Re: VISARA Consoles FICON Get 505, 510
W dniu 2013-07-29 01:01, Ron Wells pisze: Dummy question but what about OSC's still valid for Console support? Some shops use STK Silo - an ATL (tape robot). This robot used to communicate via COAX port, so neither OSA-ICC nor 2074 would be a solution for that. Notes: 1. Silo is old technology, replaced many years ago by newer robots (i.e. SL8500) with Ethernet/IP communication to the host. 2. AFAIR there was an option to upgrade Silo to have Eth port, Im not sure about it. 3. I mentioned 2074 which is ...ESCON-attached, so it's definitely not a replacement for any other ESCON device. There is no FICON version of 2074. 4. FICON-ESCON converter is IMHO extremely expensive. One has to have really good reason to justify such expense. -- Radoslaw Skorupka Lodz, Poland -- Tre tej wiadomoci moe zawiera informacje prawnie chronione Banku przeznaczone wycznie do uytku subowego adresata. Odbiorc moe by jedynie jej adresat z wyczeniem dostpu osób trzecich. Jeeli nie jeste adresatem niniejszej wiadomoci lub pracownikiem upowanionym do jej przekazania adresatowi, informujemy, e jej rozpowszechnianie, kopiowanie, rozprowadzanie lub inne dziaanie o podobnym charakterze jest prawnie zabronione i moe by karalne. Jeeli otrzymae t wiadomo omykowo, prosimy niezwocznie zawiadomi nadawc wysyajc odpowied oraz trwale usun t wiadomo wczajc w to wszelkie jej kopie wydrukowane lub zapisane na dysku. This e-mail may contain legally privileged information of the Bank and is intended solely for business use of the addressee. This e-mail may only be received by the addressee and may not be disclosed to any third parties. If you are not the intended addressee of this e-mail or the employee authorised to forward it to the addressee, be advised that any dissemination, copying, distribution or any other similar activity is legally prohibited and may be punishable. If you received this e-mail by mistake please advise the sender immediately by using the reply facility in your e-mail software and delete permanently this e-mail including any copies of it either printed or saved to hard drive. BRE Bank SA, 00-950 Warszawa, ul. Senatorska 18, tel. +48 (22) 829 00 00, fax +48 (22) 829 00 33, www.brebank.pl, e-mail: i...@brebank.pl Sd Rejonowy dla m. st. Warszawy XII Wydzia Gospodarczy Krajowego Rejestru Sdowego, nr rejestru przedsibiorców KRS 025237, NIP: 526-021-50-88. Wedug stanu na dzie 01.01.2013 r. kapita zakadowy BRE Banku SA (w caoci wpacony) wynosi 168.555.904 zotych. -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
Re: VISARA Consoles FICON Get 505, 510
Ed Jaffe remarks: It's been three years since the IBM's July 2010 SOD first warned that z196/z114 would be the last generation to offer ESCON channels. For the record, IBM announcement letter 109-230, issued on April 28, 2009, contained the following statement: ESCON® channels will be phased out. It is IBM's intent for ESCON channels to be phased out. The first sentence was helpfully bolded. IBM then progressively phased out ESCON. The z10 EC/BC models were the last servers to support more than 240 directly attached ESCON channels. The z196/z114 were the last servers to support direct ESCON connections in any number. I think there are about three suggested solutions for the original poster so far. In no particular order: 1. Use the Optica converter and take the ESCON Director(s) out of the loop. 2. Connect the tape library silo via Ethernet (TCP/IP), which the library vendor evidently supports. 3. Use CHPID type OSC (OSA-ICC) via an OSA-Express 1000BASE-T adapter and connect via that path. OSC is supported on the very latest OSA-Express5S 1000BASE-T and prior adapters. Any other suggestions and/or discussions about these options? Timothy Sipples GMU VCT Architect Executive (Based in Singapore) E-Mail: sipp...@sg.ibm.com -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
Re: VISARA Consoles FICON Get 505, 510
Thank you very much, Jerry, for this very useful feedback. Yes, we are using the Coax Box add-on and having just horrendous problems not only with it but with the 3074 itself. We have learned that the Visara FICON product has only 5 customers and has been available for only since Jan 1. This looks and feels more like beta testing, the bleeding edge, than implementation of a real product, The omission of ESCON from the zEC12 is proving to be a fatal mistake. It is forcing us to use these kind of unvetted products. These kind of HW oversights are reminiscent of the days when IBM prematurely converted from powerful Bi-Polar chips to underpowdered CMOS chips and customers had to flee back to the Bi-Polar boxes. When will IBM learn. But then Watts Humphrey who put the z in z/OS, z/VSE, and z/VM, which means literally zero-tolerance for downtime, is no longer there; he retired and died in 2010. Such unconscious mistakes would not occur if he were still around. . On Wed, Jul 24, 2013 at 12:50 PM, Jerry Whitteridge jerry.whitteri...@safeway.com wrote: Ensure you are on the latest microcode version for the 3074's. Are you using pure 3074 or the add on Coax box ? There were some challenges with the early code but it appears to stable and functional now. Jerry Whitteridge Lead Systems Programmer Safeway Inc. 925 951 4184 If you feel in control you just aren't going fast enough. -Original Message- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of George Henke Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 5:31 PM To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU Subject: VISARA Consoles FICON Get 505, 510 Has anyone converted VISARA consoles from ESCON to FICON? They work fine as ESCON, but will not talk to z/OS as FICON. They run off of ESCON and FICON directors respectively. We have done 3 PORs and each time the console's get either a 505 or a 510. We need VISARAs for the LMU interface for the STK SILOs, but they also double as system consoles. We are going zEC12 which is pure FICON. The OPTICA PRISM ESCON Converters which IBM recommends must be direct to the device, they cannot go through an ESCON director. So we are forced to make them FICON and need them working. I suppose a workaround would be to attach the ESCON VISARAs through OPTICA PRISM ESCON Converters directly to the CEC, instead of the ESCON director. We are MULTISYSTEM with 4 LPARs with EMIFed CHPIDs. -- George Henke (C) 845 401 5614 -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN Email Firewall made the following annotations. -- Warning: All e-mail sent to this address will be received by the corporate e-mail system, and is subject to archival and review by someone other than the recipient. This e-mail may contain proprietary information and is intended only for the use of the intended recipient(s). If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient(s), you are notified that you have received this message in error and that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately. == -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN -- George Henke (C) 845 401 5614 -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
Re: VISARA Consoles FICON Get 505, 510
On 7/28/2013 3:11 AM, George Henke wrote: We have learned that the Visara FICON product has only 5 customers and has been available for only since Jan 1. This looks and feels more like beta testing, the bleeding edge, than implementation of a real product, The omission of ESCON from the zEC12 is proving to be a fatal mistake. It is forcing us to use these kind of unvetted products. Visara's FICON-based solution first appeared in January 2013. That's only four months after IBM confirmed publicly, via their August 2012 zEC12 announcement, that the new machines would not offer ESCON. ISVs, business partners and others saw zEC12 previews a couple of months before the official August 2012 announcement. So, best-case for Visara is 4-6 months lead-time. I'm certainly no hardware expert, but 4-6 months seems like a very short amount of time. I'm not surprised to learn that bugs in the firmware are still being ironed out. These kind of HW oversights are reminiscent of the days when IBM prematurely converted from powerful Bi-Polar chips to underpowdered CMOS chips and customers had to flee back to the Bi-Polar boxes. When will IBM learn. It's been three years since the IBM's July 2010 SOD first warned that z196/z114 would be the last generation to offer ESCON channels. Sometimes IBM reverses SODs (IMBED/REPLICATE is a good example), so I can't really blame Visara for not gearing up to develop a FICON-only solution based solely on an IBM SOD. They had to wait for official confirmation. I'm really not sure what IBM should have done differently in this case, but I imagine there will be no shortage of opinions on this list... ;) -- Edward E Jaffe Phoenix Software International, Inc 831 Parkview Drive North El Segundo, CA 90245 http://www.phoenixsoftware.com/ -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
Re: VISARA Consoles FICON Get 505, 510
Dummy question but what about OSC's still valid for Console support? From: Ed Jaffe edja...@phoenixsoftware.com To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU Date: 07/28/2013 11:14 AM Subject:Re: VISARA Consoles FICON Get 505, 510 Sent by:IBM Mainframe Discussion List IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU On 7/28/2013 3:11 AM, George Henke wrote: We have learned that the Visara FICON product has only 5 customers and has been available for only since Jan 1. This looks and feels more like beta testing, the bleeding edge, than implementation of a real product, The omission of ESCON from the zEC12 is proving to be a fatal mistake. It is forcing us to use these kind of unvetted products. Visara's FICON-based solution first appeared in January 2013. That's only four months after IBM confirmed publicly, via their August 2012 zEC12 announcement, that the new machines would not offer ESCON. ISVs, business partners and others saw zEC12 previews a couple of months before the official August 2012 announcement. So, best-case for Visara is 4-6 months lead-time. I'm certainly no hardware expert, but 4-6 months seems like a very short amount of time. I'm not surprised to learn that bugs in the firmware are still being ironed out. These kind of HW oversights are reminiscent of the days when IBM prematurely converted from powerful Bi-Polar chips to underpowdered CMOS chips and customers had to flee back to the Bi-Polar boxes. When will IBM learn. It's been three years since the IBM's July 2010 SOD first warned that z196/z114 would be the last generation to offer ESCON channels. Sometimes IBM reverses SODs (IMBED/REPLICATE is a good example), so I can't really blame Visara for not gearing up to develop a FICON-only solution based solely on an IBM SOD. They had to wait for official confirmation. I'm really not sure what IBM should have done differently in this case, but I imagine there will be no shortage of opinions on this list... ;) -- Edward E Jaffe Phoenix Software International, Inc 831 Parkview Drive North El Segundo, CA 90245 http://www.phoenixsoftware.com/ -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN -- Email Disclaimer This E-mail contains confidential information belonging to the sender, which may be legally privileged information. This information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity addressed above. If you are not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution, or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents of the E-mail or attached files is strictly prohibited. -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
Re: VISARA Consoles FICON Get 505, 510
On 7/23/2013 7:31 PM, George Henke wrote: We need VISARAs for the LMU interface for the STK SILOs, but they also double as system consoles. Doesn't help with consoles (we OSA's for these), but there is (or least used to be) an option to drive the STK SILO's with a TCP connection instead of co-ax. RIchard -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
Re: VISARA Consoles FICON Get 505, 510
On 7/23/2013 5:30 PM, George Henke wrote: Has anyone converted VISARA consoles from ESCON to FICON? We're considering a Visara upgrade when we install our zBC12: http://www.visara.com/maindocs/DSheet/dsCCA3074.pdf -- Edward E Jaffe Phoenix Software International, Inc 831 Parkview Drive North El Segundo, CA 90245 http://www.phoenixsoftware.com/ -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
Re: VISARA Consoles FICON Get 505, 510
Ensure you are on the latest microcode version for the 3074's. Are you using pure 3074 or the add on Coax box ? There were some challenges with the early code but it appears to stable and functional now. Jerry Whitteridge Lead Systems Programmer Safeway Inc. 925 951 4184 If you feel in control you just aren't going fast enough. -Original Message- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of George Henke Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 5:31 PM To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU Subject: VISARA Consoles FICON Get 505, 510 Has anyone converted VISARA consoles from ESCON to FICON? They work fine as ESCON, but will not talk to z/OS as FICON. They run off of ESCON and FICON directors respectively. We have done 3 PORs and each time the console's get either a 505 or a 510. We need VISARAs for the LMU interface for the STK SILOs, but they also double as system consoles. We are going zEC12 which is pure FICON. The OPTICA PRISM ESCON Converters which IBM recommends must be direct to the device, they cannot go through an ESCON director. So we are forced to make them FICON and need them working. I suppose a workaround would be to attach the ESCON VISARAs through OPTICA PRISM ESCON Converters directly to the CEC, instead of the ESCON director. We are MULTISYSTEM with 4 LPARs with EMIFed CHPIDs. -- George Henke (C) 845 401 5614 -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN Email Firewall made the following annotations. -- Warning: All e-mail sent to this address will be received by the corporate e-mail system, and is subject to archival and review by someone other than the recipient. This e-mail may contain proprietary information and is intended only for the use of the intended recipient(s). If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient(s), you are notified that you have received this message in error and that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately. == -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
VISARA Consoles FICON Get 505, 510
Has anyone converted VISARA consoles from ESCON to FICON? They work fine as ESCON, but will not talk to z/OS as FICON. They run off of ESCON and FICON directors respectively. We have done 3 PORs and each time the console's get either a 505 or a 510. We need VISARAs for the LMU interface for the STK SILOs, but they also double as system consoles. We are going zEC12 which is pure FICON. The OPTICA PRISM ESCON Converters which IBM recommends must be direct to the device, they cannot go through an ESCON director. So we are forced to make them FICON and need them working. I suppose a workaround would be to attach the ESCON VISARAs through OPTICA PRISM ESCON Converters directly to the CEC, instead of the ESCON director. We are MULTISYSTEM with 4 LPARs with EMIFed CHPIDs. -- George Henke (C) 845 401 5614 -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
