On Wed, 9 Jan 2008 15:24:32 -0600, Bruce Baxter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>We've routinely exhanged files with business partners running on z/OS >machines using tape for years. > >We're now in the process of converting a number of these to electronic >means, using in part FTP. [snip - common problems with character codes, record boundaries, etc. etc.] <ad> There are commercial solutions out there that will make all this stuff Just Work. Naturally I'd suggest the products made by my company, but I'd also suggest looking more generally, to get an idea of what's available. In particular, if you are exchanging unencrypted data that used to rely on physical security of tapes, and it is now flowing through unknown layers in an organization you don't control, I would be worried. (Well, tapes should be encrypted too, of course, but that's another story.) Anyway - there are products that not only make the data flow correctly across multiple platforms, but also provide control and audit, so management can see who sent what when, and to whom, and indeed control their ability to do so. In our case, products written by mainframe-knowledgable people, even. FTP (and TERSE and XMIT the like for packaging) are very handy for ad-hoc transfers (I use them all the time), but for production use, particularly between business partners, most enterprises find they need something much more, well, enterprise-scale, with consistent security, as well as the ability to get the data there with bit-for-bit-identical results. </ad> Tony H. www.proginet.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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
