Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies (CA Migration tips?)

[Steve Estle]

Everyone,

I want to thank all for the ideas / suggestions  / references on catching up on 
ZOS - I am now finding out the mainframe environment is very heavy CA/Broadcom 
vendor product centric (Top Secret, CA7, CA1, OpsMVS, MIM, etc) and am pretty 
green in that world (I predominantly worked in heavy IBM shops) and strategic 
plan is to migrate to IBM equivalents in near future.  Any ideas, tips, 
suggestions to help jumpstart such planning and due diligence efforts?  Is 
there an equivalent in the CA world to IBM Redbooks or anything like it?  Any 
Share (or equivalent) presentations out there on experiences in such migrations?

Thanks all for your input/suggestions.

Very much appreciated.

Steve Estle
sest...@gmail.com

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Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Seymour J Metz]

In some cases individual instuctions can't be directly replaced but code 
sequences can. IAC, for someone who precedes z, a look at the current PoOps can 
be an eye opener. I know that the mantra is "Those new instructions are just 
for compilers.",  but some of them warm the cockles of this old assembler 
programmer's heart.


--
Shmuel (Seymour J.) Metz
http://mason.gmu.edu/~smetz3


From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] on behalf of 
Mike Schwab [mike.a.sch...@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2021 7:11 PM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

Since they drop the register addressing with PSW relative addressing
they execute faster.  Does somebody have a list of S/370 instructions
with possible XA/ESA/Z replacements that can directly replaced?

On Thu, May 20, 2021 at 11:47 AM Charles Mills  wrote:
>
> If you are a significant coder or maintainer of assembler code, one big 
> improvement that IIRC no one has mentioned is the relaxation of the base 
> register nightmare. You know, where you go to make a one-minute change to 
> some code and you kick it over the 4K boundary and you are faced with three 
> unappealing choices: commit another register to be an additional base, split 
> the module in half, or figure out some hack that gets some big data area out 
> of the basic 4K range.
>
> The solution is the relatively (ha ha) new branch relative instructions, 
> commonly referred to as jumps due to their Jxx mnemonics -- plus some other 
> "relative" instructions such as LARL. A full tutorial is out of scope for a 
> mailing list e-mail, but the classics comics version is that you replace all 
> of the Bxx instructions with Jxx, move your data areas to the beginning of 
> the CSECT with LOCTR, and your 4K base register issues should go away, pretty 
> much for good.
>
> Charles
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On 
> Behalf Of Steve Estle
> Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:42 PM
> To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> Subject: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
>
> Hello Everyone in Mainframe Land,
>
> I've been out of the mainframe world since about 2001, but spent the prior 20 
> years immersed in that world working with everything from MVS/370 to MVS/ESA 
> and VM, performance and capacity planning disciplines across a variety of 
> situations in the IT Services and consulting spaces.  I, am, now as a "IT 
> Infrastructure Engineer- IBM z/OS Mainframe Engineer" after nearly 20 years 
> of other activities (Project Mgmt, entrepreneur, etc) am about to potentially 
> come back into a new mainframe role and I need to catch up as quickly as 
> possible.  Any suggestions on ways to fill in the gaps for ZOS, ZVM, 
> hardware, performance, etc?  Bottom line I'm looking for that gap education 
> to as quickly as possible get up to speed with changes in platforms since 
> 2001.  If prefer to call - all my info is below.
>
> --
> For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions,
> send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN



--
Mike A Schwab, Springfield IL USA
Where do Forest Rangers go to get away from it all?

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Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Mike Schwab]

Since they drop the register addressing with PSW relative addressing
they execute faster.  Does somebody have a list of S/370 instructions
with possible XA/ESA/Z replacements that can directly replaced?

On Thu, May 20, 2021 at 11:47 AM Charles Mills  wrote:
>
> If you are a significant coder or maintainer of assembler code, one big 
> improvement that IIRC no one has mentioned is the relaxation of the base 
> register nightmare. You know, where you go to make a one-minute change to 
> some code and you kick it over the 4K boundary and you are faced with three 
> unappealing choices: commit another register to be an additional base, split 
> the module in half, or figure out some hack that gets some big data area out 
> of the basic 4K range.
>
> The solution is the relatively (ha ha) new branch relative instructions, 
> commonly referred to as jumps due to their Jxx mnemonics -- plus some other 
> "relative" instructions such as LARL. A full tutorial is out of scope for a 
> mailing list e-mail, but the classics comics version is that you replace all 
> of the Bxx instructions with Jxx, move your data areas to the beginning of 
> the CSECT with LOCTR, and your 4K base register issues should go away, pretty 
> much for good.
>
> Charles
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On 
> Behalf Of Steve Estle
> Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:42 PM
> To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> Subject: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
>
> Hello Everyone in Mainframe Land,
>
> I've been out of the mainframe world since about 2001, but spent the prior 20 
> years immersed in that world working with everything from MVS/370 to MVS/ESA 
> and VM, performance and capacity planning disciplines across a variety of 
> situations in the IT Services and consulting spaces.  I, am, now as a "IT 
> Infrastructure Engineer- IBM z/OS Mainframe Engineer" after nearly 20 years 
> of other activities (Project Mgmt, entrepreneur, etc) am about to potentially 
> come back into a new mainframe role and I need to catch up as quickly as 
> possible.  Any suggestions on ways to fill in the gaps for ZOS, ZVM, 
> hardware, performance, etc?  Bottom line I'm looking for that gap education 
> to as quickly as possible get up to speed with changes in platforms since 
> 2001.  If prefer to call - all my info is below.
>
> --
> For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions,
> send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN



-- 
Mike A Schwab, Springfield IL USA
Where do Forest Rangers go to get away from it all?

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Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Seymour J Metz]

There have been a lot of useful changes in the z architecture besides the 
relative and long displacement instructions.


--
Shmuel (Seymour J.) Metz
http://mason.gmu.edu/~smetz3



From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List  on behalf of 
Charles Mills 
Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2021 12:46 PM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

If you are a significant coder or maintainer of assembler code, one big 
improvement that IIRC no one has mentioned is the relaxation of the base 
register nightmare. You know, where you go to make a one-minute change to some 
code and you kick it over the 4K boundary and you are faced with three 
unappealing choices: commit another register to be an additional base, split 
the module in half, or figure out some hack that gets some big data area out of 
the basic 4K range.

The solution is the relatively (ha ha) new branch relative instructions, 
commonly referred to as jumps due to their Jxx mnemonics -- plus some other 
"relative" instructions such as LARL. A full tutorial is out of scope for a 
mailing list e-mail, but the classics comics version is that you replace all of 
the Bxx instructions with Jxx, move your data areas to the beginning of the 
CSECT with LOCTR, and your 4K base register issues should go away, pretty much 
for good.

Charles


-Original Message-
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf 
Of Steve Estle
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:42 PM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

Hello Everyone in Mainframe Land,

I've been out of the mainframe world since about 2001, but spent the prior 20 
years immersed in that world working with everything from MVS/370 to MVS/ESA 
and VM, performance and capacity planning disciplines across a variety of 
situations in the IT Services and consulting spaces.  I, am, now as a "IT 
Infrastructure Engineer- IBM z/OS Mainframe Engineer" after nearly 20 years of 
other activities (Project Mgmt, entrepreneur, etc) am about to potentially come 
back into a new mainframe role and I need to catch up as quickly as possible.  
Any suggestions on ways to fill in the gaps for ZOS, ZVM, hardware, 
performance, etc?  Bottom line I'm looking for that gap education to as quickly 
as possible get up to speed with changes in platforms since 2001.  If prefer to 
call - all my info is below.

--
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Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Charles Mills]

If you are a significant coder or maintainer of assembler code, one big 
improvement that IIRC no one has mentioned is the relaxation of the base 
register nightmare. You know, where you go to make a one-minute change to some 
code and you kick it over the 4K boundary and you are faced with three 
unappealing choices: commit another register to be an additional base, split 
the module in half, or figure out some hack that gets some big data area out of 
the basic 4K range.

The solution is the relatively (ha ha) new branch relative instructions, 
commonly referred to as jumps due to their Jxx mnemonics -- plus some other 
"relative" instructions such as LARL. A full tutorial is out of scope for a 
mailing list e-mail, but the classics comics version is that you replace all of 
the Bxx instructions with Jxx, move your data areas to the beginning of the 
CSECT with LOCTR, and your 4K base register issues should go away, pretty much 
for good.

Charles


-Original Message-
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf 
Of Steve Estle
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:42 PM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

Hello Everyone in Mainframe Land,

I've been out of the mainframe world since about 2001, but spent the prior 20 
years immersed in that world working with everything from MVS/370 to MVS/ESA 
and VM, performance and capacity planning disciplines across a variety of 
situations in the IT Services and consulting spaces.  I, am, now as a "IT 
Infrastructure Engineer- IBM z/OS Mainframe Engineer" after nearly 20 years of 
other activities (Project Mgmt, entrepreneur, etc) am about to potentially come 
back into a new mainframe role and I need to catch up as quickly as possible.  
Any suggestions on ways to fill in the gaps for ZOS, ZVM, hardware, 
performance, etc?  Bottom line I'm looking for that gap education to as quickly 
as possible get up to speed with changes in platforms since 2001.  If prefer to 
call - all my info is below.

--
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send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN

Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[David Spiegel]

Hi gil,
Which correct tool did you use?

Thanks and regards,
David

On 2021-05-19 23:16, Paul Gilmartin wrote:

On Thu, 20 May 2021 03:13:19 +0100, CM Poncelet wrote:


Saving "test.pdf.txt", renaming it as "test.pdf" and then trying to open
it as a PDF produces the following error message: "Adobe reader could
not open 'test.pdf' because it is either not a supported file type or
because the file has been damaged (for example, it was sent as an email
attachment and wasn't correctly decoded)."
  
HTH.
   

But using the correct tool, I was able to open it cleanly with Adobe Reader.

"rename" is simply the wrong tool.

-- gil

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.


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Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Paul Gilmartin]

On Thu, 20 May 2021 03:13:19 +0100, CM Poncelet wrote:

>Saving "test.pdf.txt", renaming it as "test.pdf" and then trying to open
>it as a PDF produces the following error message: "Adobe reader could
>not open 'test.pdf' because it is either not a supported file type or
>because the file has been damaged (for example, it was sent as an email
>attachment and wasn't correctly decoded)."
> 
>HTH.
>  
But using the correct tool, I was able to open it cleanly with Adobe Reader.

"rename" is simply the wrong tool.

-- gil

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Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[CM Poncelet]

Saving "test.pdf.txt", renaming it as "test.pdf" and then trying to open
it as a PDF produces the following error message: "Adobe reader could
not open 'test.pdf' because it is either not a supported file type or
because the file has been damaged (for example, it was sent as an email
attachment and wasn't correctly decoded)."
 
HTH.
 

On 19/05/2021 02:11, Paul Gilmartin wrote:
> On Wed, 19 May 2021 01:19:01 +0100, CM Poncelet wrote:
>
>> With all due respect, anyone who has difficulty coding JCL COND=
>> statements should consider *not* working with IBM mainframe systems.
>>   
> I've long believed the convention was invented by an Assembler programmer
> accustomed to branching *around* a code section.
>
>> All boolean conditional execution steps can be handled using only COND=
>> statements. I submitted a paper on this & it was published in
>>
> Ummm... DeMorgan's Laws, Distributive Law, ... and obsessive dedication.
> What about "stepname.RUN"?  Review the referenced step and factor
> in its COND?  Maintenance nightmare if the referenced COND changes.
>
> "=TRUE" and "=FALSE" are pleonasms.
>
>> "Computing" in 1989. I would but cannot attach it, as uploading PDF
>> files to this discussion list is not permitted.
>>  
> The obstacle might be sheer length.  I think I'll try one.
>
>> No sysprog worth his salt has ever had a problem with coding JCL COND=
>> statements. 
>>  
>> Likewise IF/THEN statements belong in "JCL for dummies" - as do symbols
>> in JCL and SYSIN. Ditto IF/THEN  in assembler.
>>  
> Same for all macros and extended branch mnemonics.  Programmers
> who use such things are Dummies, too lazy to learn CC masks.
>
> -- gil
>
>
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Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Timothy Sipples]

Shmuel Metz wrote:
>Remote copy is fine for, e.g., hot backups, but when you need to
>retain old versions of your data back a long stretch of time, tape
>is still an inexpensive solution. I suspect that there will
>eventually be a solid state storage medium with the cost per byte
>of tape, but we aren't there yet.

Also, WORM (Write Once, Read Many) tape is still often important for 
immutable data retention situations. Some regulators explicitly require 
WORM tape and do not currently accept possible alternative approaches.

- - - - - - - - - -
Timothy Sipples
I.T. Architect Executive
Digital Asset & Other Industry Solutions
IBM Z & LinuxONE
- - - - - - - - - -
E-Mail: sipp...@sg.ibm.com

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My opinion of COND was Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Clark Morris]

[Default] On 18 May 2021 17:15:54 -0700, in bit.listserv.ibm-main
ponce...@bcs.org.uk (CM Poncelet) wrote:

>With all due respect, anyone who has difficulty coding JCL COND=
>statements should consider *not* working with IBM mainframe systems.

as someone who had to play cute games with COND= I would consign the
designers of it to the same hell as the designers of Little Endian
which I consider to be store scrambled.  This latter idiocy means that
there has to be big-endian UTF-16 and little-endian UTF-16.

Clark Morris
> 
>All boolean conditional execution steps can be handled using only COND=
>statements. I submitted a paper on this & it was published in
>"Computing" in 1989. I would but cannot attach it, as uploading PDF
>files to this discussion list is not permitted.
> 
>No sysprog worth his salt has ever had a problem with coding JCL COND=
>statements. 
> 
>Likewise IF/THEN statements belong in "JCL for dummies" - as do symbols
>in JCL and SYSIN. Ditto IF/THEN  in assembler.
> 
>Chris Poncelet (r)
> 
>
>.
>On 18/05/2021 14:02, Charles Mills wrote:
>> Yeah, and IF/THEN is slightly better than COND=
>>
>> Also symbols in SYSIN data.
>>
>> Charles
>>
>>
>> -Original Message-
>> From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On 
>> Behalf Of Steve Horein
>> Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2021 5:35 AM
>> To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
>> Subject: Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
>>
>> I would argue JCL got better when symbols were allowed! :-)
>> https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/zos/2.4.0?topic=es-symlist-parameter
>>
>> On Mon, May 17, 2021 at 10:46 PM Charles Mills  wrote:
>>
>>> Steve, let me wade in here and suggest some big picture. I think SHARE and
>>> such is great for the details.
>>>
>>> What has changed since 2001? An idiosyncratic, IMHO list:
>>>
>>> - In 2001 SNA was yielding to TCP/IP. That transition has continued. An
>>> awful lot of mainframe connectivity is now TCP/IP. Lots and lots of
>>> Internet connectivity to the mainframe.
>>> - Security is huge. Encryption is hot. Zero Trust is the buzzword of the
>>> month.
>>> - Everything is of course bigger. Z hardware goes up to what? 4TB real?
>>> Someone will correct me if that is wrong.
>>> - Tape drives have pretty much gone away. They live on as virtual,
>>> emulated-on-DASD tape drives.
>>> - The Cloud. Read any airline magazine for the latest.
>>> - Remember VM? It was pretty moribund in 2001. It has found new life
>>> hosting thousands of Linux instances. Yes, Linux running like a champ on Z
>>> hardware. Mainframe Linux is huge. You can run Linux in a region of MVS in
>>> a "container."
>>> - Speaking of which, there is a Z box that will not IPL z/OS! It is called
>>> Linux One. It's a mainframe with a bit hobbled somewhere such that
>>> mainframe operating systems will not IPL, only Linux.
>>> - Lots of new features in core MVS but you would fully recognize the
>>> environment. If you sit down at a TSO/ISPF session it will seem like
>>> nothing has changed. JCL has not gotten any better (or any worse,
>>> thankfully).
>>> - Remember the issue of "above the (24-bit) line"? It is still there, but
>>> pretty much in the background. The new thing is data and execution "above
>>> the (2GB/31-bit) bar." Lots of software products are exploiting data above
>>> 2GB, and code can even run there, with lots of limitations. AMODE/RMODE 64.
>>> - IBM JES3 is dead. Long live Phoenix JES3 plus. IBM ditched JES3, and
>>> Phoenix picked it up.
>>> - More emphasis on high level languages. Hardware design is being driven
>>> by the Java folks and the compiler folks. Lots of new hardware
>>> instructions. Hardware cycle times are not getting any faster, but
>>> instructions do more per cycle. Caching getting more sophisticated and more
>>> critical. The concept of "how long does an LR take" has totally
>>> disappeared. It is a question with no answer other than "it depends."
>>>
>>> Anyone else want to weigh in?
>>>
>>> Charles
>>>
>>>
>>> -Original Message-
>>> From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On
>>> Behalf Of Gibney, Dave
>>> Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:58 PM
>>> To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
>>> Subject: Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
>>>

Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Paul Gilmartin]

On Wed, 19 May 2021 01:19:01 +0100, CM Poncelet wrote:

>With all due respect, anyone who has difficulty coding JCL COND=
>statements should consider *not* working with IBM mainframe systems.
>  
I've long believed the convention was invented by an Assembler programmer
accustomed to branching *around* a code section.

>All boolean conditional execution steps can be handled using only COND=
>statements. I submitted a paper on this & it was published in
>
Ummm... DeMorgan's Laws, Distributive Law, ... and obsessive dedication.
What about "stepname.RUN"?  Review the referenced step and factor
in its COND?  Maintenance nightmare if the referenced COND changes.

"=TRUE" and "=FALSE" are pleonasms.

>"Computing" in 1989. I would but cannot attach it, as uploading PDF
>files to this discussion list is not permitted.
> 
The obstacle might be sheer length.  I think I'll try one.

>No sysprog worth his salt has ever had a problem with coding JCL COND=
>statements. 
> 
>Likewise IF/THEN statements belong in "JCL for dummies" - as do symbols
>in JCL and SYSIN. Ditto IF/THEN  in assembler.
> 
Same for all macros and extended branch mnemonics.  Programmers
who use such things are Dummies, too lazy to learn CC masks.

-- gil


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Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Seymour J Metz]

Yes, we (TINW) understand COND=. That doesn't mean that we like it, or should 
like it, nor does it negate the fact that IF is an improvement. I certainly 
understand the pre-SMS of DISP=NEW for a DASD dataset without a SPACE=, but 
that doesn't prevent me from describing it with loathing and disgust as one of 
the worst design defects in JCL.


--
Shmuel (Seymour J.) Metz
http://mason.gmu.edu/~smetz3


From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] on behalf of CM 
Poncelet [ponce...@bcs.org.uk]
Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2021 8:19 PM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

With all due respect, anyone who has difficulty coding JCL COND=
statements should consider *not* working with IBM mainframe systems.

All boolean conditional execution steps can be handled using only COND=
statements. I submitted a paper on this & it was published in
"Computing" in 1989. I would but cannot attach it, as uploading PDF
files to this discussion list is not permitted.

No sysprog worth his salt has ever had a problem with coding JCL COND=
statements.

Likewise IF/THEN statements belong in "JCL for dummies" - as do symbols
in JCL and SYSIN. Ditto IF/THEN  in assembler.

Chris Poncelet (r)


.
On 18/05/2021 14:02, Charles Mills wrote:
> Yeah, and IF/THEN is slightly better than COND=
>
> Also symbols in SYSIN data.
>
> Charles
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On 
> Behalf Of Steve Horein
> Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2021 5:35 AM
> To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
>
> I would argue JCL got better when symbols were allowed! :-)
> https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/zos/2.4.0?topic=es-symlist-parameter
>
> On Mon, May 17, 2021 at 10:46 PM Charles Mills  wrote:
>
>> Steve, let me wade in here and suggest some big picture. I think SHARE and
>> such is great for the details.
>>
>> What has changed since 2001? An idiosyncratic, IMHO list:
>>
>> - In 2001 SNA was yielding to TCP/IP. That transition has continued. An
>> awful lot of mainframe connectivity is now TCP/IP. Lots and lots of
>> Internet connectivity to the mainframe.
>> - Security is huge. Encryption is hot. Zero Trust is the buzzword of the
>> month.
>> - Everything is of course bigger. Z hardware goes up to what? 4TB real?
>> Someone will correct me if that is wrong.
>> - Tape drives have pretty much gone away. They live on as virtual,
>> emulated-on-DASD tape drives.
>> - The Cloud. Read any airline magazine for the latest.
>> - Remember VM? It was pretty moribund in 2001. It has found new life
>> hosting thousands of Linux instances. Yes, Linux running like a champ on Z
>> hardware. Mainframe Linux is huge. You can run Linux in a region of MVS in
>> a "container."
>> - Speaking of which, there is a Z box that will not IPL z/OS! It is called
>> Linux One. It's a mainframe with a bit hobbled somewhere such that
>> mainframe operating systems will not IPL, only Linux.
>> - Lots of new features in core MVS but you would fully recognize the
>> environment. If you sit down at a TSO/ISPF session it will seem like
>> nothing has changed. JCL has not gotten any better (or any worse,
>> thankfully).
>> - Remember the issue of "above the (24-bit) line"? It is still there, but
>> pretty much in the background. The new thing is data and execution "above
>> the (2GB/31-bit) bar." Lots of software products are exploiting data above
>> 2GB, and code can even run there, with lots of limitations. AMODE/RMODE 64.
>> - IBM JES3 is dead. Long live Phoenix JES3 plus. IBM ditched JES3, and
>> Phoenix picked it up.
>> - More emphasis on high level languages. Hardware design is being driven
>> by the Java folks and the compiler folks. Lots of new hardware
>> instructions. Hardware cycle times are not getting any faster, but
>> instructions do more per cycle. Caching getting more sophisticated and more
>> critical. The concept of "how long does an LR take" has totally
>> disappeared. It is a question with no answer other than "it depends."
>>
>> Anyone else want to weigh in?
>>
>> Charles
>>
>>
>> -Original Message-
>> From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On
>> Behalf Of Gibney, Dave
>> Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:58 PM
>> To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
>> Subject: Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
>>
>> I would suggest SHARE presentations and perhaps Marna Walle's migr

Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[CM Poncelet]

With all due respect, anyone who has difficulty coding JCL COND=
statements should consider *not* working with IBM mainframe systems.
 
All boolean conditional execution steps can be handled using only COND=
statements. I submitted a paper on this & it was published in
"Computing" in 1989. I would but cannot attach it, as uploading PDF
files to this discussion list is not permitted.
 
No sysprog worth his salt has ever had a problem with coding JCL COND=
statements. 
 
Likewise IF/THEN statements belong in "JCL for dummies" - as do symbols
in JCL and SYSIN. Ditto IF/THEN  in assembler.
 
Chris Poncelet (r)
 

.
On 18/05/2021 14:02, Charles Mills wrote:
> Yeah, and IF/THEN is slightly better than COND=
>
> Also symbols in SYSIN data.
>
> Charles
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On 
> Behalf Of Steve Horein
> Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2021 5:35 AM
> To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
>
> I would argue JCL got better when symbols were allowed! :-)
> https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/zos/2.4.0?topic=es-symlist-parameter
>
> On Mon, May 17, 2021 at 10:46 PM Charles Mills  wrote:
>
>> Steve, let me wade in here and suggest some big picture. I think SHARE and
>> such is great for the details.
>>
>> What has changed since 2001? An idiosyncratic, IMHO list:
>>
>> - In 2001 SNA was yielding to TCP/IP. That transition has continued. An
>> awful lot of mainframe connectivity is now TCP/IP. Lots and lots of
>> Internet connectivity to the mainframe.
>> - Security is huge. Encryption is hot. Zero Trust is the buzzword of the
>> month.
>> - Everything is of course bigger. Z hardware goes up to what? 4TB real?
>> Someone will correct me if that is wrong.
>> - Tape drives have pretty much gone away. They live on as virtual,
>> emulated-on-DASD tape drives.
>> - The Cloud. Read any airline magazine for the latest.
>> - Remember VM? It was pretty moribund in 2001. It has found new life
>> hosting thousands of Linux instances. Yes, Linux running like a champ on Z
>> hardware. Mainframe Linux is huge. You can run Linux in a region of MVS in
>> a "container."
>> - Speaking of which, there is a Z box that will not IPL z/OS! It is called
>> Linux One. It's a mainframe with a bit hobbled somewhere such that
>> mainframe operating systems will not IPL, only Linux.
>> - Lots of new features in core MVS but you would fully recognize the
>> environment. If you sit down at a TSO/ISPF session it will seem like
>> nothing has changed. JCL has not gotten any better (or any worse,
>> thankfully).
>> - Remember the issue of "above the (24-bit) line"? It is still there, but
>> pretty much in the background. The new thing is data and execution "above
>> the (2GB/31-bit) bar." Lots of software products are exploiting data above
>> 2GB, and code can even run there, with lots of limitations. AMODE/RMODE 64.
>> - IBM JES3 is dead. Long live Phoenix JES3 plus. IBM ditched JES3, and
>> Phoenix picked it up.
>> - More emphasis on high level languages. Hardware design is being driven
>> by the Java folks and the compiler folks. Lots of new hardware
>> instructions. Hardware cycle times are not getting any faster, but
>> instructions do more per cycle. Caching getting more sophisticated and more
>> critical. The concept of "how long does an LR take" has totally
>> disappeared. It is a question with no answer other than "it depends."
>>
>> Anyone else want to weigh in?
>>
>> Charles
>>
>>
>> -Original Message-
>> From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On
>> Behalf Of Gibney, Dave
>> Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:58 PM
>> To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
>> Subject: Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
>>
>> I would suggest SHARE presentations and perhaps Marna Walle's migration
>> guides
>>
>>> -Original Message-
>>> From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List  On
>>> Behalf Of Steve Estle
>>> Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:42 PM
>>> To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
>>> Subject: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
>>>
>>> Hello Everyone in Mainframe Land,
>>>
>>> I've been out of the mainframe world since about 2001, but spent the
>> prior
>>> 20 years immersed in that world working with everything from MVS/370 to
>>> MVS/ESA and VM, performance and capacity planning disciplines across a
>>> variety 

Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Seymour J Metz]

> - Tape drives have pretty much gone away. They live on as virtual, 
> emulated-on-DASD tape drives.

Remote copy is fine for, e.g., hot backups, but when you need to retain old 
versions of your data back a long stretch of time, tape is still an inexpensive 
solution. I suspect that there will eventually be a solid state storage medium 
with the cost per byte of tape, but we aren't there yet.


--
Shmuel (Seymour J.) Metz
http://mason.gmu.edu/~smetz3


From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] on behalf of 
Charles Mills [charl...@mcn.org]
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 11:45 PM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

Steve, let me wade in here and suggest some big picture. I think SHARE and such 
is great for the details.

What has changed since 2001? An idiosyncratic, IMHO list:

- In 2001 SNA was yielding to TCP/IP. That transition has continued. An awful 
lot of mainframe connectivity is now TCP/IP. Lots and lots of Internet 
connectivity to the mainframe.
- Security is huge. Encryption is hot. Zero Trust is the buzzword of the month.
- Everything is of course bigger. Z hardware goes up to what? 4TB real? Someone 
will correct me if that is wrong.
- Tape drives have pretty much gone away. They live on as virtual, 
emulated-on-DASD tape drives.
- The Cloud. Read any airline magazine for the latest.
- Remember VM? It was pretty moribund in 2001. It has found new life hosting 
thousands of Linux instances. Yes, Linux running like a champ on Z hardware. 
Mainframe Linux is huge. You can run Linux in a region of MVS in a "container."
- Speaking of which, there is a Z box that will not IPL z/OS! It is called 
Linux One. It's a mainframe with a bit hobbled somewhere such that mainframe 
operating systems will not IPL, only Linux.
- Lots of new features in core MVS but you would fully recognize the 
environment. If you sit down at a TSO/ISPF session it will seem like nothing 
has changed. JCL has not gotten any better (or any worse, thankfully).
- Remember the issue of "above the (24-bit) line"? It is still there, but 
pretty much in the background. The new thing is data and execution "above the 
(2GB/31-bit) bar." Lots of software products are exploiting data above 2GB, and 
code can even run there, with lots of limitations. AMODE/RMODE 64.
- IBM JES3 is dead. Long live Phoenix JES3 plus. IBM ditched JES3, and Phoenix 
picked it up.
- More emphasis on high level languages. Hardware design is being driven by the 
Java folks and the compiler folks. Lots of new hardware instructions. Hardware 
cycle times are not getting any faster, but instructions do more per cycle. 
Caching getting more sophisticated and more critical. The concept of "how long 
does an LR take" has totally disappeared. It is a question with no answer other 
than "it depends."

Anyone else want to weigh in?

Charles


-Original Message-
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf 
Of Gibney, Dave
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:58 PM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

I would suggest SHARE presentations and perhaps Marna Walle's migration guides

> -Original Message-
> From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List  On
> Behalf Of Steve Estle
> Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:42 PM
> To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> Subject: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
>
> Hello Everyone in Mainframe Land,
>
> I've been out of the mainframe world since about 2001, but spent the prior
> 20 years immersed in that world working with everything from MVS/370 to
> MVS/ESA and VM, performance and capacity planning disciplines across a
> variety of situations in the IT Services and consulting spaces.  I, am, now 
> as a
> "IT Infrastructure Engineer- IBM z/OS Mainframe Engineer" after nearly 20
> years of other activities (Project Mgmt, entrepreneur, etc) am about to
> potentially come back into a new mainframe role and I need to catch up as
> quickly as possible.  Any suggestions on ways to fill in the gaps for ZOS, 
> ZVM,
> hardware, performance, etc?  Bottom line I'm looking for that gap education
> to as quickly as possible get up to speed with changes in platforms since 
> 2001.
> If prefer to call - all my info is below.
>
> Thanks,
> Steve Estle
> 303-604-0925
> sest...@gmail.com
>
> --
> 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 m

Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Seymour J Metz]

Was that OS/360 R14?

Symbols in sysin data streams, of course, is another and much later story.


--
Shmuel (Seymour J.) Metz
http://mason.gmu.edu/~smetz3


From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] on behalf of 
Steve Horein [steve.hor...@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2021 8:34 AM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

I would argue JCL got better when symbols were allowed! :-)
https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/zos/2.4.0?topic=es-symlist-parameter

On Mon, May 17, 2021 at 10:46 PM Charles Mills  wrote:

> Steve, let me wade in here and suggest some big picture. I think SHARE and
> such is great for the details.
>
> What has changed since 2001? An idiosyncratic, IMHO list:
>
> - In 2001 SNA was yielding to TCP/IP. That transition has continued. An
> awful lot of mainframe connectivity is now TCP/IP. Lots and lots of
> Internet connectivity to the mainframe.
> - Security is huge. Encryption is hot. Zero Trust is the buzzword of the
> month.
> - Everything is of course bigger. Z hardware goes up to what? 4TB real?
> Someone will correct me if that is wrong.
> - Tape drives have pretty much gone away. They live on as virtual,
> emulated-on-DASD tape drives.
> - The Cloud. Read any airline magazine for the latest.
> - Remember VM? It was pretty moribund in 2001. It has found new life
> hosting thousands of Linux instances. Yes, Linux running like a champ on Z
> hardware. Mainframe Linux is huge. You can run Linux in a region of MVS in
> a "container."
> - Speaking of which, there is a Z box that will not IPL z/OS! It is called
> Linux One. It's a mainframe with a bit hobbled somewhere such that
> mainframe operating systems will not IPL, only Linux.
> - Lots of new features in core MVS but you would fully recognize the
> environment. If you sit down at a TSO/ISPF session it will seem like
> nothing has changed. JCL has not gotten any better (or any worse,
> thankfully).
> - Remember the issue of "above the (24-bit) line"? It is still there, but
> pretty much in the background. The new thing is data and execution "above
> the (2GB/31-bit) bar." Lots of software products are exploiting data above
> 2GB, and code can even run there, with lots of limitations. AMODE/RMODE 64.
> - IBM JES3 is dead. Long live Phoenix JES3 plus. IBM ditched JES3, and
> Phoenix picked it up.
> - More emphasis on high level languages. Hardware design is being driven
> by the Java folks and the compiler folks. Lots of new hardware
> instructions. Hardware cycle times are not getting any faster, but
> instructions do more per cycle. Caching getting more sophisticated and more
> critical. The concept of "how long does an LR take" has totally
> disappeared. It is a question with no answer other than "it depends."
>
> Anyone else want to weigh in?
>
> Charles
>
>
> -Original Message-----
> From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On
> Behalf Of Gibney, Dave
> Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:58 PM
> To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
>
> I would suggest SHARE presentations and perhaps Marna Walle's migration
> guides
>
> > -Original Message-
> > From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List  On
> > Behalf Of Steve Estle
> > Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:42 PM
> > To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> > Subject: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
> >
> > Hello Everyone in Mainframe Land,
> >
> > I've been out of the mainframe world since about 2001, but spent the
> prior
> > 20 years immersed in that world working with everything from MVS/370 to
> > MVS/ESA and VM, performance and capacity planning disciplines across a
> > variety of situations in the IT Services and consulting spaces.  I, am,
> now as a
> > "IT Infrastructure Engineer- IBM z/OS Mainframe Engineer" after nearly 20
> > years of other activities (Project Mgmt, entrepreneur, etc) am about to
> > potentially come back into a new mainframe role and I need to catch up as
> > quickly as possible.  Any suggestions on ways to fill in the gaps for
> ZOS, ZVM,
> > hardware, performance, etc?  Bottom line I'm looking for that gap
> education
> > to as quickly as possible get up to speed with changes in platforms
> since 2001.
> > If prefer to call - all my info is below.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Steve Estle
> > 303-604-0925
> > sest...@gmail.com
> >
> > --
> > For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instruc

Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Radoslaw Skorupka]

Mike,
IMHO you talk about EAV in DS8000, but not about EAV.
EAV Volume (*) can be up to ~1TB big, but chunk size of 1113 cylinders 
is for DS8000 family, AFAIK.


Space above 65520 cyl. is called EAS and from z/OS point of view the 
smallest chunk is 21 cylinders.
So, you can allocate 1 track dataset on "lower part" of EAV, but in EAS 
the smallest space occupied by dataset is 21 cylinders.


(*) I'm sorry for the pleonasm. It's like ATM machine.

--
Radoslaw Skorupka
(looking for new job)
Lodz, Poland





W dniu 18.05.2021 o 23:30, Mike Schwab pisze:

Volumes have gotten bigger.  The first 64K Cylinders (Mod 54) remain
the same, but EAV space past that can be added in 1113 cylinder chunks
to a multipile of 1113 cylinders.  250GB first step then 1000GB (or
so).

On Mon, May 17, 2021 at 8:42 PM Steve Estle  wrote:

Hello Everyone in Mainframe Land,

I've been out of the mainframe world since about 2001, but spent the prior 20 years 
immersed in that world working with everything from MVS/370 to MVS/ESA and VM, 
performance and capacity planning disciplines across a variety of situations in the IT 
Services and consulting spaces.  I, am, now as a "IT Infrastructure Engineer- IBM 
z/OS Mainframe Engineer" after nearly 20 years of other activities (Project Mgmt, 
entrepreneur, etc) am about to potentially come back into a new mainframe role and I need 
to catch up as quickly as possible.  Any suggestions on ways to fill in the gaps for ZOS, 
ZVM, hardware, performance, etc?  Bottom line I'm looking for that gap education to as 
quickly as possible get up to speed with changes in platforms since 2001.  If prefer to 
call - all my info is below.

Thanks,
Steve Estle
303-604-0925
sest...@gmail.com

--
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

Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Mike Schwab]

Volumes have gotten bigger.  The first 64K Cylinders (Mod 54) remain
the same, but EAV space past that can be added in 1113 cylinder chunks
to a multipile of 1113 cylinders.  250GB first step then 1000GB (or
so).

On Mon, May 17, 2021 at 8:42 PM Steve Estle  wrote:
>
> Hello Everyone in Mainframe Land,
>
> I've been out of the mainframe world since about 2001, but spent the prior 20 
> years immersed in that world working with everything from MVS/370 to MVS/ESA 
> and VM, performance and capacity planning disciplines across a variety of 
> situations in the IT Services and consulting spaces.  I, am, now as a "IT 
> Infrastructure Engineer- IBM z/OS Mainframe Engineer" after nearly 20 years 
> of other activities (Project Mgmt, entrepreneur, etc) am about to potentially 
> come back into a new mainframe role and I need to catch up as quickly as 
> possible.  Any suggestions on ways to fill in the gaps for ZOS, ZVM, 
> hardware, performance, etc?  Bottom line I'm looking for that gap education 
> to as quickly as possible get up to speed with changes in platforms since 
> 2001.  If prefer to call - all my info is below.
>
> Thanks,
> Steve Estle
> 303-604-0925
> sest...@gmail.com
>
> --
> For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions,
> send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN



-- 
Mike A Schwab, Springfield IL USA
Where do Forest Rangers go to get away from it all?

--
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send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN

Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Radoslaw Skorupka]

To be honest last time when I was installing z/OS and other products in 
ServerPac, one of the products insisted to use HFS because of size. To 
explain: until recently ZFS had to be limited to 4GB or be SMS-managed 
and Extended Format (and then EA).
While it would be possible to change it later or just copy HFS content 
to new ZFS I simply gave up and left one HFS within a bunch of ZFS 
filesystems.


BTW: I liked HFS because HFS need not to be cataloged, which makes 
system cloning and servicing simpler. And HFS can be cataloged twice, in 
two different systems. Of course there are ways to skin ZFS cat also.




--
Radoslaw Skorupka
(looking for new job)
Lodz, Poland




W dniu 18.05.2021 o 15:19, Charles Mills pisze:

HFS is rapidly disappearing if not gone in most installations

But replaced by zFS, which to the casual end user is pretty much the same
thing: "UNIX files on z/OS."

I didn't want Steve to get the impression that UNIX files had gone away.

+1 to what Timothy says about bytes: particularly if an application can
exploit above the 2GB bar storage, bytes have quit being something to worry
about. Heck, the above-the-bar "GETMAIN" functions only work in increments
of a megabyte -- you can't allocate 10K or 100K. Everyone still worries very
much about CPU cycles, so if you can trade a couple of megabytes of storage
allocated for a couple of seconds of CPU time saved it is well worth it.

Charles


-Original Message-
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On
Behalf Of Timothy Sipples
Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2021 6:10 AM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

A bit more from me

The IBM Learning System is also available if you'd like to go grab a free
z/OS account to "kick some tires" (and with no service level commitment).
The 2020-2021 "Master the Mainframe" contest has ended in terms of prizes
and awards, but you can still try the contest exercises and earn "digital
badges."

https://www.ibm.com/it-infrastructure/z/education/master-the-mainframe

Some of exercises cover Python, Ansible, and Zowe, as examples. Ansible
was born in 2012, Zowe in 2018. Python technically began in 1991, but it
took a fairly long time to mature and get popular. There's a Slack channel
where you can ask questions about the IBM Learning System and the various
exercises.

If recent past history is a guide (no guarantees) the IBM Learning System
will probably go offline sometime in August, 2021, and then pop up again,
refreshed, sometime in September, 2021, for the 2021-2022 contest. The
2021-2022 contest will have a new name.

There are at least a few technologies you can probably safely "erase from
your memory banks," or at least reduce allocations for. As David alluded
to, SNA protocols, and even (perhaps, notionally) some pre-SNA protocols,
are still supported. However, in typical operational practice, you can
function quite well knowing at least a great deal less about these network
protocols. Nowadays Enterprise Extender knowledge is plenty, if you even
need that, since EE is where SNA is rapidly converging -- or already has,
really. All the AnyNet variants are gone. There are some ancient access
methods that are now only historical, and HFS is rapidly disappearing if
not gone in most installations. There's no more ESA/390 (or prior) IPL, no
Basic Mode (only LPARs of various types), no Sysplex timer boxes (they're
now onboard as Server Time Protocol), and even the physical Hardware
Management Console (HMC) can now be a virtual/integrated one on the IBM
z15/LinuxONE III models. Work is well underway to make the HCD/IOCDS stuff
much simpler, chiefly via Dynamic Partition Manager. Parallel (bus/tag)
and ESCON channels have disappeared, although if you really need to
connect an old device you still can courtesy Optica's equipment. Copper
Ethernet is all full duplex 1000BASE-T now, with no more 10 or 100 -- and
nothing to configure in that respect. No more Token-Ring or coax either.
You don't need to worry about classic Microsoft Windows-style CIFS/SMB
network file sharing or TCPBEUI since that's all been retired in favor of
NFS. We're way past all the "bimodal accommodation" stuff for 64-bit
toleration, and you haven't even been able to run z/OS in anything other
than z/Architecture (64-bit) mode since z/OS 1.6 (released in 2004). The
BookManager family of products has (sadly perhaps) receded, but you can
still open and read a .BOO document on a PC if you need to.

Related to those huge memory sizes, you can forget about treating every
byte as precious; they aren't any more, not that much. System memory is
quite inexpensive now, and if you can buy nontrivially greater processing
efficiency using more memory you should take that deal every time. But 20+
years of favorable economic evolution and performance tuning have changed
CPU thinking, too (or sho

Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Charles Mills]

> HFS is rapidly disappearing if not gone in most installations

But replaced by zFS, which to the casual end user is pretty much the same
thing: "UNIX files on z/OS."

I didn't want Steve to get the impression that UNIX files had gone away.

+1 to what Timothy says about bytes: particularly if an application can
exploit above the 2GB bar storage, bytes have quit being something to worry
about. Heck, the above-the-bar "GETMAIN" functions only work in increments
of a megabyte -- you can't allocate 10K or 100K. Everyone still worries very
much about CPU cycles, so if you can trade a couple of megabytes of storage
allocated for a couple of seconds of CPU time saved it is well worth it.

Charles


-Original Message-
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On
Behalf Of Timothy Sipples
Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2021 6:10 AM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

A bit more from me

The IBM Learning System is also available if you'd like to go grab a free 
z/OS account to "kick some tires" (and with no service level commitment). 
The 2020-2021 "Master the Mainframe" contest has ended in terms of prizes 
and awards, but you can still try the contest exercises and earn "digital 
badges."

https://www.ibm.com/it-infrastructure/z/education/master-the-mainframe

Some of exercises cover Python, Ansible, and Zowe, as examples. Ansible 
was born in 2012, Zowe in 2018. Python technically began in 1991, but it 
took a fairly long time to mature and get popular. There's a Slack channel 
where you can ask questions about the IBM Learning System and the various 
exercises.

If recent past history is a guide (no guarantees) the IBM Learning System 
will probably go offline sometime in August, 2021, and then pop up again, 
refreshed, sometime in September, 2021, for the 2021-2022 contest. The 
2021-2022 contest will have a new name.

There are at least a few technologies you can probably safely "erase from 
your memory banks," or at least reduce allocations for. As David alluded 
to, SNA protocols, and even (perhaps, notionally) some pre-SNA protocols, 
are still supported. However, in typical operational practice, you can 
function quite well knowing at least a great deal less about these network 
protocols. Nowadays Enterprise Extender knowledge is plenty, if you even 
need that, since EE is where SNA is rapidly converging -- or already has, 
really. All the AnyNet variants are gone. There are some ancient access 
methods that are now only historical, and HFS is rapidly disappearing if 
not gone in most installations. There's no more ESA/390 (or prior) IPL, no 
Basic Mode (only LPARs of various types), no Sysplex timer boxes (they're 
now onboard as Server Time Protocol), and even the physical Hardware 
Management Console (HMC) can now be a virtual/integrated one on the IBM 
z15/LinuxONE III models. Work is well underway to make the HCD/IOCDS stuff 
much simpler, chiefly via Dynamic Partition Manager. Parallel (bus/tag) 
and ESCON channels have disappeared, although if you really need to 
connect an old device you still can courtesy Optica's equipment. Copper 
Ethernet is all full duplex 1000BASE-T now, with no more 10 or 100 -- and 
nothing to configure in that respect. No more Token-Ring or coax either. 
You don't need to worry about classic Microsoft Windows-style CIFS/SMB 
network file sharing or TCPBEUI since that's all been retired in favor of 
NFS. We're way past all the "bimodal accommodation" stuff for 64-bit 
toleration, and you haven't even been able to run z/OS in anything other 
than z/Architecture (64-bit) mode since z/OS 1.6 (released in 2004). The 
BookManager family of products has (sadly perhaps) receded, but you can 
still open and read a .BOO document on a PC if you need to.

Related to those huge memory sizes, you can forget about treating every 
byte as precious; they aren't any more, not that much. System memory is 
quite inexpensive now, and if you can buy nontrivially greater processing 
efficiency using more memory you should take that deal every time. But 20+ 
years of favorable economic evolution and performance tuning have changed 
CPU thinking, too (or should have). For example, today's Db2 on average is 
a heck of a lot more processor efficient than 2001's DB2, which is pretty 
remarkable really. COBOL, too (Enterprise COBOL 6.3), as another notable 
example.

OpenSSH is quite important on z/OS, and that's new compared to 2001. In 
2001 parsing and generating XML was important, but now JSON is much more 
important while XML is still supported. z/OS supported Unicode even back 
in 2001, but z/OS is typically storing and managing much more Unicode data 
in 2021 -- and doing it much better. EBCDIC codepages are still supported, 
of course. There's something called Metal C that can be a great 
alternative to Assembler, if you 

Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Charles Mills]

Another thing that no one has mentioned, other than my saying "security has 
gotten big":

Passwords have changed. They can now potentially be mixed case, and can include 
additional "special" symbols .<+|&!*-%_>?:=. They can even be longer than 8 
characters -- IBM calls that Pass Phrases. "How now brown c0w" could be your 
"password" (pass phrase really) to sign onto TSO. Adoption has been slow. There 
is some management "if it ain't broke" and some legitimate concerns about 
session managers and other products that have fixed length fields, upper case 
their input, translate inconsistently from ASCII, etc.

There is also z/OS support for multi-factor authentication. You know, a 
password PLUS a code from a fob or mobile app. 

As I said, security is really huge. In the 1990's (a little before your cutoff) 
my company sold a mainframe-to-PC file transfer product. I don't recall any 
prospect ever bringing up security. Nowadays the entire product would be out of 
the question: it was basically a "back door" into a PC that ran with root 
privileges. "Security" informs every decision -- as well it should (see 
Colonial Pipeline, Scripps Health, Irish Health, Maersk Shipping, etc.)

Charles


-Original Message-
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf 
Of Steve Estle
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:42 PM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

Hello Everyone in Mainframe Land,

I've been out of the mainframe world since about 2001, but spent the prior 20 
years immersed in that world working with everything from MVS/370 to MVS/ESA 
and VM, performance and capacity planning disciplines across a variety of 
situations in the IT Services and consulting spaces.  I, am, now as a "IT 
Infrastructure Engineer- IBM z/OS Mainframe Engineer" after nearly 20 years of 
other activities (Project Mgmt, entrepreneur, etc) am about to potentially come 
back into a new mainframe role and I need to catch up as quickly as possible.  
Any suggestions on ways to fill in the gaps for ZOS, ZVM, hardware, 
performance, etc?  Bottom line I'm looking for that gap education to as quickly 
as possible get up to speed with changes in platforms since 2001.  If prefer to 
call - all my info is below.

--
For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions,
send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN

Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Timothy Sipples]

A bit more from me

The IBM Learning System is also available if you'd like to go grab a free 
z/OS account to "kick some tires" (and with no service level commitment). 
The 2020-2021 "Master the Mainframe" contest has ended in terms of prizes 
and awards, but you can still try the contest exercises and earn "digital 
badges."

https://www.ibm.com/it-infrastructure/z/education/master-the-mainframe

Some of exercises cover Python, Ansible, and Zowe, as examples. Ansible 
was born in 2012, Zowe in 2018. Python technically began in 1991, but it 
took a fairly long time to mature and get popular. There's a Slack channel 
where you can ask questions about the IBM Learning System and the various 
exercises.

If recent past history is a guide (no guarantees) the IBM Learning System 
will probably go offline sometime in August, 2021, and then pop up again, 
refreshed, sometime in September, 2021, for the 2021-2022 contest. The 
2021-2022 contest will have a new name.

There are at least a few technologies you can probably safely "erase from 
your memory banks," or at least reduce allocations for. As David alluded 
to, SNA protocols, and even (perhaps, notionally) some pre-SNA protocols, 
are still supported. However, in typical operational practice, you can 
function quite well knowing at least a great deal less about these network 
protocols. Nowadays Enterprise Extender knowledge is plenty, if you even 
need that, since EE is where SNA is rapidly converging -- or already has, 
really. All the AnyNet variants are gone. There are some ancient access 
methods that are now only historical, and HFS is rapidly disappearing if 
not gone in most installations. There's no more ESA/390 (or prior) IPL, no 
Basic Mode (only LPARs of various types), no Sysplex timer boxes (they're 
now onboard as Server Time Protocol), and even the physical Hardware 
Management Console (HMC) can now be a virtual/integrated one on the IBM 
z15/LinuxONE III models. Work is well underway to make the HCD/IOCDS stuff 
much simpler, chiefly via Dynamic Partition Manager. Parallel (bus/tag) 
and ESCON channels have disappeared, although if you really need to 
connect an old device you still can courtesy Optica's equipment. Copper 
Ethernet is all full duplex 1000BASE-T now, with no more 10 or 100 -- and 
nothing to configure in that respect. No more Token-Ring or coax either. 
You don't need to worry about classic Microsoft Windows-style CIFS/SMB 
network file sharing or TCPBEUI since that's all been retired in favor of 
NFS. We're way past all the "bimodal accommodation" stuff for 64-bit 
toleration, and you haven't even been able to run z/OS in anything other 
than z/Architecture (64-bit) mode since z/OS 1.6 (released in 2004). The 
BookManager family of products has (sadly perhaps) receded, but you can 
still open and read a .BOO document on a PC if you need to.

Related to those huge memory sizes, you can forget about treating every 
byte as precious; they aren't any more, not that much. System memory is 
quite inexpensive now, and if you can buy nontrivially greater processing 
efficiency using more memory you should take that deal every time. But 20+ 
years of favorable economic evolution and performance tuning have changed 
CPU thinking, too (or should have). For example, today's Db2 on average is 
a heck of a lot more processor efficient than 2001's DB2, which is pretty 
remarkable really. COBOL, too (Enterprise COBOL 6.3), as another notable 
example.

OpenSSH is quite important on z/OS, and that's new compared to 2001. In 
2001 parsing and generating XML was important, but now JSON is much more 
important while XML is still supported. z/OS supported Unicode even back 
in 2001, but z/OS is typically storing and managing much more Unicode data 
in 2021 -- and doing it much better. EBCDIC codepages are still supported, 
of course. There's something called Metal C that can be a great 
alternative to Assembler, if you wish. Naturally HLASM is still supported 
and keeps evolving.

On balance there are many more (and more interesting) "freebies" available 
for z/OS. The 2020 edition of my list is available here:

https://community.ibm.com/community/user/ibmz-and-linuxone/blogs/timothy-sipples1/2020/10/15/mainframe-freebies

Welcome back! :-)

- - - - - - - - - -
Timothy Sipples
I.T. Architect Executive
Digital Asset & Other Industry Solutions
IBM Z & LinuxONE
- - - - - - - - - -
E-Mail: sipp...@sg.ibm.com

--
For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions,
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Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Charles Mills]

Yeah, and IF/THEN is slightly better than COND=

Also symbols in SYSIN data.

Charles


-Original Message-
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf 
Of Steve Horein
Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2021 5:35 AM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

I would argue JCL got better when symbols were allowed! :-)
https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/zos/2.4.0?topic=es-symlist-parameter

On Mon, May 17, 2021 at 10:46 PM Charles Mills  wrote:

> Steve, let me wade in here and suggest some big picture. I think SHARE and
> such is great for the details.
>
> What has changed since 2001? An idiosyncratic, IMHO list:
>
> - In 2001 SNA was yielding to TCP/IP. That transition has continued. An
> awful lot of mainframe connectivity is now TCP/IP. Lots and lots of
> Internet connectivity to the mainframe.
> - Security is huge. Encryption is hot. Zero Trust is the buzzword of the
> month.
> - Everything is of course bigger. Z hardware goes up to what? 4TB real?
> Someone will correct me if that is wrong.
> - Tape drives have pretty much gone away. They live on as virtual,
> emulated-on-DASD tape drives.
> - The Cloud. Read any airline magazine for the latest.
> - Remember VM? It was pretty moribund in 2001. It has found new life
> hosting thousands of Linux instances. Yes, Linux running like a champ on Z
> hardware. Mainframe Linux is huge. You can run Linux in a region of MVS in
> a "container."
> - Speaking of which, there is a Z box that will not IPL z/OS! It is called
> Linux One. It's a mainframe with a bit hobbled somewhere such that
> mainframe operating systems will not IPL, only Linux.
> - Lots of new features in core MVS but you would fully recognize the
> environment. If you sit down at a TSO/ISPF session it will seem like
> nothing has changed. JCL has not gotten any better (or any worse,
> thankfully).
> - Remember the issue of "above the (24-bit) line"? It is still there, but
> pretty much in the background. The new thing is data and execution "above
> the (2GB/31-bit) bar." Lots of software products are exploiting data above
> 2GB, and code can even run there, with lots of limitations. AMODE/RMODE 64.
> - IBM JES3 is dead. Long live Phoenix JES3 plus. IBM ditched JES3, and
> Phoenix picked it up.
> - More emphasis on high level languages. Hardware design is being driven
> by the Java folks and the compiler folks. Lots of new hardware
> instructions. Hardware cycle times are not getting any faster, but
> instructions do more per cycle. Caching getting more sophisticated and more
> critical. The concept of "how long does an LR take" has totally
> disappeared. It is a question with no answer other than "it depends."
>
> Anyone else want to weigh in?
>
> Charles
>
>
> -Original Message-----
> From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On
> Behalf Of Gibney, Dave
> Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:58 PM
> To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
>
> I would suggest SHARE presentations and perhaps Marna Walle's migration
> guides
>
> > -Original Message-
> > From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List  On
> > Behalf Of Steve Estle
> > Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:42 PM
> > To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> > Subject: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
> >
> > Hello Everyone in Mainframe Land,
> >
> > I've been out of the mainframe world since about 2001, but spent the
> prior
> > 20 years immersed in that world working with everything from MVS/370 to
> > MVS/ESA and VM, performance and capacity planning disciplines across a
> > variety of situations in the IT Services and consulting spaces.  I, am,
> now as a
> > "IT Infrastructure Engineer- IBM z/OS Mainframe Engineer" after nearly 20
> > years of other activities (Project Mgmt, entrepreneur, etc) am about to
> > potentially come back into a new mainframe role and I need to catch up as
> > quickly as possible.  Any suggestions on ways to fill in the gaps for
> ZOS, ZVM,
> > hardware, performance, etc?  Bottom line I'm looking for that gap
> education
> > to as quickly as possible get up to speed with changes in platforms
> since 2001.
> > If prefer to call - all my info is below.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Steve Estle
> > 303-604-0925
> > sest...@gmail.com
> >
> > --
> > For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions,
> > send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
>
> --

Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Steve Horein]

I would argue JCL got better when symbols were allowed! :-)
https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/zos/2.4.0?topic=es-symlist-parameter

On Mon, May 17, 2021 at 10:46 PM Charles Mills  wrote:

> Steve, let me wade in here and suggest some big picture. I think SHARE and
> such is great for the details.
>
> What has changed since 2001? An idiosyncratic, IMHO list:
>
> - In 2001 SNA was yielding to TCP/IP. That transition has continued. An
> awful lot of mainframe connectivity is now TCP/IP. Lots and lots of
> Internet connectivity to the mainframe.
> - Security is huge. Encryption is hot. Zero Trust is the buzzword of the
> month.
> - Everything is of course bigger. Z hardware goes up to what? 4TB real?
> Someone will correct me if that is wrong.
> - Tape drives have pretty much gone away. They live on as virtual,
> emulated-on-DASD tape drives.
> - The Cloud. Read any airline magazine for the latest.
> - Remember VM? It was pretty moribund in 2001. It has found new life
> hosting thousands of Linux instances. Yes, Linux running like a champ on Z
> hardware. Mainframe Linux is huge. You can run Linux in a region of MVS in
> a "container."
> - Speaking of which, there is a Z box that will not IPL z/OS! It is called
> Linux One. It's a mainframe with a bit hobbled somewhere such that
> mainframe operating systems will not IPL, only Linux.
> - Lots of new features in core MVS but you would fully recognize the
> environment. If you sit down at a TSO/ISPF session it will seem like
> nothing has changed. JCL has not gotten any better (or any worse,
> thankfully).
> - Remember the issue of "above the (24-bit) line"? It is still there, but
> pretty much in the background. The new thing is data and execution "above
> the (2GB/31-bit) bar." Lots of software products are exploiting data above
> 2GB, and code can even run there, with lots of limitations. AMODE/RMODE 64.
> - IBM JES3 is dead. Long live Phoenix JES3 plus. IBM ditched JES3, and
> Phoenix picked it up.
> - More emphasis on high level languages. Hardware design is being driven
> by the Java folks and the compiler folks. Lots of new hardware
> instructions. Hardware cycle times are not getting any faster, but
> instructions do more per cycle. Caching getting more sophisticated and more
> critical. The concept of "how long does an LR take" has totally
> disappeared. It is a question with no answer other than "it depends."
>
> Anyone else want to weigh in?
>
> Charles
>
>
> -Original Message-----
> From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On
> Behalf Of Gibney, Dave
> Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:58 PM
> To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
>
> I would suggest SHARE presentations and perhaps Marna Walle's migration
> guides
>
> > -Original Message-
> > From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List  On
> > Behalf Of Steve Estle
> > Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:42 PM
> > To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> > Subject: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
> >
> > Hello Everyone in Mainframe Land,
> >
> > I've been out of the mainframe world since about 2001, but spent the
> prior
> > 20 years immersed in that world working with everything from MVS/370 to
> > MVS/ESA and VM, performance and capacity planning disciplines across a
> > variety of situations in the IT Services and consulting spaces.  I, am,
> now as a
> > "IT Infrastructure Engineer- IBM z/OS Mainframe Engineer" after nearly 20
> > years of other activities (Project Mgmt, entrepreneur, etc) am about to
> > potentially come back into a new mainframe role and I need to catch up as
> > quickly as possible.  Any suggestions on ways to fill in the gaps for
> ZOS, ZVM,
> > hardware, performance, etc?  Bottom line I'm looking for that gap
> education
> > to as quickly as possible get up to speed with changes in platforms
> since 2001.
> > If prefer to call - all my info is below.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Steve Estle
> > 303-604-0925
> > sest...@gmail.com
> >
> > --
> > 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
>
> --
> For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions,
> send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
>

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Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Radoslaw Skorupka]

Steve,

Nothing changed since 2001.
We still use punched cards and reel tapes.
We love our 24-bit addressing and avoid 31-bit or 64-bit.

OK, there were some changes:
We migrated our memory from core to TTL.
Our Bus channels rusted away, so we moved to fiber optic.
Some of us started using terminals. And colorful CRT displays. Strange 
guys, they also catalog datasets. Why?


But we still supply coal to our steam engines running our systems.

Why to change it?

--
Radoslaw Skorupka
(looking for new job)
Lodz, Poland

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Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[ITschak Mugzach]

If not already mentioned, see redbooks series ABCs of IBM z/OS System
Programming (13 volumes). Link to vol-1:
https://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg246981.html?Open

ITschak Mugzach
*|** IronSphere Platform* *|* *Information Security Continuous Monitoring
for z/OS, x/Linux & IBM I **| z/VM coming soon  *




On Tue, May 18, 2021 at 10:58 AM P H  wrote:

> Others have mentioned a number of resources. One of the best resources for
> details are the IBM Redbooks for Z.
>
> For a high-level summary of functions and features for different
> generations of z Systems, if can you still get these are the S/390
> Reference Guides (I authored these during the period 1995-2005).
>
> The Ref Guides were superseded by the IBM Z Functional Matrix (version 1,
> co-authored by myself):
>
> https://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp5157.html?Open
> [https://www.redbooks.ibm.com/images/thumbs/redp-5157-05_x2.jpg]<
> https://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp5157.html?Open>
> IBM Z Functional Matrix | IBM Redbooks<
> https://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp5157.html?Open>
> This IBM® Redpaper™ publication provides a list of features and functions
> that are supported on IBM Z, including the IBM z15™ (z15) - Machine type
> 8561, IBM z14™ (z14) - Machine types 3906 and 3907,
> www.redbooks.ibm.com
> Just to get to grips with the new z alphabet soup (acronyms) I would start
> with the Functional Matrix:-)
>
> Regards
>
> Parwez Hamid​
>
> 
> From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List  on behalf
> of Steve Estle 
> Sent: 18 May 2021 02:41
> To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU 
> Subject: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
>
> Hello Everyone in Mainframe Land,
>
> I've been out of the mainframe world since about 2001, but spent the prior
> 20 years immersed in that world working with everything from MVS/370 to
> MVS/ESA and VM, performance and capacity planning disciplines across a
> variety of situations in the IT Services and consulting spaces.  I, am, now
> as a "IT Infrastructure Engineer- IBM z/OS Mainframe Engineer" after nearly
> 20 years of other activities (Project Mgmt, entrepreneur, etc) am about to
> potentially come back into a new mainframe role and I need to catch up as
> quickly as possible.  Any suggestions on ways to fill in the gaps for ZOS,
> ZVM, hardware, performance, etc?  Bottom line I'm looking for that gap
> education to as quickly as possible get up to speed with changes in
> platforms since 2001.  If prefer to call - all my info is below.
>
> Thanks,
> Steve Estle
> 303-604-0925
> sest...@gmail.com
>
> --
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Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[P H]

Others have mentioned a number of resources. One of the best resources for 
details are the IBM Redbooks for Z.

For a high-level summary of functions and features for different generations of 
z Systems, if can you still get these are the S/390 Reference Guides (I 
authored these during the period 1995-2005).

The Ref Guides were superseded by the IBM Z Functional Matrix (version 1,  
co-authored by myself):

https://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp5157.html?Open
[https://www.redbooks.ibm.com/images/thumbs/redp-5157-05_x2.jpg]
IBM Z Functional Matrix | IBM 
Redbooks
This IBM® Redpaper™ publication provides a list of features and functions that 
are supported on IBM Z, including the IBM z15™ (z15) - Machine type 8561, IBM 
z14™ (z14) - Machine types 3906 and 3907,
www.redbooks.ibm.com
Just to get to grips with the new z alphabet soup (acronyms) I would start with 
the Functional Matrix:-)

Regards

Parwez Hamid​


From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List  on behalf of 
Steve Estle 
Sent: 18 May 2021 02:41
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU 
Subject: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

Hello Everyone in Mainframe Land,

I've been out of the mainframe world since about 2001, but spent the prior 20 
years immersed in that world working with everything from MVS/370 to MVS/ESA 
and VM, performance and capacity planning disciplines across a variety of 
situations in the IT Services and consulting spaces.  I, am, now as a "IT 
Infrastructure Engineer- IBM z/OS Mainframe Engineer" after nearly 20 years of 
other activities (Project Mgmt, entrepreneur, etc) am about to potentially come 
back into a new mainframe role and I need to catch up as quickly as possible.  
Any suggestions on ways to fill in the gaps for ZOS, ZVM, hardware, 
performance, etc?  Bottom line I'm looking for that gap education to as quickly 
as possible get up to speed with changes in platforms since 2001.  If prefer to 
call - all my info is below.

Thanks,
Steve Estle
303-604-0925
sest...@gmail.com

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Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Timothy Sipples]

Charles Mills wrote:
>- Everything is of course bigger. Z hardware goes up to
>what? 4TB real? Someone will correct me if that is wrong.

The IBM z15 T01 and LinuxONE III LT1 models can have up to 40TB of real, 
customer usable memory per machine. Each LPAR can have up to 16TB, and 
each z/OS instance supports up to 4TB, plus any Virtual Flash Memory 
(VFM).

>- Tape drives have pretty much gone away. They live on
>as virtual, emulated-on-DASD tape drives.

No, not actually. There's more physical tape storage out there in the 
world than ever. "Small" mainframe installations often don't have physical 
tape drives, but "large" organizations often have a lot -- and cloud 
storage providers use *incredible* amounts of physical tape. The 
media/entertainment and scientific communities are also driving huge 
demand for physical tape.

It's possible and relatively common to emulate tape drives on "DASD" (i.e. 
FICON-attached ECKD storage). That's *one of* the functions IBM Cloud Tape 
Connector for z/OS provides, for example -- and you may or may not use 
that function (formerly called Virtual Tape Facility, or VTF for short). 
However, the physical virtual (!) tape products such as the IBM TS7700 use 
their own dedicated storage that you don't really "see" that's not 
addressable as 3390-style volumes.

Anyway, your general point is absolutely spot on, that essentially "all 
tape, disk, and flash storage is virtual in practice." Even when you have 
physical tape drives and cartridges on premises.

IBM introduced the industry's first encrypting tape drive, the IBM TS1120, 
in 2005 (after Steve's 2001 cutoff year). It would be surprising or even 
shocking if you're not encrypting *at least* physical tape cartridges in 
2021.

>- The Cloud. Read any airline magazine for the latest.

And z/OS plays very well in/with "the Cloud." Some examples:

* z/OS Cloud Broker
* Cloud Tape Connector for z/OS
* Z Development & Test Environment
* "API economies" (z/OS Connect)
* data privacy protection (Hyper Protect Data Controller)
* z/OS Container Extensions

With even more coming, and that's not a secret. "Watch this space."

>- Speaking of which, there is a Z box that will not
>IPL z/OS! It is called Linux One. It's a mainframe
>with a bit hobbled somewhere such that mainframe operating
>systems will not IPL, only Linux.

First of all, historically there have "nearly always" been mainframes that 
could not run z/OS (or its predecessors). They typically ran z/VSE (or its 
predecessors) and/or z/VM (or its predecessors).

IBM announced IFLs on August 1, 2000, and they were available starting 
with IBM G5-based machines. That date beats Steve's 2001 cutoff. The IBM 
LinuxONE servers are exclusively (or almost exclusively anyway -- there's 
one quirky exception) equipped with IFLs, as IBM Z machines can be if you 
wish. They're not "hobbled" at all. If you wish, you can convert an IBM 
LinuxONE machine to an IBM Z machine. As I write this the Z model 
conversions are available for IBM LinuxONE II and LinuxONE III machines, 
although IBM has announced 2022 End of Marketing dates for IBM LinuxONE II 
to IBM z14 conversions. As it happens, there are a couple I/O features 
that are only available for IBM LinuxONE machines that are not available 
for IBM Z machines. Does that mean IBM Z machines are I/O "hobbled"? No, 
not really. The model families just have different feature sets.

IBM LinuxONE machines also run z/VM, an operating system in its own right. 
All z/VM features and functions are available and authorized/licensed for 
all Linux-oriented use cases.

Later this month (May, 2021) IBM will start fulfilling customer orders for 
IBM LinuxONE III Express servers. In some countries, starting in the U.S., 
you'll be able to order one (or more) of these servers online with a few 
clicks or taps.

>JCL has not gotten any better (or any worse, thankfully).

It's gotten better in some notable respects, e.g. NOTIFY, long parameter 
lists (>100 characters), and SCHEDULE. There's also a lot more automatic 
generation and submission of JCL via (one example) the z/OS Management 
Facility. The first release of z/OSMF debuted in 2009 with z/OS 1.11 (and 
was backported to z/OS 1.10).

>- IBM JES3 is dead. Long live Phoenix JES3 plus. IBM ditched JES3,
>and Phoenix picked it up.

More accurately, the forthcoming (2021's) z/OS 2.5 release is the last 
z/OS release to offer IBM JES3 (an option). IBM JES3 will be supported on 
z/OS 2.5 as long as z/OS 2.5 is IBM supported (i.e. a long time). IBM 
generally recommends migrating from JES3 to JES2 and has enhanced JES2 and 
z/OS in various ways to make the migration easier, but Phoenix's JES3 plus 
is a possible choice.

>- More emphasis on high level languages. Hardware design is
>being driven by the Java folks and the compiler folks. Lots
>of new hardware instructions.

Additional popular programming languages on z/OS include Python, Go 
(Golang), and JavaScript (Node.js).

>Anyone else 

Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Charles Mills]

Steve, let me wade in here and suggest some big picture. I think SHARE and such 
is great for the details.

What has changed since 2001? An idiosyncratic, IMHO list:

- In 2001 SNA was yielding to TCP/IP. That transition has continued. An awful 
lot of mainframe connectivity is now TCP/IP. Lots and lots of Internet 
connectivity to the mainframe.
- Security is huge. Encryption is hot. Zero Trust is the buzzword of the month.
- Everything is of course bigger. Z hardware goes up to what? 4TB real? Someone 
will correct me if that is wrong.
- Tape drives have pretty much gone away. They live on as virtual, 
emulated-on-DASD tape drives.
- The Cloud. Read any airline magazine for the latest.
- Remember VM? It was pretty moribund in 2001. It has found new life hosting 
thousands of Linux instances. Yes, Linux running like a champ on Z hardware. 
Mainframe Linux is huge. You can run Linux in a region of MVS in a "container."
- Speaking of which, there is a Z box that will not IPL z/OS! It is called 
Linux One. It's a mainframe with a bit hobbled somewhere such that mainframe 
operating systems will not IPL, only Linux.
- Lots of new features in core MVS but you would fully recognize the 
environment. If you sit down at a TSO/ISPF session it will seem like nothing 
has changed. JCL has not gotten any better (or any worse, thankfully).
- Remember the issue of "above the (24-bit) line"? It is still there, but 
pretty much in the background. The new thing is data and execution "above the 
(2GB/31-bit) bar." Lots of software products are exploiting data above 2GB, and 
code can even run there, with lots of limitations. AMODE/RMODE 64.
- IBM JES3 is dead. Long live Phoenix JES3 plus. IBM ditched JES3, and Phoenix 
picked it up.
- More emphasis on high level languages. Hardware design is being driven by the 
Java folks and the compiler folks. Lots of new hardware instructions. Hardware 
cycle times are not getting any faster, but instructions do more per cycle. 
Caching getting more sophisticated and more critical. The concept of "how long 
does an LR take" has totally disappeared. It is a question with no answer other 
than "it depends."

Anyone else want to weigh in?

Charles


-Original Message-
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf 
Of Gibney, Dave
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:58 PM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

I would suggest SHARE presentations and perhaps Marna Walle's migration guides

> -Original Message-
> From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List  On
> Behalf Of Steve Estle
> Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:42 PM
> To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> Subject: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
> 
> Hello Everyone in Mainframe Land,
> 
> I've been out of the mainframe world since about 2001, but spent the prior
> 20 years immersed in that world working with everything from MVS/370 to
> MVS/ESA and VM, performance and capacity planning disciplines across a
> variety of situations in the IT Services and consulting spaces.  I, am, now 
> as a
> "IT Infrastructure Engineer- IBM z/OS Mainframe Engineer" after nearly 20
> years of other activities (Project Mgmt, entrepreneur, etc) am about to
> potentially come back into a new mainframe role and I need to catch up as
> quickly as possible.  Any suggestions on ways to fill in the gaps for ZOS, 
> ZVM,
> hardware, performance, etc?  Bottom line I'm looking for that gap education
> to as quickly as possible get up to speed with changes in platforms since 
> 2001.
> If prefer to call - all my info is below.
> 
> Thanks,
> Steve Estle
> 303-604-0925
> sest...@gmail.com
> 
> --
> For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions,
> send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN

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Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Attila Fogarasi]

IBM system z magazine back issues ...
http://www.ibmsystemsmagmainframedigital.com/mspcomm/ibmsystemsmag/ibmsystems_mainframe_20201112/index.php#/p/Intro

On Tue, May 18, 2021 at 11:57 AM Gibney, Dave  wrote:

> I would suggest SHARE presentations and perhaps Marna Walle's migration
> guides
>
> > -Original Message-
> > From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List  On
> > Behalf Of Steve Estle
> > Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:42 PM
> > To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> > Subject: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
> >
> > Hello Everyone in Mainframe Land,
> >
> > I've been out of the mainframe world since about 2001, but spent the
> prior
> > 20 years immersed in that world working with everything from MVS/370 to
> > MVS/ESA and VM, performance and capacity planning disciplines across a
> > variety of situations in the IT Services and consulting spaces.  I, am,
> now as a
> > "IT Infrastructure Engineer- IBM z/OS Mainframe Engineer" after nearly 20
> > years of other activities (Project Mgmt, entrepreneur, etc) am about to
> > potentially come back into a new mainframe role and I need to catch up as
> > quickly as possible.  Any suggestions on ways to fill in the gaps for
> ZOS, ZVM,
> > hardware, performance, etc?  Bottom line I'm looking for that gap
> education
> > to as quickly as possible get up to speed with changes in platforms
> since 2001.
> > If prefer to call - all my info is below.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Steve Estle
> > 303-604-0925
> > sest...@gmail.com
> >
> > --
> > 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,
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>

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Re: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies

[Gibney, Dave]

I would suggest SHARE presentations and perhaps Marna Walle's migration guides

> -Original Message-
> From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List  On
> Behalf Of Steve Estle
> Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 6:42 PM
> To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> Subject: Best catch up resources for MVS / ZOS Technologies
> 
> Hello Everyone in Mainframe Land,
> 
> I've been out of the mainframe world since about 2001, but spent the prior
> 20 years immersed in that world working with everything from MVS/370 to
> MVS/ESA and VM, performance and capacity planning disciplines across a
> variety of situations in the IT Services and consulting spaces.  I, am, now 
> as a
> "IT Infrastructure Engineer- IBM z/OS Mainframe Engineer" after nearly 20
> years of other activities (Project Mgmt, entrepreneur, etc) am about to
> potentially come back into a new mainframe role and I need to catch up as
> quickly as possible.  Any suggestions on ways to fill in the gaps for ZOS, 
> ZVM,
> hardware, performance, etc?  Bottom line I'm looking for that gap education
> to as quickly as possible get up to speed with changes in platforms since 
> 2001.
> If prefer to call - all my info is below.
> 
> Thanks,
> Steve Estle
> 303-604-0925
> sest...@gmail.com
> 
> --
> For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions,
> send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN

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