Emphasis is placed on enhancing skills in problem resolution through analysis of more complex system-provided dumps.

• Identifying HMC problems and recovery, including IPL problems during system and sysplex activation
• Recovery with and without SFM policies
• Couple data set failures
• CF and CF structure failures

Labs are provided to submit jobs to format CDS, define policies, start and verify that they are working as desired, identify any policy change pending conditions and correct as needed. Labs take students through the required steps to implement ECS, GRS star, JES checkpoint, Operlog, Logrec, and SM duplexing on the CF. Students will also identify potential problems during the implementation process, identify various CDS and other sysplex related problems. Students will remove a CF from the sysplex as in the case of required maintenance to a CF; add a new CF to the sysplex and perform system and CF failure and recovery scenarios.

In the hands-on exercises, you begin with your own z/OS HTTP Server in a TCP/IP environment. Throughout the exercises, you make changes to the configuration to implement authentication by using RACF, SSL and the use of digital certificates. Use is made of facilities such as RACDCERT to manage digital certificates, PKI Services and RACF auto registration. You will also implement different scenarios to implement ssl security for a typical tcpip application; FTP: SSL, TLS, server authentication, client certificates and AT-TLS. These exercises reinforce the concepts and technologies being covered in the lectures.

Learn how to analyze Resource Monitoring Facility (RMF) reports and implement service definitions using the WLM Interactive System Productivity Facility (ISPF) application. The course uses z/OS hands-on lab exercises to reinforce the concepts and techniques discussed in lecture.

Hands-on labs

This course includes hands-on lab exercises. Each student team, working on their own z/OS system, will configure RMF, analyze RMF reports to find bottlenecks, and utilize the WLM dialogs to create goals and classification rules in a service definition that manages a supplied z/OS workload.

This includes the use of ISPF/PDF dialogs, TSO/E commands, JCL, UNIX System Services shell, and BookManager.

The course consists of six units and 12 hands-on lab exercises.

This course is designed to give new hire IT professionals an introduction into the IBM Z environment. The IBM mainframe servers, operating systems and software products will be discussed. Through lecture and hands-on labs, this course will provide the basic skill set to jump start productivity for technical professionals who are new to the mainframe environment. The skills taught in this course can be applied across multiple mainframe job roles. This course consists of 16 lecture units and 11 lab exercises.

• z/OS Container Extensions (zCX), a new entitled capability of z/OS 2.4, ushers in a new era ofhybrid computing supporting running Linux applications directly on z/OS. 

• IBM® z/OS® Container Extensions (IBM zCX) makes it possible to run Linux on IBM Z®applications that are packaged as Docker container images on z/OS. Application developers candevelop and data centers can operate popular open source packages, Linux applications, IBMsoftware, and third-party software together with z/OS applications and data. 

This course addresses the following topics:

• Mainframes and distributed server comparisons: Why so many servers?
• Mainframe directions: Past, current, and future
• Mainframes: System z introduction and relative performance comparisons
• IBM System z hardware design: Frames, CEC cage, books, models, and MSUs
• I/O infrastructure and processor usage: zEC12 to z10 comparisons
• System z Capacity on Demand
• Physical/Logical partitioning, server initialization, and CHPIDs
• I/O configuration and HCD overview
• MVS to z/OS software overview
• z/OS Parallel Sysplex
• z/OS enhancements on the zPlatform
• z/Architecture overview and virtual addressing concepts
• System concepts: The big picture
• HMC introduction, groups, and activation profiles
• Determining object status and error conditions
• Activation and operating system interface

This course is designed to provide an understanding of today’s complex system mainframe environment on the IBM z Systems. It is mainly targeted for operators, technical support, system programmers, and any others who need to keep current in this mainframe environment. Through lecture you learn how the hardware and operating systems interact.

Learn about Information Management System (IMS) data sharing capabilities. Examine how multiple IMS systems on different processors can access and update the same databases with complete integrity.

Explore the IMS database features that affect performance such as data set considerations and buffers for VSAM and OSAM. You will also practice a method for estimating performance before implementation. Plus, you will reinforce the skills you have learned with seven machine labs.

IACET Continuing Education Units: 4.0

Explore the IMS database features that affect performance, such as data set considerations and buffers for Virtual Storage Access Method (VSAM) and Overflow Sequential Access Method (OSAM). Also, practice a method for estimating performance before implementation. Plus, reinforce the skills you have learned with seven machine labs.

There is something in this course for all Information Technology (IT) professionals, including applications, systems, and database practitioners. The instructor assumes that you already have an understanding of IMS Database / Transaction Manager (DB/TM) fundamentals and that the information presented here builds upon that knowledge.

• Database Control (DBCTL)
• Database Coordinator Controller (DCCTL)
• Database/Data Communications (DB/DC)
• DB/DC with Extended Recovery Facility (XRF)

This course of 5 sessions, 4 hours each day, is designed to teach you about a key availability and capacity enhancement to Information Management System (IMS) - the Shared Queues facility, which offers the ability to share full function message queues within a parallel sysplex environment. Also, learn about sharing Fast Path Expedited Message Handler (EMH) queues within a parallel sysplex environment.

This course of 3 sessions, 8 hours each day, is designed to present a description of the activities required to install, tailor, maintain, and support an IMS DB/TM system. This course describes aspects of the IMS architecture and internal structure that support database and transaction management.

Organizations are compelled to find effective and cost-efficient data security solutions.

Encryption is one of the technologies that enables organizations to reduce the cost, impact and even likelihood of a breach. Encrypting data can help companies meet the stringent mandates of the GDPR, HIPAA and other mandates.

IBM z15 has been designed for pervasive encryption, enabling organizations to encrypt 100% of an organization’s IBM Z critical business data in-flight and at-rest, with no application changes and no impact to SLAs. Encrypting only the data required to meet compliance mandates should be considered a minimum threshold, not a best practice. IBM z15 makes pervasive encryption the new standard in data protection and the foundation of a larger data security and protection strategy.

z/OS is designed to provide new policy-based encryption options that take full advantage of the improvements in the z15 platform. These new capabilities include:

Data set encryption, which is one aspect of pervasive encryption, provides enhanced data protection for many z/OS data sets gives users the ability to encrypt data without needing to make changes to applications to embed encryption APIs within applications.

New z/OS policy controls which make it possible to use pervasive encryption to protect user data and simplify the task of compliance for many z/OS data sets, zFS file systems, and Coupling Facility structures.

Pervasive encryption for IBM Z® is a consumable approach to enable extensive encryption of data in-flight and at-rest to substantially simplify encryption and reduce costs associated with protecting data.

In this course you will learn how to implement Pervasive Encryption in your z/OS installation. The course explores in detail, the various technologies that are involved in z System and z/OS Cryptographic Services, ICSF, RACF and DFSMS access method Services.

In the hands-on exercises, you begin with the setup of your hardware crypto environment (CCA crypto express and CPACF), then you will load and activate your AES master keys, setup ICSF and its Key datasets (CKDS PKDS TKDS), then define your data encryption keys, activate your data set encryption policy, and encrypt your data sets and zFS filesystems.

These exercises reinforce the concepts and technologies being covered in the lectures.

You will get practical experience in the SMP/E tasks involved in installing a z/OS product. Emphasis is on interpreting results of SMP/E processing. SMP/E concepts examined in this course include modification control statements, the consolidated software inventory, zone structure, and error analysis. SMP/E commands such as RECEIVE, APPLY, ACCEPT, RESTORE, REPORT, and LIST are discussed.

You will also learn how to perform automated SMP/E delivery of z/OS and product maintenance over the Internet with an automated SMP/E process that downloads and installs IBM preventive and corrective service over the Internet.

Students are introduced to the services provided by the servers which execute in the z/OS environments, such as the Communications Server and the Security Server. Installation packaging options and steps to install the z/OS environments also are introduced.

This course is designed to provide you with the skills required to install and customize IBM z/OS Management Facility (z/OSMF) 2.3, and use the functions and features provided by z/OSMF.

IBM z/OS Management Facility (z/OSMF) is a product for z/OS that will simplify, optimize, and modernize the z/OS system programmer experience.

z/OSMF delivers solutions in a task-oriented, web browser-based user interface with integrated user assistance.

In this course, we introduce z/OS Management Facility and its architecture; and describe the components that are necessary to run z/OSMF on z/OS.

In this course, you will also learn the installation and customization of z/OS Management Facility, and will customize several system components to exploit the following z/OSMF functions:

• z/OSMF Software Management Manager
• Capacity Provisioning
• Classic (ISPF) Interface
• Incident Log
• Configuration Assistant for the z/OS Communications Server
• Workload Management
• System Status, Resource Monitoring
• Workflow

To provide an overview of the z Operating System (OS), look at the systems from both a hardware and software prospective, and develop a basic understanding of System z partitioning capabilities, Processor Resource/Systems Manager (PR/SM), z/OS, Job Entry Subsystem 2 (JES2), Job Entry Subsystem 3 (JES3), Time Sharing Option (TSO), TSO Extended (TSO/E), System Display and Search Facility (SDSF), z/OS Communications Server, and System z channel subsystem usage for various channels, such as Enterprise System Connection (ESCON), Fiber Connector (FICON), and the Open Systems Adapter (OSA). It will also describe the Initial Program Loader (IPL) process and enable you to become comfortable issuing z/OS commands from a Multi Console Support (MCS) system console or extended MCS console.

Discussion activities include: The POR, IPL process, JES implementation and operating environment, VTAM environment for TSO, ISPF, SNA and TCP/IP networking, RACF, ISPF/PDF and UNIX System Services. It defines the classic approach to data management in a z/OS system. It identifies various software products and utilities used to define, maintain, and manage catalogs and data sets in the z/OS environment. It also discusses Parmlib usage and requirements for system initialization and operation that include: System symbolics, WLM, SFM, RMF and system logger. Both single system and multi-system sysplex usage is identified. z/OS install, upgrade options, maintenance using SMP/E and I/O configuration requirements using HCD is listed and described.

This course introduces the system programmer to the tasks required to support a z/VM operating system. It gives an overview of the processes that are required to install z/VM, and to do the required tailoring steps to support guest operating system virtual machines and CMS users. The students will leave the course with the knowledge to do the steps for adding guest systems and other virtual machines to the z/VM system, to apply service to the z/VM system, and to define a minimal TCP/IP configuration. Also, this course is designed to teach the implementation of SUSE, RedHat, and Ubuntu distributions of Linux on IBM Z and on LinuxONE.