Preview announcement : z/VSE 4.3

I'm concluding my tour of last weeks announcements with the preview announcement of z/VSE 4.3 : 'Preview: IBM z/VSE Version 4 Release 3 - More capacity for future growth (ZA09-0028)'. This is really a preview as the planned availability for the fourth quarter of 2010 is still one year away. Here's a summary of the new functionalities from the IBM z/VSE page :

• "Virtual storage constraint relief:
  Allows customers with growing (CICS) workloads and/or those who want to consolidate their z/VSE systems to satisfy their increased needs of limited 24-bit storage.
• Ease of use through four digit device addresses:
  Provides more flexibility and infrastructure simplification in mixed IT environments consisting of z/VSE, z/VM, Linux on System z and/or z/OS.
• Exploitation of innovative IBM System z10 technology:
  • Dynamically add logical CPs without preplanning; allows increasing the capacity of the z/VSE system dependent on workload needs.
  • Large page (1 megabytes page) support for data spaces to even better exploit large processor storage.
  • FICON Express8 for faster data access.
• Enhanced Storage Options.
• Networking, security and auditability enhancements.
• DOS/VS RPG II support for CICS Transaction Server for VSE/ESA (CICS TS). Support will also be made available on z/VSE V4.2."
  

If you want more information, the announcement letter is elaborating on every above aspect. As was also already announced in an earlier statement of direction, z/VSE V4.3 will no longer offer CICS/VSE V2.3 as part of the z/VSE V4.3 base. And there's one new "statement of general direction (...) z/VSE intends to provide an IPv6 solution that will enable z/VSE to participate in an IPv6 network".