Edward Gould wrote: >The other sort of non public side are the Zos products that >are languishing and are not really supported any more (i.e. >TSOE...
Perhaps you missed the other TSO/E-related thread in this forum (that I cannot comment on directly)? Something about the number 8. (Or was it 7? I forget.) >and all of its products session manager.... Well, there's a reason IBM Session Manager for z/OS is "languishing"! IBM withdrew the product from marketing on January 2, 2017, exactly as IBM announced last year. Session Manager's standard End of Service date is December 31, 2018. Its replacement product, IBM CL/SuperSession, is certainly NOT languishing. IBM introduced CL/SuperSession Version 2.1 only 14 months ago. Version 2.1 has several new features including passphrase support, greater Parallel Sysplex affinities, new load balancing and session reconnection capabilities, and lots more customization options including a simple scripting language, as examples. I posted most of this information just days ago, in this very forum, as it happens. And related information on IBM NetView Access Services (NVAS). Continuing, IBM released Data Set Commander Version 8.1 (formerly ISPF Productivity Tool, formerly Isogon's SPIFFY) just over 3 three years ago. Version 8.1 added support for z/OS 2.1+ PDSE member generations among other new features. You can read more about that particular PDSE feature here: http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=tss1wp102465&aid=1 ISPF Productivity Tool Version 7.1 is still supported with no End of Service date, but I recommend upgrading to the new Data Set Commander for z/OS. To pick yet another example, just last month (January, 2017), IBM introduced the first version of the IBM z/OS Provisioning Toolkit, available at no additional charge to all z/OS Version 2 licensees. More information is available here: https://developer.ibm.com/mainframe/products/zospt/ The z/OS Provisioning Toolkit relies on the z/OS Management Facility, but it also provides a simple command line interface. Yes, that's right, a new command line interface, for z/OS, born in January, 2017. In short, even though some people might not think the classic terminal-oriented interfaces are "fashionable," IBM keeps improving them. Clearly other user interfaces (Web, mobile, etc.) are very important and getting even more important. I recommend adopting those interfaces or at least providing them to your peers. Notable examples -- all no additional charge! -- include the z/OS Management Facility (now a base element in z/OS 2.2), the IBM Knowledge Center for z/OS (also a base element in z/OS 2.2), Explorer for z/OS (and its various additions for CICS, MQ, etc.), and IBM zEvent. However, IBM *is* improving the classic interfaces, and I've just provided many examples. There are many others. Before criticizing any vendor, I'd wait at least half a beat and figure out what the truth is as best you can. Then, if there's still something you think is amiss, start with a question ("Is my understanding correct?"), then pursue a solution with the vendor. I'm highly confident that complaints don't get very far with any vendor if they're not well grounded in current reality. My advice would be to focus on where the genuine problems and opportunities are, and prioritize. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Timothy Sipples IT Architect Executive, Industry Solutions, IBM z Systems, AP/GCG/MEA E-Mail: [email protected] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
