New and changed function in CICS Transaction Server for OS/390 Release 3

The following additions and changes have been made to the functions of the CICSPlex® SM component of CICS® Transaction Server for OS/390 Release 3.

Dynamic routing

CICS Transaction Server for OS/390 Release 3 introduces extensions to the CICSPlex SM dynamic routing program (called the dynamic transaction routing program in previous releases). In addition to dynamic routing of transactions initiated at a terminal, you can now dynamically route:

These new functions allow you to integrate workload management for requests from all these sources and thereby improve performance and workload throughput. You specify which transactions and programs may be dynamically routed, and the CICS regions in which they may be run.

The new dynamic functions are supported by:

An overview of dynamic routing is given in What is workload management?. Full details are in given in CICSPlex System Manager Managing Workloads.

CICS business transaction services

CICS business transaction services (BTS) extends the CICS API and provides support services that make it easier to model complex business transactions. Using BTS, each action that makes up the business transaction is implemented as one or more CICS transactions, in the traditional manner. However, a top-level program is used to control the overall progress of the business transaction. The top-level program manages the inter-relationship, ordering parallel execution, commit scope, recovery, and restart of the actions that make up the business transaction. For full details about BTS, see CICS Business Transaction Services.

BTS processes are CICSplex-enabled, and take full advantage of CICSPlex SM’s workload separation and workload balancing functions. The CICS system group within a CICSplex, across which related BTS processes and activities may run, is known as a BTS-set. When an activity is attached, WLM routes the activity to the most appropriate region in the CICSplex. You can separate a BTS workload based on process-type. Workload management and the CICS Transaction Affinities Utility understand affinities between BTS processes and activities.

CICSPlex SM support for BTS is provided by:

Temporary storage queue models

CICS Transaction Server for OS/390 Release 3 introduces Resource Definition Online (RDO) support for the Temporary Storage Table (TST). For CICSPlex SM, support for this function is provided by:

The existing temporary storage operations views, TSQ, TSQS, TSQGBL, and TSQGBLS, remain unchanged. However, you can now delete temporary storage queues from the TSQ, TSQSHR and TSQNAME views by entering the command DEL. A new TSQ Deletion Panel asks you to confirm the deletion.

Long temporary storage queue names

Users have found it difficult to generate temporary storage queue names that are unique. Typically, queue names were generated from the transaction id and the terminal id but unique names could be guaranteed only where the terminal id was unique and the transaction required one queue only. Many users like to have the user id as part of the queue name, so that the queue data is tied to the user rather than the terminal, but then there is no room for the transaction id which is required if properties, for example, recoverability and security, are to be associated with the queue via the temporary storage table (TST).

To provide greater flexibility, the length of temporary storage queue names has been increased to a maximum of 16 characters. For example, users can generate queue names of the form:

    XXXXaUUUUUUUU

where:

XXXX
is the transaction id.
a
is a suffix allowing the transaction or user to have more than one queue.
UUUUUUUU
is the user id.

The TST or temporary storage model prefix can then be XXXX or XXXXa.

For CICSPlex SM, support for this function is provided by:

Resource Recovery Services (RRS)

CICS Transaction Server for OS/390® Release 3 allows the use of Recoverable Resources Management Services (RRMS) facilities in an MVS™ image. CICSPlex SM supports this function through:

Sysplex enqueue models

CICS Transaction Server for OS/390 Release 3 extends the CICS application programming interface to serialize resources across a set of CICS systems. The set of CICS systems defined as forming the resource set is called the enqueue scope. CICSPlex SM supports this function through:

Support of IIOP inbound to Java applications

CICSPlex SM supports IIOP inbound to Java™ applications through:

Coupling facility data tables

CICS Transaction Server for OS/390 Release 3 introduces support for coupling facility data tables. Part of this function is the implementation of new attributes on the FILE resource definition to specify a coupling facility data table pool to be associated with the file. In support of this function, CICSPlex SM support of the file inquiry facility is extended by:

Support for CICS Web enhancements

CICS Transaction Server for OS/390 Release 3 introduces various enhancements to the CICS Web support. Part of this function is the introduction of new CICS RDO resource definitions, HTMLTEMPLATE and TCPIPSERVICE. CICSPlex SM supports this function by:

Java Virtual Machine

CICS Transaction Server for OS/390 Release 3 provides the support required to run a Java transaction under the control of an OS/390 Java Virtual Machine (JVM). CICSPlex SM supports this function by:

Open Transaction Environment

CICS Transaction Server for OS/390 Release 3 introduces an enhancement to the internal architecture of CICS to enable specified tasks to run under their own task control block. In support of this function, CICSPlex SM extends its inquiry function for the following resource types:

FEPI

CICS Transaction Server for OS/390 Release 3 introduces changes to the way in which the CICS/ESA Front End Programming Interface (FEPI) is managed using CICSPlex SM. The changes are:

Support for Tivoli Global Enterprise Manager

CICS Transaction Server for OS/390 Release 3 provides support for Tivoli® Global Enterprise Manager (Tivoli GEM). For users of the Tivoli GEM client, the CICSPlex SM Instrumentation feature enables users to view status information for the CMAS environment and the MAS environment of the CICSplex.

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