What happens when an IMS logger fills up in production? How do you prepare for z/OS 3.2? Is Coupling Facility encryption worth the effort? And what does AI really mean for the future of the mainframe workforce? The latest issue of Cheryl Watson’s Tuning Letter tackles...
The Rise of UNIX and Portable Computing “OS/2” There. I said it. And I’ll say it again… but not right away so I don’t seem too fixated on something that inexplicably became an “also ran.” You know what it proved? A bunch of things, beginning with the fact that IBM is...
This article offers a practical USS tuning primer for new mainframers, developers moving into z/OS UNIX, and technical leaders who need to understand the basics before changing system settings.z/OS UNIX tuning can feel familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. USS...
Pasquale “PJ” Catalano IBM Z & LinuxONE Test ArchitectIBM Infrastructure, EST&IPoughkeepsie, New York, USAThis piece is part of the 2026 Planet Mainframe Influential Mainframers series.IBM Z & LinuxONE Test Architect and Master Inventor, Pasquale “PJ”...
In today’s always-on environments, changes to z/OS systems are happening constantly—often dynamically, and often under time pressure. While most organizations have formal change management processes in place, these processes are frequently reactive rather than...
Introduction Over the last few years there has been an ever-increasing number of widely publicised problems involving notable corporate organisations and the failings of their IT systems. Incidents of ransomware, hacking and phishing are becoming worryingly...
My career has, over the nearly four years of working in this field, predominantly been comprised of RACF Administration and Engineering, interspersed with other opportunities that I foolishly volunteered myself for. Such opportunities have included writing articles,...
IBM’s zPDT Decision Risks Mid-Tier ISVs and Mainframe Innovation I’ve been a passionate mainframe (System z) advocate for over 45 years and a staunch supporter of IBM and most of their decisions. However, when I received an email from IBM on 30 September 2025...
The Virtual Mainframe User Group on IMS recently gathered to talk about Z Xplore. IBM Z XPlore is the successor to Master the Mainframe, the competition-style program that introduced thousands of students to IBM Z. Where Master the Mainframe ran only a few months each...
Running open source on z/OS allows it to better integrate with off-platform solutions. It also provides user interfaces familiar to engineering and computer science students, who, we hope, will become the next generation of z/OS programmers and sysadmins. Of course,...
