BMC Mainframe: Parallel Sysplex Implementation, Customisation & Exploitation
The course is developed and delivered by © RSM Technology.
This in-depth, five-day course examines the issues involved in implementing the parallel sysplex environment. It covers hardware configuration issues, setting up the cloned z/OS environment, setting up the sysplex software environment, setting up sysplex data sharing, the system logger and the exploitation of z/OS components.
Extensive, real-world hands-on practical sessions occur throughout the course.
Major release:
BMC Mainframe Infrastructure Platform Training
Good for:
Users
Course Delivery:
Instructor-Led Training (ILT) | 40 hours
Course Modules
-
Implementation Stages
- Parallel sysplex history
- Why the fuss about continuous availability?
- Just a little bit further?
- Continuous availability of what?
- Workload balancing is essential
- So is sysplex data sharing?
- Configuration is critical
- Planning for a full availability sysplex
- Planning and configuring the base sysplex
- Stage 1 - systems management
- Single system image courtesy of XCF
- Do not bring all your old baggage with you!
- Cloned images
- Naming conventions
- IBM's example naming convention
- Collections and Groups
- For example: CICS APPLIDs and jobnames
- Using the SYSNAME in the convention
- Controlling the sysplex
- Operational issues
- The JESplex
- Advanced operations and automation
- Stage 2 - resource sharing
- Mixed environments
- GRS ring
- GRS star
- RACFplex
- SMSplex and HSMplex
- WLMplex and RMFplex
- TWSplex
- VTAMplex
- Batchplex and Pipeplex
- JESplex
- 'Tapeplex'
- The full availability sysplex
- Stage 2 - data sharing
- CACHE
- LIST
- LOCK
- Data sharing - a prerequisite for full availability
- Data sharing - capacity and growth
- Data sharing - the application environment
- Setting up data sharing
- IBM application data sharing exploiters
- Disaster recovery & data sharing applications
- Coupling Facility redundancy and capacity
- Data Sharing and workload balancing
- Workloads and workload balancing
- Enclave
- WLM application environments
- Workload classification
- Nested definitions
- Non-IBM work units
- Workload balancing in reality
- Transaction affinities
- Analysis tools
- Licensing issues
- So, I have continuous availability?
- Continuous availability?
- The network and continuous availability
- DASD and data availability
- Database availability
- Continuous availability - DB applications
- CICS (VSAM)
- IMS/DB
- Db2
- Continuous availability - DST
- Continuous availability - capacity
- 'N+1' capacity
- GDPS
- GDPS configuration
- It is a business decision!
-
Hardware Configuration
- Configuration considerations
- Our example system
- Example system, logical view
- Timer configurations
- Server Time Protocol
- Clock synchronization techniques
- CLOCKxx
- Switch concepts and terminology
- Chained switches
- CTCs
- CTCs: connections vs paths
- CTCS: connections and XCF paths
- XCF paths and Operations
- Example naming convention
- Setting it up - Switch and CHPIDs
- S Setting it up - primary and alternate paths
- Setting it up - XCF signaling example
- Advantages of the naming convention
- Example system, a more logical view
- Coupling Facility configuration options
- Coupling Facility configuration considerations
- Coupling Facility configuration comparison
- Coupling Facility performance
- CFCC: CFLEVEL and feature support
- Coupling Facility connection options
- Defining the Coupling Facility environment
- Coupling Facility Channels (CFCs)
- CFC connections
- CFCs: Paths vs Subchannels
- Create a CF LPAR
- Coupling Facility links
- Types of Coupling Facility links
- Create CF Links
- Connect LPARs together
- Defining CIB Links
- Defining CS5 and CL5 links
- XCF signaling via the Coupling Facility
- The consoles environment
- Console configurations
- Console names
- CONSOLnn
- Command Prefix Facility
- OSC/ICC
- DASD
- Migrating your current configuration files
-
Software Configuration
- A single image environment
- Cloned images
- Cloning support
- What can and cannot be shared?
- Configuration controls
- IPL and the LOAD parm
- LOADxx placement
- LOADxx
- Parmlib concatenation
- IEASYMnn
- Defaults
- System symbols, types and rules
- Static symbols
- Dynamic symbols
- Coding rules for these symbols
- IEASYSnn concatenation
- Specifying the system name (&SYSNAME)
- IEASYSnn
- SMFPRMnn
- Setting up dynamic dump datasets
- A cloned environment - example
- What if the systems are not clones?
- A not-quite-cloned environment - example
- Using multiple symbols instead of multiple IEASYSs
- Using multiple parmlibs
- Symbols, started jobs and MSTJCLnn
- Started jobs?
- MSTJCLnn
- The Symbolic Parmlib Parser
- SYSRES integrity
- What do we mean by SYSRES
- Multiple SYSRES volumes
- Dual master catalogs
- Continuous availability
- PROGnn and dynamic exits
- Dynamic exits
- PROGnn
- SMF and dynamic exits
- Multiple PROGnn members
- The CSVDYNEX macro
- Controlling the linklist via PROGnn
- Rules regarding the linklist
- Dynamic linklist reconfiguration
- SETPROG - dynamic linklist and LPA
- Manipulating the LPA via PROGnn
- Dynamic SSI services
- IEFSSNnn
- JES and the sysplex
-
Setting up the Sysplex
- Sysplex definitions
- Sysplex configuration parameters
- PLEXCFG=
- COUPLE00
- CLOCKnn
- Sysplex Timer setup with 'critical system'
- IPLing temporarily in ETRLOCAL
- Multiple timezones in a sysplex
- Local time, DST and DST changes
- Multiple time zones implications
- Sysplex Couple Data Sets
- Performance issues
- Migration issues
- Formatting the sysplex Couple Data Sets
- XCF groups
- Couple Data Sets, allocation, and contents
- What is in the Couple Data Sets?
- Switching Couple Data Sets between IPLs
- Other Couple Data Sets
- Couple Data Set placement
- Defining the XCF signaling paths
- Signaling path configurations
- Not all messages are equal!
- Transport classes
- Defining the transport classes
- Message buffers
- Defining the message buffers
- Path reconfiguration
- RMF: XCF usage by system
- RMF: XCF usage by member
- RMF: XCF path statistics
- GRS
- A GRS Star complex
- GRS: Ring or Star considerations
- Setting up a GRS ring
- Miscellaneous parmlib changes
- IBM's Parallel Sysplex
- Configuration Assistant
-
Coupling Facility Management
- HCD: defining the CF and CFCs
- CFCs: Paths vs Subchannels
- Subchannels
- SYNCH vs ASYNCH CF requests
- SMSG - SYNCH or ASYNCH?
- 'Changed' CF requests
- CFRM introduction
- CFRM Policy in a CFRM Couple Data Set
- Formatting the CFRM Couple Data Sets
- Creating a CFRM Policy
- Restricting access to IXCMIAPU
- Coupling Facilities
- IXCMIAPU - defining the Coupling Facilities
- Structure considerations
- Structure considerations - structure rebuild
- Different rebuild processes
- User-managed structure rebuild
- 'User-Managed'
- User-managed structure rebuild threshold
- User-Managed Duplex rebuild
- Limitations, rules, etc.
- System-Managed rebuild process
- Structure duplexing
- IXCMIAPU - defining the structures
- Allocating structures - CFRM vs IXLCONN
- IBM product structures
- IBM's CF Structure Sizer Tool
- Activating the Coupling Facility environment
- Maintaining CFRM Policy status
- RMF: CF usage - structure summary
- CF activity - CF Usage Summary - Structure
- RMF: CF usage - storage & processor summaries
- RMF: CF Structure Activity - list structures
- RMF: CF Structure Activity - lock structures
- RMF: CF Structure Activity - cache structures
- RMF: CF - Subchannel Activity
-
The System Logger
- Introduction
- Who is using it?
- Coupling Facility logstreams
- Logstreams and list structures
- DASD-only logstreams
- System Logger environment
- Duplexing Coupling Facility logstreams
- Duplexing DASD-only logstreams
- Offloading logstream data to disk
- Log Data Sets
- Managing logstream data
- LOGR Policy in a LOGR Couple Data Set
- LOGR Couple Data Sets - IXCL1DSU
- LOGR policy concepts
- LOGR policy parameters for a Coupling Facility logstream
- LOGR policy parameters for a DASD-only logstream
- Activating and updating the LOGR policy
- System Logger services
- Accessing logstream data
- Using the LOGR subsystem
- Operations log
- D C,HC
- SDSF main panel
- SDSF OPERLOG or SDSF SYSLOG
- CFRM Policy definitions
- LOGR Policy definitions
- D XCF,STR,STRNAME=OPERLOG
- Introduction to LOGREC
- DLOGREC
- LOGREC CFRM Policy definitions
- LOGR Policy definitions
- D XCF,STR,STRNAME=LOGREC
- System- managed duplexing
- System-managed duplexing LOGR Policy
- Commands to display the System Logger
-
Exploitation
- JES2 in a parallel sysplex
- JES2 MAS statements
- JES2 XCF
- JES2 checkpoint reconfiguration
- JES2 CKPTDEF statement
- JES2 structure size
- CFRM Policy definitions
- JES2 structure - error messages
- JES2 checkpoint reconfiguration dialog
- D XCF,STR,STRNAME=JES2CKPT
- GRS introduction
- GRS terminology
- GRS RNLs - no wild cards
- GRS RNLs - wild cards
- GRS Ring
- GRS Star
- GRS Star processing
- Sysplex Couple Data Set changes
- GRS structure size
- GRS structure CFRM Policy
- Parmlib changes
- D GRS
- D XCF,STR,STRNAME=ISGLOCK
- RACF in a basic sysplex
- RACF in a parallel sysplex
- RACF sysplex communication & datasharing
- RACF communication
- RACF data sharing
- RACF data sharing problems
- The four sysplex modes
- The RACF database name table
- Coupling Facility structures
- Defining Coupling Facility structures
- D XCF,STR,STRNAME=IRRXCF00_P001
- Enhanced Catalog Sharing
- Catalog sharing process
- Implementing ECS
- Catalog definitions using IDCAMS
- ECS structure - CFRM Policy
- D XCF,STR,STRNAME=SYSIGGCAS_ECS
- The MODIFY CATALOG commands
- F CATALOG,ECSHR(STATUS)
- VTAM generic resources
-
VIPAs and Sysplex
- VIPAs: Static VIPA, Dynamic VIPA
- Virtual IP addressing - a reminder
- Defining VIPA devices
- Specifying the source IP address
- Syntax for INTERFACE -- VIRTUAL interfaces statement
- Examples of the INTERFACE statement for VIPA
- IP solutions in a sysplex
- Communication paths in a sysplex
- DynamicXCF transport choices
- IUTSAMEH
- XCF Groups and their usage
- Display XCF groups
- DYNAMICXCF
- DYNAMICXCF & HiperSockets
- Dynamic VIPA - introduction
- Dynamic VIPA takeover
- Stack-managed DVIPA
- Non- disruptive dynamic VIPA takeback
- Application-specific DVIPA
- IOCTL or Command-Activated DVIPA
- Dynamic VIPA statements
- MODDVIPA (EZBXFDVP) utility
- Dynamic VIPA usage
- When does the DVIPA move?
- Load balancing and availability
- Sysplex Distributor
- How the Sysplex Distributor works
- Backup capability
- Recovery
- The role of dynamic routing with Sysplex Distributor
- Sysplex Distributor and policy
- Sysplex Distributor and MNLB
- Connection Optimizing DNS
- Information flow overview
- DNS weights
- DNS/WLM registration
- Starting the DNS serve
- Distributed VIPA - introduction
- Distributed VIPA statements
- Single system IP perspective of the sysplex
- TCPSTACKSOURCEVIPA/SYSPLEXPORTS
- CFRM policy example