In my opinion IBM helped to save the mainframe when they included a built-in highly performant TCP/IP stack in the operating system. Making the mainframe a more mainstream hardware server and more importantly a mainstream software server that communications, API implementations and development practices as any other makes it viable for another 50 years. The alternative path was for it to become a truly niche isolated platform or for this core capability to be supplied by third party software. We saw that same evolution on other platforms if anyone remembers "Trumpet Winsock"😊
The mainframe remains the most securable platform today. z/OS in particular handles TCP/IP in a securable way allowing very granular controls of which application containers can connect to which ports. IBM has a published integrity policy which is applicable to the entire OS including TCP/IP. The most concerning security problems on the mainframe are not caused by TCP/IP but by Apathy, laziness, false confidence and ignorance. OEM TCP/IP stacks would have provided this capability and already were when IBM introduced TCP/IP in z/OS. You can make a reasoned argument that by incorporating TCP/IP as part of the operating system IBM has insured it has security and integrity equal to the balance of the operating system. Best Regards, Sam Knutson -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> On Behalf Of z/OS scheduler Sent: Saturday, January 11, 2020 3:52 PM To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU Subject: Re: What is a mainframe? Welll, in my opinion the mainframe died when IBM allowed tcpip on their servers. From that point onwards it just became another server that could be hacked via TCPIP ports. James O'Leary Op vr 10 jan. 2020 om 21:05 schreef Steve Smith <sasd...@gmail.com>: > Well, it is Friday: > https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww. > youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dd0-pLcgq-2M&data=02%7C01%7CSamuel.Knutso > n%40COMPUWARE.COM%7C609bd2dd893148044b3a08d796d83cc4%7C893e9ba31b7844d > 8aca9105fab957fed%7C0%7C0%7C637143727850910523&sdata=qQqJNcO62gXdN > DUZwk8U0IjSGLtPFgD4dlS2pJIQdY8%3D&reserved=0 > > It's also about a bank :-) > > -- > sas > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send > email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN The contents of this e-mail are intended for the named addressee only. It contains information that may be confidential. Unless you are the named addressee or an authorized designee, you may not copy or use it, or disclose it to anyone else. If you received it in error please notify us immediately and then destroy it ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
