ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

INTRODUCTION TO MAINFRAME TECHNOLOGY:

COURSE AND LESSON PLANS

ITM 597: SPECIAL PROBLEM IN IT

RAY TRYGSTAD

BY

SEAN P. MCBRIDE

CHICAGO, IL

17 NOVEMBER 2012

AD MAIOREM DEI GLORIAM

Table of Contents

Course Outcomes..................................................................................................................... 3

Lesson 1: What is a Mainframe?.........................................................................................4

Lesson 2: Mainframe Hardware and Clustering............................................................6

Lesson 3: z/OS Overview....................................................................................................... 7

Lesson 4: z/OS User Interfaces............................................................................................ 8

Lesson 5: Working with Data Sets...................................................................................... 9

Lesson 6: Batch Processing, Job Entry Subsystem (JES), and Job Control Language (JCL)....................................................................................................................... 10

Lesson 7: z/OS Application Development.....................................................................11

Lesson 8: z/OS Application Development II.................................................................13

Lesson 9: z/OS Database Managers................................................................................. 14

Lesson 10: z/OS Transaction Managers........................................................................15

Lesson 11: z/OS HTTP and JEE Servers..........................................................................16

Lesson 12: Mainframes and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)......................17

Lesson 13: System Programming....................................................................................18

Lesson 14: z/OS Networking and Security....................................................................19

Lesson 15: Final Exam......................................................................................................... 20

Course Outcomes

At the end of this course, you will be able to Explain the function of the mainframe, z/OS, and the major z/OS subsystems

in a modern heterogeneous data center Use the TSO/E, ISPF, and UNIX interfaces for basic mainframe systems

programming and application programming task Apply the skills attained from other ITM courses (Java development, TCP/IP

network administration, UNIX/Linux administration, security management, etc.) in the mainframe domain

Pursue follow-on self-study using the IBM Master the Mainframe Contest and the System z Mastery Certification Exam

Lesson 1: What is a Mainframe?

Outcome: Be able what a mainframe is to a non-technical person in two minutes.

Objectives Define the term mainframe (Knowledge) Explain how businesses make use of mainframe processing power, the

typical uses of mainframes, and how mainframe computing differs from other types of computing (Comprehension)

Identify the major types of workloads for which mainframes are best suited (Comprehension)

Name five jobs or responsibilities that are related to mainframe computing (Knowledge)

Identify, distinguish, and explain the five mainframe operating systems (Comprehension)

Readings Read The Economist, “Old dog, new tricks” at

http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2012/09/ibms-mainframes Read “The Path Less Traveled: Recent grad finds a new IT career on the

mainframe” at http://destinationz.org/Academia/Articles/Recent-Grad-Finds-a-New-IT-Career-on-the-Mainframe.aspx

Read “The Age of the Mainframe” by Compuware http://insidetechtalk.com/mainframehistory/

Read “System 360 Revolution” Read What on Earth is a Mainframe, chapter 1 Read Intro to the New Mainframe, chapter 1

Study Questions What is a mainframe today? How did the term arise? Is it still appropriate?

(Knowledge) Why is it important to maintain system compatibility for older applications?

Why not simply change existing application programming interfaces whenever improved interfaces become available? (Comprehension)

Can you find examples of mainframe use in your everyday experiences? Describe them and the extent to which mainframe processing is apparent to users. Examples might include the following:

o Popular websites that rely on mainframe technology as the back-end server to support online transactions and databases.

o Multi tiered applications that interface with mainframe resources.o Mainframes used in your locality. These might include banks and

financial centers, major retailers, transportation hubs, and the health and medical industries. (Application)

[Grad Student] Why might organizations be concerned about a future shortage of mainframe professionals? Why has such a shortage occurred? What does this mean for organizations that rely on mainframe technologies and IT professionals considering specializing in the mainframe? (Analysis)

Exercise Record a video between 90 and 120 seconds where you explain what a

mainframe is to a person that has never heard of the technology before. Post the video to YouTube and e-mail the professor a link to the video no later than [the Sunday before the third lecture at Midnight]

Lesson 2: Mainframe Hardware and Clustering

Outcome: Be able to explain how mainframe hardware design reflects a distinct architectural style of computing

Objectives Identify the unique features of System/360 and IBM System z hardware

design (Comprehension) Define the term channel (Knowledge) Explain the purpose of the channel subsystem (Comprehension) Explain the different types of specialty processors and distinguish their

functionality from general processors (Comprehension) Name the dominant character-encoding scheme on mainframes (Knowledge)

and explain how these sorts of systems can successfully communicate with computers with differing character encoding schemes (Comprehension)

Define Parallel Sysplex (Knowledge) and explain how this technology can be used to achieve continuous availability Comprehension)

Define dynamic workload balancing (Knowledge) Define the concept of a single system image (Knowledge) Define z/Enterprise (Knowledge) and distinguish it from traditional

z/Architecture (Comprehension)

Readings Read What on Earth is a Mainframe, chapter 2 Read Intro to the New Mainframe, chapter 2

Study Questions What is a channel? (Knowledge) What are the advantages of having a dedicated channel subsystem?

(Comprehension) What is the mainframe technology that allows for hardware level

partitioning? (Knowledge) What is the function of this technology? (Comprehension)

What is the mainframe technology used for software level virtualization? (Knowledge) Under which circumstances would an IT organization use software virtualization rather than hardware virtualization? (Comprehension)

What are specialty processors? (Why would someone want to run a processor at sub-capacity? How does this relate to software pricing (Comprehension)

What is z/Enterprise? How does this depart from traditional z/Architecture? What is the utility of this sort of hybrid system? (Comprehension)

[Grad Students] How does Parallel Sysplex technology compare to clustering technology in distributed systems? (Analysis)

Lesson 3: z/OS Overview

Outcome: Be able to articulate how z/OS differs from other sorts of server operating systems and be able to connect to z/OS using a 3270 Terminal Emulator

Objectives List several defining characteristics of the z/OS operating system

(Knowledge) Recognize why z/OS has been more evolutionary than other computer

operating systems (Knowledge) Give examples of how z/OS differs from a single-user operating system

(Comprehension Explain the concept of virtual storage and its use in z/OS (Comprehension) State the relationship between pages, frames, and slots (Knowledge) Explain the purpose of the z/OS Workload Manager (Comprehension)

Readings Read What on Earth is a Mainframe, chapter 3 Read Intro to the New Mainframe, chapter 3

Study Questions How does z/OS differ from a single-user operating system? (Comprehension) What is the purpose of virtual storage? (Knowledge) What role does workload management play in a z/OS system?

(Comprehension) What is the relationship between Operating System/360 and the modern

z/OS? Why do you think this differ so much from the evolution of the Microsoft operating systems? (Knowledge)

[Grad Student] Why do companies have to purchase additional software on top of the base z/OS operating system to have a complete system? Why not simply include all of the software with the operating system? Was there ever a time when IBM bundled all of this software together? (Analysis)

Exercises Complete IIT Mainframe Lab One

Lesson 4: z/OS User Interfaces

Outcome: Understand the different ways that users interact with z/OS and be able to perform basic tasks on TSO/E, ISPF, and UNIX

Objectives Identify the different methods of interacting with z/OS (Knowledge) and

distinguish the appropriate interface for various use cases (Comprehension) Use the traditional TSO READY prompt to execute several basic TSO/E

commands (Application) Use the pseudo-graphical ISPF interface (Application) Use the UNIX interface on z/OS, including the z/OS UNIX command shell and

the ISPF-based interface (Application)

Readings Read What On Earth is a Mainframe section entitled “The 3270 Terminal –

Your Windows to the Mainframe,” pages 65-67 Read Intro to the New Mainframe, chapter 4 Read “Rational Developer for z/OS: A New Paradigm for Mainframe

Development” at http://enterprisesystemsmedia.com/article/rational-developer-for-z-os-a-new-paradigm-for-mainframe-development

Read “z/OSMF Simplifies System Management” at http://enterprisesystemsmedia.com/article/z-osmf-simplifies-system-management

Study Questions If you need help with an ISPF panel, what should you first attempt?

(Knowledge) Most mainframers use the pseudo-graphical ISPF for most tasks. Under what

circumstances would mainframers use TSO commands? (Comprehension) What are the advantages and disadvantages of the z/OSMF interface over the

traditional x3270 “green screen” interface? Do you think that z/OSMF will replace “green screens?” Why or why not? Why do you think that so few mainframe organizations have z/OSMF installed? (Analysis)

[Grad Student] Why did IBM integrate UNIX into the mainframe OS? How did this change the trajectory of mainframe technology? (Analysis)

Exercises Complete IIT Mainframe Lab Two

o

Lesson 5: Working with Data Sets

Outcome: Employ ISPF facilities to locate, create, and edit z/OS data sets

Objectives Explain the concept of a data set (Comprehension) Identify different types of data sets (Knowledge) Describe data set naming conventions and record formats (Comprehension) List some access methods for managing data and programs (Knowledge) Explain what catalogs and VTOCs are used for (Comprehension) Create, delete, and modify data sets (Application) Explain the differences between UNIX file systems and z/OS data sets.

(Comprehension) Describe the z/OS UNIX file systems' use of data sets. (Comprehension)

Readings Review What on Earth is a Mainframe “z/OS Files are Weird,” pages 51-52. Read Intro to the New Mainframe, chapter 5

Study Questions What is a data set? (Comprehension) What types of data sets are used on

z/OS? (Knowledge) Why do data set names need to be unique in z/OS? (Comprehension) What is the purpose of a Partitioned Data Set (PDS)? (Knowledge) Do application programs use libraries? Why or why not? (Comprehension) What information about a data set is stored in a catalog? What DD operands

would be required if a data set were not in the catalog? (Comprehension) What is the difference between the master catalog and a user catalog?

(Knowledge)

Lesson 6: Batch Processing, Job Entry Subsystem (JES), and Job Control Language (JCL)

Outcome: Construct and use JCL to submit batch workloads to JES and check the output of those jobs using SDSF

Objectives Explain how JES governs the flow of work through a z/OS system

(Comprehension) Explain the functionality of the most commonly used JCL keywords

(Comprehension) Explain the relationship between a data set name, a JCL DD name, and the file

name within a program. (Comprehension) Create a simple job and submit it for execution (Application) Use the System Display and Search Facility (SDSF) to check the output of a

batch job (Application) Explain the concept of batch processing and how work is initiated and

managed in the system (Comprehension) Identify the sorts of workloads best suited for batch processing (Knowledge)

Readings Read Intro to the New Mainframe, chapters 6 and 7

Study Questions What is batch processing? (Comprehension) Why does z/OS need a Job Entry Subsystem (JES)? (Comprehension) What does the acronym SPOOL stand for? How does this relate to batch

processing? (Knowledge) What are some of the jobs performed by an initiator? (Knowledge) What is the functionality of the JOB, EXEC, and DD statements in JCL?

(Knowledge) What is the difference between JCL and a JCL PROC? What is the benefit of

using a JCL PROC? (Comprehension) [Grad Student] How has globalization and the rise of online commerce

impacted the idea of a batch window? (Analysis)

Exercises Complete IIT Mainframe Lab Three

Lesson 7: z/OS Application Development

Outcome: Use ISPF to develop and run basic mainframe programs using JCL, C, REXX, and Java

Objectives List several common programming languages for z/OS (Knowledge) Compare and contrast high level languages and Assembler (Analysis) Explain the relationship between a data set name, a DD name, and the file

name within a program (Comprehension) Explain how the use of z/OS Language Environment affects the decisions

made by the application designer (Comprehension) Explain the purpose of a compiler and a link-editor (Comprehension) Write, compile, link-edit, and execute a simple program on z/OS

(Application)

Readings Read What on Earth is a Mainframe, chapter 6 Read Intro to the New Mainframe, chapters 9 and 10

Study Questions Why does IBM continue to enhance the COBOL and PL/I compilers?

(Comprehension) What role do interpreted languages, such as CLISTs and REXX, play in

mainframe development and operations? (Comprehension) What is an HLL? What are some of the advantages of writing in an HLL versus

Assembler language? Why might it be better to write a program in Assembler language? (Knowledge)

How do programs written in one language call programs written in another language? Why would you want to have this capability? (Comprehension)

What does a developer have to do to be able to execute COBOL source code? What about Assembler source code? What about Java source code? (Knowledge)

What is the purpose of a procedure library? What is the difference between a linkage editor and a binder?

(Comprehension) How are copybooks and cataloged procedure libraries similar? (Knowledge) What is the purpose of a compiler? What are the inputs and outputs?

(Knowledge) What is the difference between an object deck and a load module?

(Knowledge) What are the advantages and disadvantages of using Java on the mainframe?

How might Java be used for batch processing? (Analysis)

[Grad Student] Many of the oldest programs on the mainframe are written in Assembler. Why might this be a problem? What actions would you take if you were responsible for these programs? (Analysis)

Exercises Complete IIT Mainframe Lab Four

Lesson 8: z/OS Application Development II

Use this time to complete IIT Mainframe Lab Four

Lesson 9: z/OS Database Managers

Outcome: Explain the mainframe’s architectural advantages for running large databases and use SPUFI to enter and execute simple SQL commands on z/OS

Objectives Explain the two database models found on the mainframe and identify the

most commonly-use software implementations of these models (Comprehension)

Explain the advantages of the mainframe architecture for large-scale databases (Comprehension)

Explain why legacy mainframe applications may not be using a standardized database manager (Comprehension)

Use the SQL Processing Using File Input to enter and execute simple SQL queries on z/OS (Application)

Identify the sorts of workloads best suited for IMS (Knowledge) Describe the structure of the IMS DB subsystem (Comprehension)

Readings Read What on Earth is a Mainframe, chapter 5 Read Intro to the New Mainframe, chapter 12

Study Questions What are the advantages of using an Off-The-Shelf database manager? What

sorts of problems would you expect from a legacy mainframe app that internally processes and stores data using VSAM files? (Comprehension)

How does the hierarchical model of IMS differ from the relational model of DB2? (Comprehension)

What aspects of the mainframe paradigm make System z and z/OS a superior database platform to x86 and RISC-based systems? (Analysis)

[Grad Student] Is Oracle available on the mainframe? Is it available on z/OS? If not, how do customers typically run Oracle on the mainframe? How do the dynamics of IBM-Oracle relationship affect how customers use Oracle on the mainframe? (Analysis)

Lesson 10: z/OS Transaction Managers

Outcome: Explain the con

Objectives Define the term “transaction” and identify the typical requirements of a

transaction management system (Comprehension) List the attributes common to most transaction systems (Knowledge) Explain the role of CICS in online transaction processing (Comprehension) Describe CICS programs, CICS transactions, and CICS tasks (Comprehension) Explain what the term web enabling means with regards to legacy CICS apps.

(Comprehension) Discuss the components of the IMS transaction manager. (Comprehension)

Readings Read Intro to the New Mainframe, chapter 11

Study Questions What are the defining characteristics of a transaction? (Comprehension) What does the mnemonic ACID mean? (Knowledge) What role does a sync point manager have in a two-phase commit?

(Knowledge) What are five activities that you regularly do that directly or indirectly rely

on CICS in some form? (Analysis) How do you define resources in CICS? (Knowledge) What are the major components of IMS, and what are their tasks?

(Knowledge) [Grad Student] How could a company connect a front-end Microsoft .NET

application to a back-end CICS application? (Analysis) [Grad Student] Why are multitasking and multithreading important to online

transaction processing? (Analysis)

Lesson 11: z/OS HTTP and JEE Servers

Objectives Explain the functionality of the z/OS HTTP Server (Comprehension) Explain the purpose of a JEE server such as WebSphere Application Server

(Comprehension) Explain the reasons that an organization might choose to run WebSphere

Application Server under z/OS (Analysis) Explain how WAS can connect to the CICS, DB2, and IMS subsystems in z/OS

(Knowledge)

Readings Read Intro to the New Mainframe, chapters 13 and 14

Study Questions What are the three modes that the z/OS HTTP Server can run in?

(Knowledge) What is the purpose of the WAS plugin for the z/OS HTTP Server?

(Knowledge) What are at least three reasons for running WebSphere Application Server

under z/OS? (Comprehension) Name the WAS connectors for DB2, CICS, and IMS (Knowledge) How is the architecture of browsers accessing rich JEE applications on the

mainframe similar to the teleprocessing architecture of “dummy” terminals accessing 3270 apps such as TSO? How is it different? (Analysis)

[Grad Student] What is the Liberty Profile? How does this relate to WAS for z/OS? How does this relate to CICS? (Analysis)

Lesson 12: Mainframes and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)

Objectives Explain the concepts of messaging handing and queuing (Comprehension) Describe the asynchronous flow of messages (Comprehension) Explain the function of a queue manager (Comprehension) List three z/OS-related adapters for MQ (Knowledge) Define Service-Oriented Architecture (Knowledge) Define an Enterprise Service Bus and identify the dominant ESB on z/OS

(Knowledge)

Readings Read What on Earth is a Mainframe, pages 76-80 Read Intro to the New Mainframe, chapter 15 Watch the YouTube video “WAS Liberty Profile and MQTT on a Raspberry Pi

controlling a house 50 miles away” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH_SmgmyVUo

Read The Value of IBM System z and z/OS in Service-Oriented Architecture, chapters 1 and 2. Available at http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp4152.html

Study Questions Why would a company use messaging and queuing between heterogeneous

platforms instead of direct communication via TCP/IP or other standard transport protocols? (Comprehension)

What are the differences between WebSphere MQ and SOAP and RESTful interfaces? (Comprehension)

Why has WebSphere MQ become such a dominant middleware product? (Knowledge)

What are the advantages of a loosely coupled system such as Service-Oriented Architecture? (Comprehension)

What is the role of an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) in a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)? (Comprehension)

After Service-Oriented Architecture has been implemented, how do services writing in COBOL running CICS on a mainframe communicate with a .NET service running on Windows Server on x86? (Analysis)

[Grad Student] What do you think would be the biggest challenges implementing SOA on a mainframe? (Analysis)

Lesson 13: System Programming

Objectives Discuss the responsibilities of a z/OS system programmer (Comprehension) Explain system libraries, their use, and methods for managing their content

(Comprehension) List the different types of operator consoles (Knowledge) Describe the process of performing an IPL of a system (Comprehension) Explain the concept of system modifications (Comprehension) Explain how SMP/E can help you install and maintain products, and monitor

changes to products (Comprehension)

Readings Read What on Earth is a Mainframe, chapter 8 Read Intro to the New Mainframe, chapters 16 and 17

Study Questions What are the responsibilities of a systems programmer? What is this role

typically called outside of a mainframe context? (Knowledge) What is the function of the master scheduler subsystem? (Knowledge) What are the different types of operator consoles? Why are console

operations often automated? (Comprehension) What occurs during an IPL of z/OS? What sorts of tasks require a mainframe to be re-IPLed? (Knowledge) What are the three types of IPLs? (Knowledge) What purpose does SMP/E serve in a z/OS system? (Knowledge) What are the four types of SYSMODs? How are they different?

(Comprehension) [Grad Student] What is the importance of an orderly change management

process in a large systems enterprise? (Analysis)

Exercises Complete IIT Mainframe Lab Five

Lesson 14: z/OS Networking and Security

Objectives Explain the concept of a security manager and how it interfaces with the

operating system (Comprehension) Explain the concept of risk assessments and security policies

(Comprehension) Explain how security policies are implemented on a mainframe system

(Comprehension) Explain how the SNA networking model differs from the TCP/IP model

(Comprehension) Explain how TCP/IP is used to transport data between SNA applications

(Comprehension) Define Virtual Telecommunication Access Method (VTAM) (Knowledge)

Readings Read What on Earth is a Mainframe, pages 65-75 Read Intro to the New Mainframe, chapters 18 and 17

Study Questions Why is a security manager important for a mainframe system? What does it

actually do? (Comprehension) What different security managers are available for mainframes? Why would

someone pick one over the other? (Knowledge) What components are common between the SNA and TCP/IP network

layers? (Knowledge) Does a business need to rewrite SNA business applications to web-enable the

application? (Analysis) What is the difference between an SNA subarea network and APPN topology?

(Knowledge) [Grad Student] How does the concept of “security by obscurity” impact z/OS

applications? Is this a good or bad thing? (Analysis)

Exercises Complete IIT Mainframe Lab Five

Lesson 15: Final Exam

Complete and Submit the Final Exam to the instructor.