>We run Oracle on z/OS here but i haven't come across a VSAM Transparency >option. i had a quick look in Oracle Metalink and someone had asked a >similar question and the answer was .... >"Oracle's SQL*Loader will load MVS VSAM data directly into Oracle tables. >However we do not offer a "VSAM Transparency" feature like you describe at >this time." This was dated December 2004.
GREAT question. I'm assuming that you want to put VSAM data into a relational database (Oracle, specifically) but you have an ample investment in applications (batch, online, whatever) that expect to be dealing with VSAM datasets and are programmed as such. I'm further assuming that you want to move those data into a relational database in order to address some new requirement (such as more 24x7-oriented online access or perhaps the ability to perform ad hoc queries via JDBC/ODBC interfaces, or both). And I'm assuming you don't have DB2 and wouldn't be interested in moving to DB2, at least for the VSAM data -- though that would certainly solve the problem. I'm not sure there is a VSAM Transparency for Oracle either, but you might want to contact your friendly IBM Representative to see if they'd take a product requirement to expand the scope of VSAM Transparency. Always helps to say you'd purchase VSAM Transparency if IBM added that feature. That said, if I'm correct about the underlying business problems, you don't necessarily have to move those data into Oracle for z/OS. (Or vice versa.) You might be able to address the 24x7 requirement by taking a look at some combination of transactional VSAM and/or selective refactoring of your applications, preferably into good I/O modules if you can. MQ is another tool that might help, because sometimes you find you can queue up work and deliver something like 24x7 online access (from a business perspective) while you have a selective outage due to VSAM reorg. There are also circumstances in which you can move data back and forth between VSAM and Oracle via MQ. (Theoretically, basically, if the two were in perfect sync all the time you could keep everyone happy, but that's a whole separate and maybe long discussion.) The JDBC/ODBC access to VSAM data is easy. One way to do it is WebSphere Information Integrator Classic Federation, which is kind of the mirror opposite of what VSAM Transparency does. VSAM Transparency makes a relational database look like VSAM. Classic Federation makes VSAM look like a relational database. In fact, Classic Federation might also let you include Oracle in a single federated query (or update), giving you "one view" of multiple datasets for ad hoc queries, reporting, etc. (I'd have to double check whether Classic Fed supports Oracle -- I know it supports lots of different databases.) Hope that helps! - - - - - Timothy F. Sipples Consulting Enterprise Software Architect IBM Americas zSeries/z9 Software Phone: +1 312 529 1612 E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
