IMS/DB & IMS/TM for Technical Support Training in Germany

• describe the role of the Systems Administrator, and the terms, activities, and functions specific to the role
• describe the process of a Control Blocks generation, and implementation via Online Change
• follow the path of a Transaction through an Online IMS system identifying supporting buffer pools, datasets, and parameter definitions
• explain the internal functions for effective selection of system definition and tuning options
• identify problem areas and assist in resolution efforts with appropriate functional specialists
• maximize IMS performance to meet critical application requirements within the scope of available resources.

Database Management Systems (DBMS); IMS configurations: batch and online; System Regions; Dependent Regions; The Control Region (CTL); The DLI Separate Address Space (DLISAS); The Database Recovery Control Region (DBRC); The IMS Resource Lock Manager (IRLM); The Message Processing Region (MPR); The Batch Message Processing Region (BMP); The IMS Fast Path region (IFP); IMS configurations - DB/DC, DBCTL or DCCTL; IMS configurations: CICS, DB2, Function Shipping, Data Sharing; Shared queues; IMS and the z/OS environment; IMS and the network: VTAM, OTMA, Internet; Extended Terminal Option; IMS products.

The System Administrator; Useful skills; Tasks; keep it running; Configuration updates; Resources; Machine readable; Other players; IMS System Programmer; MVS Systems Programmer; VTAM System Programmer; DBAs; Security System Programmers; Security Administrators; Storage Management Administrator; Applications Programmer.

Message arrival; Arrival processing - the players; DC communications ITASK; Communications analyzer; Input message queuing; Queue buffers & disk queue datasets; Functional parallelism; DRRN format; Message arrival and queuing summary; Operational datasets; Communications output to queue; Output queuing; Queue mechanism; Intermediate and final message queuing; Message delivery: IMS spool line, JES SPOOL API; Message purge.

IMS message scheduling & processing; Driving factor for MPR environment; Transaction-related scheduling attributes; Transaction-related advanced scheduling attributes; Transaction-related scheduling attribute limits (continued); Region scheduling attributes; Quick reschedule; Pseudo wait-for-input; Ruling factors; Other MPR scheduling factors; BMP scheduling and processing; Fast path regions; Scheduling & processing summary.

Database macro function; Application definition macro function; PSB handling; Dynamic PSB option; DBD handling; VTAM control blocks.

JCL ... JCL ... JCL; IMS control region JCL; DL/I separate address space JCL; DBRC JCL; IMS reader JCL; Message processing region JCL; IMS log archiver JCL; Spool print JCL; IRLM JCL; Miscellaneous JCL procs.

Operational datasets; ACBLIB; FMTLIB; MODBLKS; MODSTAT; DFSMDA.

How IMS uses PROCLIB; DBRC and DLISAS; MSDB specification; Use of Disabled Reference; Page fixing areas of storage; Activating XRF; Pre-initialization routines; Module pre-load list; Control region execution parameters; Buffer definitions; Virtual fetch; OSAM specifications; VSAM specifications; Sequential buffering; Logging datasets; Trace and serviceability options; LU 6.2 device descriptors.

Control region START command; DLISAS and DBRC startup; True batch; On-call functions; Starting IMS; The workers; Shutting down IMS components; Shutting down IMS.

IMS commands entry methods; IMS command format; Altering IMS parameters; TCO overview; Automated Operator Program (Type 1); CICS-DBCTL; Automated Operator Program (Type 2); Multiple IMSs (IMSPLEX); Operations Manager; OM REXX SPOC API; Type 2 commands.

Concepts; Logging entities; OLDS - Online Log Data Set; OLDS recording characteristics; WADS - Write Ahead Data Set; SLDS & RLDS; Restart Data Set; RECON datasets; Record layout; Logical/physical logging; Functions; Reading the log records; FP logging in a single IMS system.

DBRC overview; RECON initialization and structure; RECON records; Maintaining the RECONs; Migrating RECONs to new release; Skeletal JCL; Log maintenance JCL; Entering commands online; Batch command support; Database registration; RECON maintenance.

Storage pools; Fixed storage pools; Storage manager pools; Pool structure; Buffer pool definitions; DFSSPMxx PROCLIB member; Execute parameter changes; Pool allocation; Storage usage; Storage manager trace facility; /DISPLAY POOL command; System checkpoint statistics; Log record contents; Migration consideration - page fixing; Tuning.

Planning for IMS; System Modification Program Extended (SMP/E); IMS distribution libraries; IMS target libraries; IVP jobs & tasks; Installation SYSGEN; The system generation process; Implementation steps: installation, customisation; Online change; Online change commands; Modifying Resource Definitions; Major components of DRD; Modifying MODBLKS resources without DRD; Modifying MODBLKS resources with DRD; Environment for DRD.

System integration; IMS libraries; Updating z/OS for IMS; z/OS modules & tables.

VTAM considerations; General; Defining VTAM to IMS; Defining IMS to VTAM; Multiple System Coupling (MSC); Intersystem Communication (ISC); ISC supports.

Base system definition; Macro coding requirements; The system definition file; System Configuration; Application and Database; Data Communications; The IMS parameter pyramids; Application parameters; SYSTEM parameters.

System configuration macros; The IMSCTRL macro; The BUFPOOLS macro; The COMM macro; The FPCTRL macro; The IMSCTF macro; The MSGQUEUE macro; The security macro; The IMSGEN macro.

Application and database macros; The database macro; The APPLCTN macro; The RTCODE macro; The TRANSACT macro.

Data communications macros; The NAME macro; MSC definitions; The MSPLINK macro; The MSLINK macro; The MSNAME macro; The NAME macro - remote terminals; MSC coding example; VTAM terminal definitions; The TYPE macro; The terminal macro - VTAM; VTAM LU 6 definitions; VTAM LU 6.1 example.

Why use exits?; Basic coding requirements; How exits are invoked; Commonly used exits.

External Subsystem Attach Facility (ESAF); External Subsystem Attachment Package (ESAP); ESAP resources; External Subsystem Module Table (ESMT); Resource Translation Table (RTT); Basic ESAP processing; Subsystem connections; External subsystem considerations; The IMS attachment; Installing the IMS attachment; Make the DB2 libraries available to IMS; IMS subsystem member; Resource Translation Table (RTT); IMS/DB2 batch; IMS dependent region; associated subsystems & functions: WebSphere MQ, CICS, ODBA, IMS Connect.

IMS DBCTL and CICS; CICS database management environments; Why CICS - DBCTL?; CICS interface components; CICS - DL/I requests; Task Control Block structure; Two-phase commit processing; Commit processing completion; Disconnect from DBCTL; Open Data Base Access; DBA security; Examples: DB2 stored procedures and MQ.

IMS security; Protected resources; Overview of IMS secured interfaces; System related resources; Terminal related resources; Application related resources; IMS's RACF Resource Classes; Sysgen SECURITY macro; Startup security options; IMS security exit routines; The RACF database; RACF commands; A day in the life...How IMS talks to SAF; When IMS starts; When a user signs on to IMS; When a user accesses a resource; When a user signs off; When IMS terminates.

Overview; DB/DC; ESTAE; Corollary address spaces; MVS failures; Control region failures; System DS failures; Log errors; Dependent region failures; Application program failures; Region controller failure; Data base failures; Write errors; Read errors; IRLM failures; IRLM restart; Database problems; Scheduling failures; Operational dataset problems; DB2; DBCTL/CCTL.

Define service levels; Establish performance objectives; Establish transaction profiles; Develop a monitoring strategy; Establish monitoring techniques; Continuous monitoring; Monitoring for performance tuning; Establish base profiles; Guideline numbers.

Using the IMS monitor; Starting the IMS monitor; Run profile report; Reports report; Region summary report; Region occupancy report; Region IWAIT report; Program elapsed time; Program I/O report; Program summary report; Message format buffer pool report; Message queue pool report; Data base buffer pool report; VSAM buffer pool report.

Address space dispatching priorities; Library and DASD allocations; Fixing buffer pools; MFS general tuning considerations; MPR loading programs; Overview of VLF/LLA; External trace facility; Trace datasets; External trace activation.

Parallel sysplex; Sysplex timer; Coupling Facility; Cross-System Extended Services (XES); Hardware components; Cross-System Coupling Facility (XCF); CF structures; Parallel sysplex services; Comprehensive view of IMS; Strategic IMS architecture; Common Service Layer (CSL); Operations Manager; Resource Manager.

Data sharing: then and now; Block Level Data Sharing (BLDS); Required for data sharing; BLDS setup (IMS); BLDS setup (IRLM); BLDS setup (CFRM policy); Benefits of BLDS.

Shared databases; Shared queues; Common Queue Server (CQS); Shared queue setup (IMS); Shared queue setup (CQS); Shared queues setup (sample CQS job); Shared queues setup (CQS CHKPT DS); Shared queues setup (SRDS); Shared queues setup (CFRM policy); Shared queues setup (logger policy).

Overview; Benefits; Static terminal definition; Dynamic (ETO) definition; Implementation; Exits in support of ETO; Dead letter queue; Session establishment; Sign-on processing; Sign-on information sources; AUTOLOGON; AUTOLOGON processing; ETO compatibility options.

IMS and APPC; APPC VTAM definitions; APPC parm member APPCPMxx; LU descriptor definition (DFS62DTx); APPC uses; APPC commands; IMS and OTMA; OTMA definitions; OTMA commands.