Hot Topics Newsletter - Issue 27

I'm glad to see that the Hot Topics Newsletter is back with a new issue. For some or other reason they skipped the February release, but luckily they're back with an issue largely focusing on z/OS V2R1 and the new System z Enterprise functionalities like Flash Express, IBM zAware, large pages ...

Let's have a look at some articles on z/OS 2.1. Hot Topics is after all subtitled 'a z/OS newsletter'. There's a general introduction to z/OS 2.1 but there's more. How about a new approach to your migration levels. I'll just give you a little teaser with this illustration.

Marne Walle gives you a quick introduction on how to prepare your next move : migrating to z/OS 2.1. But I'll come back to that in one of my next posts. The last one I want to mention is an article on JCL enhancements : 'Limits on JCL PARm - solved!', 'Batch Job Parallelism - increased!', 'JCL needing system symbols - enhanced!' . . . 

There's also news on z/OSMF. Good news seem to be that it has "a new slimmer look". 'The new version is rebased on the Websphere Application Server for z/OS V8R5 Liberty profile and includes only the features of Websphere needed for z/OSMF, making the  package much lighter (...) It’s approximately 350+ MB rather than the 1+ GB it was before'. I've also read somewhere that it's using considerably less resources too. Another teaser ? 'Wouldn’t it be nice to check the IBM z/OS Workload Manager (WLM) service definition quickly when you notice that  workload performance is suffering? Wouldn’t you like to view the performance results of the service definition changes that you made? Now with z/OSMF, you can do all this with one mouse click!

As I always say, just check it out !

Catching up on my reading : Hot Topics, IBM Systems Magazine and Enterprise Tech Journal

Finally, I found some time to catch up with some reading.

Hot Topics, a z/OS Newsletter (August 2012)

Let me start with the Hot Topics Newsletter. Unfortunately enough, it will only appear once in a year from now on. You know, I just make a random selection of articles I particularly liked, but of course all the rest is worth your while. And that also goes for the other magazines.
I have the impression that z/OSMF is for many customers still a great unknown and people are hesitant to use it. Well, the article 'Don't just emulate it!' on the z/OSMF ISPF feature might be a good entry point. It describes how you can use z/OSMF to open one or several ISPF sessions in your browsers, use split screens or tabbed displays, you can even have several, parallel TSO/E user sessions at once.
Another article on the new GRS support of FICON CTC communication shows you how much your GRS configuration might be affected and how much planning you might have for migration.
Furthermore : hints and tips on migrating to z/OS 1.13, learn how z/OS 1.13 SPOOL migration lets you merge/consolidate volumes to new volumes in a non-disruptive manner within a few hours, an article on learning how to obtain new mainframe skills directing you to the Academic Initiative but also to (quite interesting) online course materials

IBM Systems magazine (September-October 2012)
Online Version - PDF Version

This issue focuses on data analytics in the broadest sense but I think the title of the intro by Greg Lotko sums it up nicely : 'Transforming Data Into Value' ! Of course this also implies there's a lot of attention for the new zEC12 including the cover article. There's a good article on Data Marts. Data Marts are great but tend to have some issues like rapid multiplication, a lack of architecture, administrative complexity and so on. This article shows how the zEnterprise can play a role in tackling these problems.
Ever heard about millicode ? Well, just check out Bob Rogers' article on the evolution of microcode and millicode. Great reading material.
At the end of this issue, you can also find the 2013 Mainframe Buyer's Guide listing a bunch of IBM partners. And, there's also an issue about Women in Technology which is not included in the .pdf version.

Enterprise Tech Journal (October-November 2012)

The Enterprise Tech Journal also focuses on the new zEC12 in its cover article but puts the emphasis on workload optimization. In other words : software performance is of the essence. I'm just not sure that when there's e.g. a forecasted performance improvement of 45% for Java Workload that this is already the case for the moment. Some of the new features like the new transactional execution facility is implemented but I have the impression it's not being used by any software for the moment. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Furthermore : a good introduction to the RMF Device Activity Report as well as to 'Rational Developer for z/OS', there's an interesting article on how backup strategies are important as they can have a significant influence on your recovery processes, Willie Favero helps you plan your upgrade to DB2 10, Marcel den Hartog (re)introduces us to "the dying art of performance management" for speeding up the mainframe and of course there's a lot more there to enjoy.

As I always say, just check them out !

Hot Topics Newsletter Issue 24

I'd rather've seen some of the articles of the new z/OS Hot Topics Newsletter half a year ago, because great emphasis is on the introduction of the IBM zEnterprise System. On the other hand it has the advantage it can already look back for more than half a year and give some insights from early experiences.

The first 25 pages are almost entirely dedicated to the zEnterprise with a general introduction, a glossary, some info on migration, an interactive guide to working with and setting up an ensemble (even for the less experienced HMC user), an introduction to the Smart Analytics Optimizer and how it's integrated with DB2 for z/OS. An especially interesting article (to me, at least) is 'Policy, Performance and Pizazz' describing how "zManager provides policy-based monitoring and dynamic processor adjustments to ensure that multi-tier applications that span System z hardware and BladeCenter hardware are managed with sufficient processor resources". zManager provides IRD-like management for the zBX as it can adjust processing allocations of virtual servers. Nice !

What else ? A lot of course, so I'll just give a brief selection of some articles. There's e.g. one on DB2 10 and security. There's a FAQ-like article on the VSAM CA Reclaim function that reduces DASD usage and data set reorganization. And as I've indicated already several times that z/OS 1.12 should give you some performance benefits, there's proof of this in the contribution of Steven Jones : 'Your mileage may vary, but on z/OS V1R12 it is definitely going to be better !'.

You can download the PDF version from the z/OS Hot Topics Newsletter page.

And, as I always say, just check it out !

z/OS Hot Topics Website

Hey, isn't Hot Topics news an item for February and August, when the Hot Topics Newsletter comes out ? Not any more because now, there's a z/OS Hot Topics Website.

Here's the comment from the z/OS Hot Topics Newsletter Team :

Starting now there's no need for you to wait for the next issue to satisfy your craving for z/OS Hot Topics! We've expanded z/OS Hot Topics Online to offer exclusive new articles available only on our Web site! See the Hot Spotlight section for the latest thoughts and musings on z/OS from our magazine's top contributors.

Right now check out two great articles in the spotlight: Dave Raften's z-the Difference: Sysplex availability and TJ Morrissey's Please DO touch that dial: zFS performance tuning.

And don't forget to peruse the list of past z/OS Hot Topics newsletters that are full of useful information for the system programmer. We hope you like our new look .

I wish the Hot Topics Team lots of success with this initiative and hope te read lots of interesting articles with the same high quality standard as the Hot Topics Newsletter itself.

z/OS Hot Topics Newsletter #18

I thought the new Hot Topics Newsletter was put on hold until after the z10 announcement because some articles would be about the System z10. But no, the z10 isn't even mentioned in the newsletter. But don't panic, there's plenty of other, interesting stuff to read : the recurring theme of this issue is RAS : it talks e.g. about stand-alone dumps ('A SAD movie with a happy ending', got it ?). But really there's too much to sum it all up : migration to z/OS 1.9, 'z/OS on a green machine' on the benchmark performance of System z servers running Java Workloads, coupling facility basics in "Easy as A-B-CF" (got that one ?), enhancements to HCD and HCM, IMS, some HowTo's, an overview of the new reusable online JCL collection etc. etc.

As I always say : just check it out !

z/OS Hot Topics Newsletter #17

Hello, I'm back in Blogland after a three weeks rest. I see I have a lot to catch up with and I'll inform you as I progress through a stack of mails and other info that has come my way during those three weeks.
I'm starting off with a publication I always look forward to. The new issue of the Hot Topics Newsletter came out last Wednesday. If this is the first time you hear about this newsletter, be sure to check out the back issues as well.
This issue counts about 30 pages more (80) than any other previous issue. One of the reasons for this is the addition of 'How-To' articles "that offer practical information for accomplishing common tasks on System z. This issue, our experts provide step-by-step instructions for simplifying your WLM administration, migrating to zFS file systems, viewing your z/OS file systems on Windows, and invoking SDSF through REXX commands".
The main focus this time is on the specialty engines. One article focuses on "the development of specialty processors from the early days of the S/370 Model 3033 through the rise of the RISC and CMOS processors in the 1990s, to the present day with zIIP and zAAP". Another one "describes the exploiters of the zIIP and zAAP and points to future application enhancements that promise to help lower the overall total cost of ownership (TCO)".
But there's so much more in this issue like "many articles on the new functions in z/OS V1R9" and others focusing on "simplifying your work, with articles on using System Logger with SMF recording, z/OS Health Checker, controlling group capacity limits, invoking REXX routines with System REXX, and configuring z/OS Communications Server".

So, as I always say : just check it out !

z/OS Hot Topics Newsletter #16

Now here's a top quality newsletter I'd like to recommend to anyone who has something to do with z/OS : the z/OS Hot Topics Newsletter. The new issue came out last week and this is a good moment to put it into the spotlight. It appears every six months, it's free and you can download it over here. If you don't know this newsletter, be sure to check out the back issues too. I only sum up a few articles of this 60 page issue : DB2 and DFSORT, z/OS V1R8 Migration checker, tips for improving your system tests, HFS to zFS file system migration, the new real storage management in z/OS V1R8 etc. etc. As I always say : just check it out !