SPARTA News August 2005

August 2005

SPARTA Chapter President’s Corner

by Brad Carson

Our July meeting brought us a visit from Duane Reaugh of DTS Software to discuss their SCC-Explorer product. He explained how DTS has managed to allow the SCC-Explorer product run in two-tier model versus the old three-tier model. The two-tier model eliminates the need for a server between the user workstation and the DIF task on z/OS. Of course, without the server, the user loses the ability to use long term history and trend analysis as these are based on data kept on the server and not z/OS. If these options are needed, then the three-tier model is still available. Duane’s co-worker, Mark Smith, then proceeded to give a demonstration of SCC-Explorer. Duane also discussed the Easy/Exit product that is available from DTS.

DHTS' z/OS 1.6 migration is now scheduled to happen on August 20th; with the updated Control-M and Control-D now running we shouldn't have any problems this time. I'll let you all know how that went at the meeting. I would like to say that our DR test went well, but we ended up canceling it after 36 hours because of tape issues with the DB2 restores (not controlled by systems). I will say that, from a systems standpoint, we were able to IPL our system about 45 minutes after we started and never had to do another IPL during the test. We completed our part of the DR test within our 4 hour estimate and provided a stable platform for the DB restores (IMS, DB2, and Model204). Not bad for us! Due to tape pull issues, the DBAs were missing some critical volumes for their restores and by the time they were pulled and FedEXed to the DR site some of them had been overwritten and others were in SCRATCH status. Lots of fun for everyone. It looks like we will be holding a small 24 hour test to iron out the kinks in the DB restores within the next two or three months.

At DDA, I've gotten Debug Tool running and am planning to convert the last system from z/OS 1.4 to 1.6. After that I'll have a little work to do with IMS, then fall back into a support mode for a while. This should keep the DDA staff busy for the time being and allow me to get some work done around our house.

This month our speakers will be Duane Reaugh from DTS Software and Ed Webb from SAS Institute to provide an overview of the SHARE Conference in Boston. I look forward to seeing you all at LabCorp on the 30th.

P.S. Be sure to ask for Tommy Thomas when you arrive at LabCorp. Pizza, drinks, and dessert will be provided.


Future Speakers
(subject to change)


Aug. 30 - SHARE Reports by Duane Reaugh of DTS Software and Ed Webb of SAS Institute
Sep. 27 - Computer Associates
Oct. 25 - Vanguard

We need ideas and volunteers for future speakers. Presentations don’t have to be fancy, just informative and interesting. Even a 5 or 10 minute talk can start an interesting interaction. Contact Ron Pimblett by phone as noted below.

2005-2006 SPARTA
Board of Directors

Brad Carson - President
Duke Health Technology Solutions 919-668-0545
2424 Ervin Road, Suite 9000
Durham, NC 27710

Ron Pimblett - Vice President
Dignus, LLC 919-676-0847
8354 Six Forks Road
Raleigh, NC 27615

Mike Lockey - Secretary
Guilford Co. Information Services 336-641-6235
201 N. Eugene St.
Greensboro, NC 27401

Tommy Thomas - Treasurer
LabCorp 336-436-4178
231 Maple Ave, Koury Ctr 3rd Fl. 919-361-7267
Burlington, NC 27215

Ed Webb - Communications Director
SAS Institute 919-531-4162
SAS Campus Drive
Cary, NC 27513

Meetings

Meetings are scheduled for the last Tuesday evening of each month (except no meeting in December), with optional dinner at 6:15 p.m. and the meeting beginning at 7:00 p.m.

These monthly meetings usually are held at LabCorp’s Center for Molecular Biology and Pathology (CMBP) near the Research Triangle Park (see last page). Take I-40 to Miami Boulevard and go north. Turn right onto Alexander Drive. Go about a mile or so. Then turn right into LabCorp complex and turn Left to the CMBP Building. In the lobby, sign in as a visitor to see Tommy Thomas. Tommy will escort you to the conference room.

Call for Articles

If you have any ideas for speakers, presentations, newsletter articles, or are interested in taking part in a presentation, PLEASE contact one of the Board of Directors with your suggestions.

Newsletter Mailings

The SPARTA chapter policy is to mail a copy of the monthly chapter newsletter to each SPARTA member, NaSPA national, each advertiser, persons who have requested a copy, and to other chapters who send us a copy of their newsletter. The newsletter is mailed about the 20th of each month so you can prepare for the meeting. The mailing list is maintained by Mike Lockey at (336) 412-6235; if you have corrections or problems receiving your newsletter, call Mike.

July 2005 CBT Tape Online

The directory and files from the latest CBT tape V469 (dated July 17, 2005) are available from www.cbttape.org.

If you need help obtaining one or more files, contact Brad Carson at Duke Health or Ed Webb at SAS (see Board of Director’s list for contact info).

Minutes of the July 26th, 2005 Meeting

•Meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Brad Carson, the Chapter President.

•Fifteen (15) people were present; thirteen (13) were members.

•Everyone in the room introduced themselves, told where they worked, and briefly described their job function.

•The minutes of June 2005 meeting were accepted as published in the July 2005 newsletter.

•Tommy Thomas, the Chapter Treasurer, gave the Treasurer's report. As of July 17, 2005, the balance is $1733.18. Motion was made and approved to accept the Treasurer's Report.

OLD BUSINESS

•Articles are needed for this newsletter. If you would like to write an article for this newsletter, please contact Ed Webb. Keep in mind that you don't really need to write the article, it can be an article that you read that you would like to share with the membership.

•The SPARTA Web site is available. To access the SPARTA Web site, point your Web browser to this site: http://www.spartanc.org. Please send any comments or suggestions about the Web site to Mike Lockey. Be sure to check the site every once in a while to see any new or changed information.

•Brad Carson reminded everyone to leave the conference room clean.


NEW BUSINESS

•Future Speakers and Topics:
(subject to change)


August 2005 SHARE Conference Reports
September 2005 Vanguard
October 2005 TBA
November 2005 TBA

If you have suggestions about speakers and topics, contact Ron Pimblett.

•Thanks to Tommy Thomas of LabCorp for hosting the July meeting.

•The August 30th SPARTA meeting will be held at LabCorp in the RTP.

•Food for the August meeting will be pizza, drinks and dessert.

•Brad talked about the recent announcement concerning the new IBM z9 processor. Mike will look into putting a z9 announcement in PDF format on the SPARTA website.

•The business portion of the meeting ended at 7:40 p.m.

•Duane Reaugh of DTS Software spoke about their SCC-Explorer and Easy/Exit products.

Some of the topics Duane discussed were:

- DTS Software history

- SCC-Explorer

SCC-Explorer (Two Tier)
No Database
Like ISPF but in a GUI
"List Data Sets on a Volume"
Send Command to DIF
DIF spins off a started task
Started Task sends records directly to SCC-Explorer
GUI running on W2K or XP
DIF running on z/OS
Ability to issue MVS Commands
Runs Jobs and Retrieve Output
Retrieve data from a File/Log

SCC-Explorer (Three Tier)
Still Available
History
Trend Information
Basic Text Output
Table Grid

SCC-Explorer GUI
SCC GUI Future
SRS Reporting GUI
SRS Recoveries

- SCC-Explorer Demo by Mark Smith of DTS Software

- Easy/Exit

Assembler Language Programmers are retiring (or worse)
Difficult to Debug
DFSMShsm Exits are largely unused
z/OS 1.7 (Sept 05) affects JES2 Exits
Lot of Functionality in System Exits
Easy/Exit z/OS Exits

Abend Prevention
IEFUTL, IEFUSO, IEFUSI

Job and Step Management
IEFACTRT, IEFUJI/IEFUJP, IEFUJV

Contention Management
IEF_ALLOC_OFFLN, IEF_SPEC_WAIT, IEF_VOLUME_ENQ

Easy/Exit TSO Exits
LOGON
IKJEFLD1, IKJEFLN1, IKJEFLN2, IKJEFLD3

LOGOFF
IKJEFLD2

Inactivity
IEFUTL

DFHSM Exits
Dataset Migration, Backup and Recovery
ARCSAEXT, ARCADEXT, ARCMDEXT, ARCRPEXT

Volume Operations
ARCBDEXT, ARCMVEXT, ARCMMEXT

DFSMShsm Requests
ARCTDEXT, ARCINEXT/ARCSDEXT, ARCTEEXT

DFHSM Priority Recall Exit
Return-priority exit (ARCRPEXT)
prioritize waiting DFSMShsm requests
set priority from 0 (low) to 100 (high)
allows more important requests to be serviced first
allows purging of recall requests
Example
Exit Tracing

JES2 Exits

Many customers use JES2 exits
Particularly JOB Card Validation
z/OS 1.7 will REQUIRE changes to exits
z/OS 1.7 adds new exits

JES2 Exit Support for Easy/Exit
Planned for 3Q 2005

The meeting ended at 8:40 p.m.

Treasurer’s Report for August 2005

contributed by Tommy Thomas

The balance in the account is $ 1724.12 as of August 14, 2005.

Financial Report
3/01/2004 through 08/14/2005

Items of Interest

SPARTA Schedule and Menu for 2005

contributed by Tommy Thomas and Chris Blackshire

Aug. 30 - Pizza
Sep. 27 - Chicken
Oct. 25 - Subs
Nov. 29 - BarBQ


SCMG Fall Schedule Includes Raleigh

contributed by Ed Webb

SCMG has scheduled 2005’s Fall meetings for the following dates:

Atlanta:    September 27th

Raleigh:    October 18th

Richmond:   October 20th (Tentative)

We’re still lining up presentations and topics. If you are interested in presenting, please e-mail one of the SCMG Program Co-Chairs, Ray Williams at Williams_Ray@emc.com or Kevin Mobley at kevinmobley@gmail.com, to submit your paper/presentation and discuss the presentation schedule for the target location.

Please access the SCMG web site for updates and details: http://regions.cmg.org/regions/scmg/index.html

Redpiece and Redbooks of Interest

contributed by Ed Webb

z/OS Diagnostic Data Collection and Analysis
Revised: August, 5, 2005 More details are available at http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/abstracts/sg247110.html

IBM System z9 109 Technical Introduction
Revised: August 7, 2005 ISBN: 0738493813 100 pages Explore the book online at http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg246669.html

Systems Programmer's Guide to Resource Recovery Services (RRS)
Revised: August 9, 2005 ISBN: 0738490768 178 pages Explore the book online at http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg246980.html


SHARE August 2005 Presentations Are Online Now

contributed by Ed Webb

Many of the presentations for SHARE in Boston next week have been posted to the SHARE website under Proceedings. You'll need your SHARE id and password for access.


Linux Adoption is Slow

contributed by Ron Pimblett

NW survey: Linux still at data center doorstep, but open source is hot.

* What readers are doing with Linux

While Linux and server vendors continue to push the open source operating system into data centers, a recent survey of Network World readers showed that Linux adoption for critical applications is slow.

By Phil Hochmuth <http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/linux/2005//Home/phochmuth.html> , Network World, 07/18/05

A survey of 500 Network World readers revealed that only 5% of respondents had a majority of their critical applications (over 50% of apps) running on Linux servers. Around 18% of those surveyed said 20% to 49% of their most important applications were running on Linux. Meanwhile, almost 30% of the readers surveyed said they were not using Linux at all for mission-critical applications.

While use of Linux for core apps was low among NW readers, the survey also showed that adoption of other open source applications and tools was more widespread. Over 50% of respondents said they were running an open source Web server, such as Apache. Also, close to 50% of readers said they were using an open source database platform as well, such as MySQL or PostgreSQL. Open source Web browsers, such as Firefox, were also popular, with 50% of respondents saying they had such software installed. Around 30% of those surveyed said they were even using open source for VPN infrastructure.

Major drivers of open source adoption cited in the survey included the lack of licensing requirements (almost 80% said this was important). Seventy-four percent of respondents said avoiding vendor lock-in was a driver. Around 44% said faster performance and lower administrative costs were also reasons to go open source.

Inhibitors to open source adoption included the complexity of integrating open source with existing legacy infrastructures (57% said this was a drawback). Around 39% said legal issues were a factor, and 36% said lack of open source expertise was a drawback.

Check out this list of Linux distributions http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_distributions .


Dear IT graduate, just one word: Mainframes

contributed by Chris Blackshire

News Story by China Martens

AUGUST 03, 2005 (IDG NEWS SERVICE) - Imagine today's computer science students experiencing the kind of cocktail party thrown for Benjamin Braddock by his parents in the 1967 movie The Graduate. As the students ponder their futures, various figures sidle up with one-word suggestions for careers. "Java," "Linux" and "Internet" you'd expect to hear whispered, but "mainframes"? Not so much. "The mainframe has had one of the worst PR campaigns of the last 15 years," said mainframe analyst Mike Kahn, managing director of research firm The Clipper Group Inc. in Wellesley, Mass. "In the mid-'90s, the mainframe was declared dead by the industry, and that wasn't so far from the truth."

The mainframe's value proposition was completely out of sync with what was going on in the mid-1990s as companies embraced PCs and decentralized business operations, Kahn said. Today, however, many organizations are looking once more at centralizing their IT functions, so the mainframe is swinging back into favor in some quarters.

Opportunities in big iron are also on the rise as companies look to replace the staffers who have been tending the computer behemoths and are now heading for retirement. At the same time, firms in China, parts of Eastern Europe and elsewhere have recently purchased or are looking to invest in mainframes as they beef up their computing power.

Through work with educational institutions and corporations, and under the banner of its Academic Initiative, IBM has committed to having 20,000 mainframe-trained professionals in the global market by 2010. Big Blue hopes to double the number of universities and colleges worldwide signing up for its zSeries mainframe courses from 150 last month to 300 by the end of this year. Factoring in sales of associated software and storage, analysts estimate that IBM's mainframe business generates about 25% of the company's revenue.

"It's not an issue hiring people with mainframe skill sets, but we are having difficulty in finding young people [with those skills]," said Murray McBain, vice president of technology at the Royal Bank of Canada, an industry sponsor of the IBM mainframe program. He has been working with the faculty at Mohawk College, one of the Canadian educational institutions offering the IBM course in big iron.

When addressing computer science students at Mohawk, the first thing McBain did was to bring them up to date on mainframes and their role in computing. "When we talked about Java, SOA and multiple operating systems, you could see it clicking," he said. "They weren't falling asleep on us; we were using terms they understood."

When he visited Mohawk, McBain took three of his senior managers with him, each with between 15 and 25 years of experience working with mainframes, so that the students could appreciate that "real people are still working on mainframes," he said. Next, he hopes to take the experience at Mohawk and replicate it at other Canadian schools. McBain believes that IBM's message to students becomes more powerful when the vendor visits universities together with one or more of its customers that use the zSeries hardware.

"We just want to make sure that people are aware of the opportunities, how big and wide they are," McBain said. "Ninety five percent of the Fortune 1,000 are still running a good portion of their businesses on mainframes, and probably 75% to 80% of the Royal Bank's business is running on mainframes."

Not having sufficient mainframe experts is only part of a larger issue, according to Kahn. "There are an awful lot of people graduating with degrees in computer science who really aren't learning anything about enterprise computing," he said. "They don't understand large-systems thinking."

Today's computer science graduates have grown up in a PC world -- as have many of their teachers. "Classes and projects tend to be measured in days and weeks, not weeks and months," Kahn said. "They really don't work on any big projects."

When looking at the success of IBM's mainframe program, "you have to ask, Where is it sticking to the wall?" Kahn said. His answer: community colleges and night schools, which are more focused on turning out employable students than some of the more elite institutions that may more rigidly adhere to the requirements of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.

"The more journeyman colleges are more focused on large-systems thinking," Kahn said. Additionally, some universities reserve mainframes as a subject for study by graduates with at least a master's degree in computer science, according to Kahn.

It can be easier working with smaller schools and community colleges, said Mike Bliss, program manager for IBM's Academic Initiative and director of eServer zSeries technical support and marketing. "They can get a class [up and running] quicker," he said. "They have less bureaucracy and are less specialized."

As part of his research, Kahn interviewed many computer science students. "They were all talking about job security and getting a good job and not being laid off in three months," he said. "There is a lot of security in
large systems. Mainframes is a place where you're needed."

Students' initial take when they heard the word mainframe was to wonder if such computers are still around and then to question their relevance to today's mainstream computing, according to Kahn. After being exposed to big iron and large-systems thinking, some students noted a significant disconnect from what they had been taught in school and what they were discovering in the real world, he added.

Despite efforts to encourage more students to learn about mainframes, the number of students at U.S. and Canadian schools signing up to study computer science is plummeting; Kahn estimated that the rate has fallen by 40% over the past three years. He even found one elite institution he declined to name that has lowered the GPA requirements for its computer science course as a way to raise enrollment.

"The dot-com bust is responsible for a lot of it, and students reading about outsourcing in the papers every day," said Kahn. "And, oh, by the way, [computer science is] really hard. Students are looking for what's fun and not hard."

At the root of the problem is that many students abandon math or science before they get to college, according to Kahn.

Like Kahn, McBain is also concerned about the general drop-off in computer science students. When he asked professors at Mohawk what students were studying instead of IT, the answer tended to be biomedicine and forensics.

"It's a bit of the CSI syndrome," McBain said, referring to the popular TV series set in Las Vegas, Miami and New York that focuses on the work of fictional crime scene investigation teams. "We need to create the same syndrome for IT," he said, so students have more dynamic associations with careers in computer science. McBain suggested that companies could form an industry consortium to help encourage students to study IT. Such a body could visit high schools and universities and lay out the potential job opportunities.

Universities in the mainframe program are asking IBM how they can define terms related to mainframe computing to aid students' job searching, according to Susan LeVangia, curriculum manager for the company's Academic Initiative zSeries program and a senior software engineer.

Every relationship IBM has with an educational institution is different. Some take all the IBM teaching materials, some take part, and others use the tools as a basis for building their own mainframe course curriculum, according to Bliss. The IBM teaching materials mostly consist of PowerPoint modules with 20 to 30 slides in each module and include speaker notes and lab exercises, LeVangia said.

IBM has established mainframe hubs that universities can log into for mainframe access if they don't have their own hardware. The U.S. hub is at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and can be accessed by any university in the world. Thirty to 40 universities are utilizing the U.S. hub at any one time, according to Bliss.

IBM has other mainframe hubs in Brazil, China, Eastern Europe and India and is looking at adding more hubs in Europe, he said.

Story copyright 2005 International Data Group. All rights reserved.


Humor


Oxymorons

contributed by Chris Blackshire

1. Is it good if a vacuum really sucks?

2. Why is the third hand on the watch called the second hand?

3. If a word is misspelled in the dictionary, how would we ever know?

4. If Webster wrote the first dictionary, where did he find the words?

5. Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack?

6. Why do "slow down" and "slow up" mean the same thing?

7. Why do "fat chance" and "slim chance" mean the same thing?

8. Why do "tug" boats push their barges?

9. Why do we sing "Take me out to the ball game" when we are already there?

10. Why are they called "stands" when they are made for sitting?

11. Why is it called "after dark" when it really is "after light"?

12. Doesn't "expecting the unexpected" make the unexpected expected?

13. Why are a "wise man" and a "wise guy" opposites?

14. Why do "overlook" and "oversee" mean opposite things?

15. Why is "phonics" not spelled the way it sounds?

16. If work is so terrific, why do they have to pay you to do it?

17. If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?

18. If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?

19. If you are cross-eyed and have dyslexia, can you read all right?

20. Why is bra singular and panties plural?

21. Why do you press harder on the buttons of a remote control when you know the batteries are dead?

22. Why do we put suits in garment bags and garments in a suitcase?

23. How come abbreviated is such a long word?

24. Why do we wash bath towels? Aren't we clean when we use them?

25. Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

26. Why do they call it a TV set when you only have one?

27. Christmas oxymoron: What other time of the year do you sit in front of a dead tree and eat candy out of your socks?

Membership Information

Don’t Forget the Next SPARTA Meeting

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Location: LabCorp in the RTP

Take I-40 to Miami Boulevard and go north. Turn right onto Alexander Drive. Go about a mile or so. Then turn right into LabCorp complex and turn left to the CMBP Building. In the lobby, sign in as a visitor to see Tommy Thomas. Tommy will escort you to the conference room.

Free Food: Pizza, Drinks, Dessert

Program:

SHARE Conference Reports

Speaker:

Duane Reaugh of DTS Software and
Ed Webb of SAS Institute

SPARTA News
P.O. Box 13194
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3194











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