, can be used to run multiple operating systems, including the z/OS, z/OS.e, OS/390, Linux on zSeries, z/VM, TPF, VSE/ESA, zVSE and zTPF. All major databases and enterprise transaction processing environments run on the new mainframes, including CICS, IMS, WebSphere Application Server, DB2, and Oracle.

"IBM is starting to get the message," says John Abbot, an analyst with the New-York-based 451 Group. "Mainframes may still be the best platforms for customers who require 100 percent data integrity, but they also need to run and manage open systems software."

The z9 has double the performance (up to 600 MIPS) and memory (up to 512 GB) of its predecessor, the z990 mainframe. It also has twice as many available logical partitions — 60.

"The mainframe role is no longer that of a stand-alone server," says Martin. "Customers want to use them to better manage their infrastructure."

Martin says the mainframe can be used as a hub across the enterprise for security and data serving, workload management, and business reliance. As a result, some enterprises are reconsidering the mainframe as an enterprise platform. Martin confesses, however, that the Intel and Unix faithful are not beating down the mainframe doors — at least not yet.

"If someone is comfortable with the technology they use, there is something to be said for that," Martin says. "I certainly don't expect everyone to put every workload on the mainframe."

Mainframe Challenges

IBM faces challenges despite its z9 accomplishments. User enterprises generally do not like "rip and replace," especially when their software works well and the hardware doesn't break down. Moreover, the aging nature of the mainframe programmer is considered by many to be an Achilles heel. Recent estimates of the mainframe workforce place the numbers at around 100,000. However, more than half are well into their fifties and will likely retire within a decade. As a result, IBM is investing heavily in a program to groom 20,000 zSeries-trained technical staff in the next four years.

But this may not be enough to get the mainframe back into the IT spotlight.

"New and more customer friendly pricing and licensing models will be crucial," analyst Abbot says. "Current users won't pay the sort of premium that they have paid in the past."

Another analyst wonders whether there will be enough customers to make it all worthwhile, especially for enterprises that do not use mainframe computer systems.

"I don't believe IBM has put forth a value proposition for these systems that would convince a non-mainframe customer to give it a try," says analyst Dan Olds of Gabriel Consulting. "IBM will be somewhat confined to primarily selling into their installed base — a large group of customers to be sure, but not enough to drive significant revenue gains."

IBM hopes to attract new business via its heavy investment in security and data management features. Master encryption keys for the z9, for example, are stored in a tamper-resistant package that zeroes out data to prevent an intruder from physically capturing it. Another security enhancement concerns the acceleration of secure transmissions when transporting data to an alternate location.

Big Blue is also planning for the future. Easier mainframe system management products include the Integrated Facility (for Linux) and an updated version of IBM's Virtualization Engine (2.0). Further, the company has developed several specialized processors to widen the platform's range. The z9 Application Assist Processor (zAAP), for example, allows the deployment of Java workloads on an engine with no additional IBM software licensing charges. The z9 Integrated information Processor (zIIP), on the other hand, is aimed at ERP and other mission-critical systems that access data on the mainframe.

Martin indicates that these advances are having the desired effect. In 2005, she says, 60 percent of mainframe revenues were driven by new workloads. Linux, in particular, appears to have revitalized the mainframe by bringing lower costs and industry standards.

What about upgrades to aging big iron? Mainframe users must make the decision between sticking with what they have or moving to a modern machine — and the options are narrowing. Plug compatibles, for example, are no longer an option, as Fujitsu and Hitachi both pulled out of this area since IBM revamped its mainframe architecture. Martin says, however, that if a company has the z900 or z990 and wants to shift to a z9, there is a financially viable upgrade path. Some software elements, she notes, can be upgraded at no charge.

What Competition?

Unlike the other areas of IBM's server empire where competition abounds, the mainframe space tends to suffer from a lack of competition. Hitachi does have a viable mainframe, but it has made little impact in terms of market share. Similarly, a few small companies boast products with mainframe capabilities. These outfits, however, service minute market segments. Bottom line: IBM is the mainframe king with no rivals breathing down its neck.

So why spend so many billions on mainframe R&D? The mainframe is actually fighting for server workloads alongside high-end Unix. And this battle is driving the mainframe forward as a relevant platform for the 21st century. 95 percent of the Fortune 500 companies, after all, continue to use mainframes, and about two-thirds of all business transactions for U.S. retail banks run on them. And IBM intends to move big iron further into the enterprise.

"The mainframe is by far the most secure place to have your data," says Martin. "We are seeing companies take a fresh look at the mainframe as a hub for enterprise systems."