This article will take you inside VSAM and explain the environment of Virtual Storage Access Method. VSAM has been around since the 1970s and provides a way of storing large amounts of data for 3 types of access. Random Sequential Skip Sequential VSAM has a number of...
Implementing CICS Security with RACF can be a complex and demanding process. In order to do it to a level that creates a good balance can take time and requires good knowledge and understanding of both CICS and RACF. So I will explain the various steps in securing...
CICS is used on 80% of Mainframe Systems across the world. It is known as CICS Transaction Server. Application Programmers can write their programs using CICS Command Level interface. System programmers install CICS, and engage in Performance Tuning, and Debugging....
ASRA Abend Code In discussing aspects of CICS Command level Programming, have you ever wondered why a Program Interrupt (S0C4, S0C7) results in an ASRA Abend code? Firstly, it is important to remember that the middle 2 characters of every Abend code tells us who...
The IBM Enterprise COBOL for z/OS Migration Assistant (CMA) has been very popular among COBOL migration users. It is a step-by-step wizard and an interactive checklist that guide users through the information along their migration journey from COBOL 4 or earlier to...
A data breach is every company's waking nightmare. What is the cost of a data breach for your company?Ponemon Institute and IBM Security released the 2020 Cost of a Data Breach Report. Interviews were conducted with more than 3,200 professionals from 524 companies...
IBM open badges are making a difference by building your personal brand and advancing your career. With IBM open badges, you can easily and quickly share verified proof of your achievements both within IBM and externally. Where applicable, your IBM credentials are...
To many, z/OS is a legacy operating system where ‘old school’ technologies like CICS, COBOL and batch reign. Java, not so much. But tools and platforms usually found on Linux and Windows servers are now, not only present on z/OS, but mainstream. An example of this is...
There’s a reason why database administration or engineering remains a separate specialty. There are a large number of rabbit holes you can go down. I’m well aware that there’s probably 40% of Db2 LUW alone that I don’t know, even though I’ve spent 20 years working...
In my last post, I wrote an overview of running Db2 in containers. Today, I’d like to talk a bit about where we get Db2 containers and several common ways they are used. Catch my next post about a critical mistake I think IBM is making with containerization. Ways...
