z/OS Environment: Foundations & Facilities

For a fast-track start to a career in z/OS systems programming and administration, this is the ideal course. The course provides solid knowledge of z/OS foundations and facilities that make up the z/OS technical environment. The significant system services and facilities are all explained and demonstrated. These include the flow of a job through the system, JES, UNIX System Services, the z/OS Communications Server, z/OS storage management and z/OS system security.

Throughout the course there are practical, hands-on sessions that give students the opportunity to actually experience the use of the tools and techniques.

This course is available for exclusive, one-company presentations either on-site at your location or live over the Internet, via RSM's Virtual Classroom Environment service.

What you will learn

On successful completion of this course you will be able to:

build a high-level installation and configuration plan for a z/OS environment.
explain the system initialization process in z/OS
describe address spaces, data spaces and hyperspaces
explain paging and swapping
define z/OS tasks
describe the flow of a job
understand the concepts of JES
explain the I/O process
describe the Workload Manager and its functions
explain z/OS recovery
list the various problem determination tools
explain the concepts of z/OS storage management
describe the concepts and facilities of UNIX System Services
understand mainframe networking principles
describe the functions and principles of RACF

Who Should Attend

Technical personnel who are new to the z/OS environment.

Prerequisites

Basic familarity with the IBM mainframe computing environment, including the use of TSO and JCL.

Duration

5 days

Fee (per attendee)

£2950 (ex VAT)

This includes free online 24/7 access to course notes.

Hard copy course notes are available on request from rsmshop@rsm.co.uk

at £50.00 plus carriage per set.

Course Code

ZCFF

Stage 1 - z/OS Overview

What hardware can do; Software responsibilities; z/OS - an operating system; z/OS components; z/OS - always in storage; Getting real work out of it; Initiators; The application program; Program Execution Environments; Running 'real' programs; Job Management; Resource Control; Allocation; Task Management; Program Management; Supervisor Services; Storage Management; I/O processing; Access Methods; IOS drivers; I/O Supervisor (IOS); I/O processing; Workload Manager (WLM); Recovery Termination Manager (RTM); Abnormal termination - application; Sysplex; Using sysplex; z/OS components that exploit sysplex; Other components that use sysplex; Parallel sysplex; Exploiting the parallel sysplex.

Stage 2 - Storage Management: Virtual Storage Concepts

Loading programs; real storage problems; DAT; segments & pages; page stealing & UIC; page faults; demand paging; dispatching address spaces; swapping & paging.

Stage 2 - z/OS Storage Management

Loading programs; real storage problems; DAT; segments & pages; page stealing & UIC; page faults; demand paging; dispatching address spaces; swapping & paging.

Stage 3 - Managing Work: Program Manager

The search sequence used by the program manager when attempting to load a module; performance and load module integrity issues; using LOAD; LINK; XCTL; Linkage Stack; control blocks; JOBLIB/STEPLIB.

Stage 3 - Managing Work: Dispatcher

nits of work- SRBs & TCBs; dispatching sequence; address space structure; ASCB/ASXB contents; TCB contents.

Stage 3 - Managing Work: Inter Address Space Communication

Hiperspaces; data spaces; cross memory services; service request blocks (SRBs); the cross-system coupling facility (XCF).

Stage 3 - Managing Work: SVC Processing

Installing SVC routines in an MVS system; SVC types; SVC FLIH; status saving; SVC coding conventions; SVCUPDTE facility.

Stage 3 - Managing Work: Resource Control

Resource serialization and how it is accomplished through the use of ENQ/DEQ sequences; shared DASD; GRS & Sysplex; locking; lock categories; SETLOCK, SPIN & SUSPEND; lock manager processing.

Stage 3 - Managing Work: Workload Manager

WLM's purpose; WLM's tools; compatibility mode; dispatching priorities; storage isolation; logical swapping; user & system think times; goal mode implications; classification rules; response time goals; velocity goals; discretionary goals.

Stage 3 - Managing Work: USS Features & Services

UNIX internals overview; The Kernel: LOADxx and the IPL process: Load Unit Address,The LOAD parameter - ddddxxsn,The LOADxx member; The UNIX support in z/OS; Displaying OMVS processes; The UNIX support in z/OS; USS z/OS packaging; z/OS and USS comparative functions; Terminal and workstation support; Special TSO/E commands; Controlling z/OS UNIX - BPXPRMxx parmlib member; Displaying OMVS information; Displaying OMVS information; ulimit - a (shell command); New ISPF panels; The Shell; USS functions; Processes and fork(); fork() and shared storage; spawn() function; Inter-Process Communications functions; Memory mapped files; Threads; Daemon processes; The UNIX file system; The system files - /etc, /dev, /bin and others; Display File systems; Practical exercise.

Stage 4 - Input/Output Processing: HCD

I/O configuration principles; Logical Channel Subsystems; I/O configuration practicalities; I/O configuration addressing; Commands to display the status of channels and devices; HCD definition process; Objects managed by HCD; LOAD member of PARMLIB; IODF processing at IPL; IPL & NIP LOAD messages.

Stage 4 - Input/Output Processing: I/O Processing

Why I/O processing?; what is I/O?; MVS support for I/O processing software; MVS and I/O processing; Application I/O; the application program; the DD statement; going to the Access Method; the Access Method; getting the channel program started; EXCP - an IOS Driver; IOS 'Front End'; actually starting the I/O; the I/O engine at work; the Channel Sub-System (CSS); Hardware System Area (HSA); "The I/O Farm"; the I/O Interrupt; IOS Post processing; back to the Access Method; the I/O process from A to Z; starting the I/O; going back from starting the I/O; I/O complete; caching concepts; Read Hit; Write commands; Write Hit; Read Miss; Write Miss; cache modes; review questions - Input/Output processing.

Stage 5 - Data Management: VSAM Overview

MVS and I/O processing; The access methods; The IOS Drivers; The I/O Supervisor (IOS); The Back-End process; MVS access methods; Queued Sequential Access Method; Basic Direct Access Method; Basic Partitioned Access Method; PDSE processing; And now to VSAM; VSAM features; Entry Sequenced Data Set (ESDS); Key Sequenced Data Set (KSDS); Relative Record Data Set (RRDS); Catalog concepts; ICF catalogs and VTOCS; ICF catalogs (BCS); VSAM Volume Data Set (VVDS); Cluster Catalog (BCS) entries; Alternate indexes and paths; VSAM overview - exercises.

Stage 5 - Data Management: Focus on Storage Management

What is storage management?; Space management roles; DFSMS products; DFSMS Optimizer; NaviQuest feature; advantages of an SMS environment; availability management; performance management.

Stage 6 - Job Management: Job Flow in z/OS

Introduction; Once upon a time: System 360 architecture, Real storage, CPU, I/O: S/370 architecture: Main storage, CPU, I/O, DAS; S/370 XA: Main storage + Expanded Storage, CPU, I/O: ESA/370; ESA/390; z/Architecture; Operating systems; A sample JOB; The role of MVS; MVS components; Job flow overview; Initialization; Creating a user address space; The Job Entry Subsystem; The initiator; Resource control; Program Manager; SFWJOB executed; Interrupts; Interrupt handlers and status saving; The dispatcher; Requesting I/O; Synchronizing I/O requests; The Recovery Termination Manager; The initiator/terminator; The Workload Manager; Job flow review.

Stage 7 - IPL and System Management: System Initialisation

Sysgen and IPL processes; the function of the LOAD parameter and the LOADxx member of PARMLIB; concepts of authorised programs; the subsystem interface.

Stage 8 - Termination and Recovery Analysis: Recovery Termination Manager

Recovery routines available to user programs and the Recovery Termination Manager; RMS; program termination types; ESPIE; ESTAE; FRR routines.

Stage 8 - Termination and Recovery Analysis: Introduction to SMP/E

What is 'System Modification Program Extended'?; What makes a product?; SMP/E elements; How products are packaged; System modifications; SMP/E database; Receiving a SYSMOD; Applying, accepting and restoring a SYSMOD; System Generation; Consolidated Software Inventory; CSI configuration option; Invoking SMP/E.

Stage 9 - Installing and Configuring: Installing Products & Service

Reporting problems to the vendor; Preparing for installation; Installing maintenanc; Product delivery mechanisms used by IBM; CustomPac service; The Recommended Service Upgrade; ShopzSeries; PSP buckets; HOLD FIXCAT; Fix Categories; Receiving FIXCAT HOLDs; APPLY / ACCEPT FIXCAT operand; REPORT MISSINGFIX command.

Stage 10: z/OS Communications Server Introduction

Mainframe networks; SNA introduction; TCP/IP introduction.

Stage 11 - Security: Introduction to RACF

What is RACF?; Why do we need security?; Security in the 'old days'; Security these days; What security do we need?; Where are the dangers?; How can RACF help?; RACF profiles; How RACF operates; The RACF database; Multiple data set database; Resource classes.

Stage 11 - Security: Cryptography, SSL, Ciphers & Digital Certificates

Cryptography in Internet applications; Public key cryptography overview; What is a digital certificate?; Public key & certificate; Uses for certificates in applications; Secure Sockets Layer (SSL); Secret key cryptography; Ciphers used in secret key cryptography; Notes on secret key ciphers; Public key cryptography; Public key ciphers; Message integrity; Message digest algorithms; Message Authentication Codes; Using the ciphers; Ciphers; SSL protocol; How SSL works; SSL Session ID; The SSL layer; System SSL; System SSL on z/OS; Why TLS; Hardware cryptography on System Z; Crypto support in z/OS; SSL and Crypto devices; Three types of encryption keys; Clear Key processing; Secure Key processing; Master Keys and Key Data Sets; Protected Key/Wrapping Key.