SPARTA News

May 2018

SPARTA President’s Corner

contributed by Randy Springs

The new year is already four months completed, and at my company we are preparing for zOS 2.3 and other upgrades to enhance our performance and availability, along with new crypto services and other new projects. I am finalizing an upgrade for our Omegamon products, and I will need to provide some training because the legacy CUA screens are now incorporated in a new “Enhanced 3270 User Interface”.

A reminder that your SPARTA group still needs a volunteer to replace Pam Tant as treasurer. This position does not involve a large time commitment, so consider serving and talk to Pam or me about the position. Her number is in the March 2018 newsletter.

Please plan to join your colleagues for pizza, networking, and education on Tuesday, May 1 at 6:15 p.m. at our usual LabCorp location.

Randy Springs
BB&T

Future Speakers

(subject to change)

May 1, 2018 - CICS Updates by Dan Zachary of IBM

June 5, 2018 - IOF Update by Jim Ott of Triangle Systems

July 10, 2018 - ICE/OPsys by Jerry Seefeldt of New Era

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.

2017-2018 SPARTA

Board of Directors

Randy Springs - President

BB&T                  (919) 745-5241

3200 Beechleaf Court, Suite 300

Raleigh, NC 27604

Ron Pimblett - Vice President

MDI Data Systems

Land line 613 599 6970

Mobile 613 981 6919

190 Guelph Private

Kanata, ON K2T 0J7

Chris Blackshire - Secretary

Retired (Dell, Perot Systems, Nortel)  (919) nnn-nnnn

street

Durham, NC 27713

Randy Springs - (Acting) Treasurer

BB&T                  (919) 745-5241

see Randy

Springs earlier

Ed Webb -  Communications Director

SAS Institute Inc.  919-531-4162

SAS Campus Drive

Cary, NC 27513

Mike Lockey -  Web Master

Guilford Co. Information Services  336-641-6235

201 N. Eugene St.

Greensboro, NC 27401

Meetings

Meetings are scheduled for the first Tuesday evening of each month (except no meeting in January), 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 T.W. Alexander Drive. Go about a mile or so. Then turn right into LabCorp complex and turn Left to the CMBP Building (1912 T.W. Alexander Drive). In the lobby, sign in as a visitor to see Bill Johnson. Bill 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 e-Mailings

The SPARTA policy is to e-mail a monthly notice to our SPARTA-RTP Group. The newsletter is posted to the website about five (5) days before each meeting so you can prepare. The SPARTA-RTP Group is maintained by Chris Blackshire; if you have corrections or problems receiving your meeting notice, contact Chris at chrisbl@nc.rr.com.

January 2018 “CBT Tape” Shareware Online

The directory and files from the latest CBT tape V495 (dated January 15, 2018) are available from www.cbttape.org.

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

Minutes of the April 3, 2018 Meeting

• The meeting was called to order at 7:03 PM by Randy Springs, the SPARTA President.

• The meeting was held at a LabCorp conference room in RTP, N.C.

• Thirteen (13) people were present of which all are 2017/2018 paid members.

• Everyone introduced themselves, told where they worked, and briefly described their job functions or their job hunting challenges.

OLD BUSINESS

• The minutes of the March 6, 2018 meeting as published in the April 2018 Newsletter was approved.

• The March 30, 2018 Treasurer's report was not updated by Randy Springs, the acting Treasurer. The March and April reports will be published in the May 2018 newsletter. The March balance was $623.52 as published in the April newsletter.

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

• Randy reminded everyone to leave the LabCorp conference room clean.

• Future Speakers and Topics (subject to change based on internal politics, budget, the weather):

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

• The next SPARTA monthly meeting will be on Tuesday, May 1, 2018 at LabCorp in RTP.

• Food for the May 1 meeting will be Pizza.

• The 2018 dues are due ($30) starting in February 2018. Please pay Randy Springs.

• Thanks to LabCorp and Bill Johnson for hosting the meeting.

• There are currently 78 people on the SPARTA-RTP e-mail list.

• Send any e-mail address changes to Chris Blackshire so he can update the SPARTA-RTP Listserv. You will be added by the moderator (Chris = SPARTA-RTP-owner@yahoogroups.com) sending you an invitation to Join the list.

• No update from Randy Springs on the SPARTA website connection to LinkedIn.

• Chris is in the process of putting a package together for Brad Carson, Tommy Thomas, and John Bryan's SPARTA contributions and death information on the web page under a new Emeritus section.

• Randy Springs is looking for a new Treasurer volunteer. He projects about 3 hours per month is needed.

-The treasurer position duties are:
--Collect dues and pay expenses at each monthly meeting.
--Deposit income at the BB&T bank monthly.
--Make an updated monthly excel income-expense list for the monthly newsletter.
--Give a Treasurer report at each meeting.
--One Time: Be added to the checking account authorization.
-Contact Randy Springs if you are interested.

• SPARTA needs a security certificate if we decide to change the website to HTTPS access. A certificate will be $75 per year from GoDaddy. Randy Springs will work with Mike Lockey to research if we need this option and how to change it.

• No status update from Bill Johnson on whether we can continue to use the LabCorp conference room after the LabCorp data center is moved out of the building that we meet in. The move is scheduled sometime between July and November and Bill Johnson may not have access to this building after the move. That means we may have to find a new meeting place.

NEW BUSINESS

The zEnterprise Customer Council is meeting Thursday, April 12, 2018 from 8:30 AM until 2:45 PM at the NC Department of Cultural Resources Auditorium, 109 E. Jones St., Raleigh, NC. Garry Grandlienard of IBM is hosting the meeting.

Registration Link: https://ibm-zcouncil.com/events/2q18-zenterprise-cc/

• The Business portion of the meeting ended about 7:35 PM.

Presentation

SHARE Points Of Interest by Ed Webb of SAS.

SHARE 130 - MARCH 11-16, 2018 - Sacramento, California

AGENDA
• Why Go to SHARE?
• Odds and Ends
• Best Sessions
• Sessions of Interest
• z/OS Service Status
• SHARE Status

• WHY GO TO SHARE?
- IBM review of z/OS 2.3 functions and late-breaking news
- SHARE Requirements Carry More Weight with IBM than an individual RFE
- IBM's committed to satisfy 20% of SHARE Core Technology Top 80 Requirements in z/OS 2.3
- - Delivered 5, Rejected 6, Planned 4 of Top 82
- Networking with peers and IBM developers and executives re-energizes your z work back home

• ODDS AND ENDS

- SHARE Requirements now connects to IBM Development via the IBM RFE system
- - Delivered in June 2016
- Request for Enhancements (RFE) for new suggestions or requirements to IBM
- - http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/rfe/
- IBM z14 HMC Does Not Have Classic Interface
- - Order It Now for your z13 HMCs
- August 2017 Hot Topics #31 magazine is a Great Reference for z/OS V2R2 Topics
- - http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/z/os/zos/library/hot-topics/hot-topics.html
- Now Maintained by IBM Systems Magazine
- - http://ibmsystemsmag.com/mainframe/hot-topics/

• BEST SESSIONS

• 21916 Live! Keynote: Mainframe Security: Hacking Hearts and Minds
- Phil Young and Chad Rikansrud are asking the tough questions
- Building Tools to do penetration testing
- - https://youtu.be/8C5U3HrBv0E?t=1795
- Pervasive Encryption :
- - "Encryption of data at rest and in-flight with no changes to applications" - IBM
- Ransomware and Pervasive Encryption are the same
- - key management
- Multi-Factor Authentication is Required

• 21795 What's New in z/OS 2.3 - Golden State Edition
- By Gary Puchkoff of IBM
- z/OS 2.3 Requires z12 or later Z System
- 8 character TSO userid support
- ICSF Browser for Key Control Data Set (HCR77C1)
- KC4z configuration uses z/OSMF Workflow
- KC4z upgrade with message lookup support
- SCRT Java version shipped in z/OS 2.3
- Non-executable memory
- SAF security deployment descriptors for RACF, CA Top Secret, and CA ACF2
- RACF and BPXPRMxx SUPERUSER sync
- 10 Font products added to z/OS Font Collection
- z/OSMF 2.3 Migration Workflows via z/OS Download page

• 22295 Top 10 Things to Secure Your z/OS System (2018 Edition)
- by Tom Conley of Pinnacle Consulting Group
- - Send email to pinncons@rochester.rr.com and ask for a copy of the presentation which is not on the SHARE site

- Document your reasons for settings
- - Privileged users, Critical data sets, Security exits
- PCI/DSS TN3270 TLS 1.1 by June 2018
- U.S. DoD CyberSecurity Mainframe Standards

- 11. Remove WARNING mode and use profile instead
- 10. Remove Obsolete User with documented process
- - RACF IRRRID00
- - URVK RACF ICETOOL
- 9. Remove Obsolete Profiles and Rules
- 8. TSO User Brute Force Enumeration
- - LOGON PASSWORDPROMPT(ON) in IKJTSOxx
- 7. Remove Unsecure Certificates and Ciphers
- - AES256 SHA384 as a minimum for TLS 1.2
- - RSA1024 change to RSA2048 ASAP (needs CPACF)
- - SHA256
- 6. Secure Internal Network
- - AT-TLS YES is the correct answer
- - Autolog PAGENT in TCPIP profile
- - /etc/pagent.conf and /etc/pagent-TTLS.conf (see samples)
- - PAGENT as UID(0) may not be needed
- 5. Review Users with elevated authority
- 4. z/OS Unix Security
- - RACF UNIXPRIV Class (see presentation by Robert Hansel)
- - Eliminate UID(0) and use BPX.SUPERUSER
- 3. RACF Database Profiles with UACC(NONE)
- 2. Secure Passwords
- - Force Password to 8 characters
- - Implement KDFAES, easy fallback if needed
- - Convert NOINTERVAL userids manually so they are encrypted
- 1. APF data set controls
- - Set SUCCESSES (UPDATE)
- - Use generic, fully qualified dsname for each APF data set

• 22370 LAB: Pervasive Encryption: Let's Encrypt Some Data Sets
- Backup keys
- Extended format and SMS-managed data sets
- HCR77C1 provides browse of CKDS keys
- See Lab Handout for easy to follow steps to encrypt a data set

• 22600 Being Aware of z/OS 2.3 Changes Sooner...
- by Shigeki Kimura of IBM Japan
- DISPLAY ALLOC,OPTIONS is also D ALLOC,O
- PI90075 HLASM adds Alias IEV90 (UI53046)
- GTZPRMxx PERSIST(SMF) also available via SETGTZ
- - see presentation for SMF Exits to GTZ and IRR
- Why CNZ4105I date removed from D A,L response?
- - Need SHARE Requirement to Add yyyy.ddd or mm.dd.yyyy.ddd
- OA53450 JES2 $DJ/S/Tnnn,XEQHOURS (XEQH)
- DCOLLECT LRECL changed (see slide 26)
- APAR OA54009 restores Last Volume Indicator for new data sets created by ISPF

• 22310 IBM Skunkworks Projects for z/OS
- by Steve Warren of IBM
- z Advanced Technical Team
- - prototypes, incubator for projects
- z/OS Cloud Data Access Now in z/OS Development
- - set of APIs to get, write, delete, and list objects in "cloud"
- - Cloud Provider frameworks for AWS, Microsoft, Google, etc.
- PGP encryption => Enterprise PGP
- zidea@us.ibm.com Ideas for the team to explore
- Data Gravity - application is more efficient nearer the data
- - more computation is cheaper than moving the data
- Time Value of Data is important
- Security of Data - located in fewer places

• 22638 MVS Program Opening and Mainframe Strategy Update
- by Ed Jaffe of Phoenix Software and Skip Robinson of SoCalEd
• Mainframe OS and Hardware Strategies
- by Jeff Magdall, IBM Z Planning
- Z-as-a-Service (ZaaS) "Cloud" - IBM, AWS, etc.
- New Markets, Clients, Workloads
- Ecosystem - skills, recruiting, developer relations
- Modernization - "cloudify"
- Hardware and Operating Systems
- Mainframe OS and Hardware Strategies
- - ZaaS
- - - Blockchain - Enterprise-based, not Cryptocurrency
- - - IBM Cloud is Z-based
- - - Security is built into Cloud
- - Hardware and OS are much more Integrated by Design than ever
- - - compression and encryption in hardware
- - Container Pricing is method of measuring workload
- - - not Docker Containers
- - 3.5x installed MIPs over 10 years, 50% on Specialty Processors such as IFLs and zIIPs
• Z14 and the Next Z
- By Tina Tarquinio of IBM
- Z Next is a single frame in a Standard 19" Rack
- - Before June 30, 2018
- Desire is to deliver Enterprise and Business Class platforms at the same time

• 21798 MVS Core Technologies Project
- by Scott Engleman of IBM
- z/OS Directions
- - Container Pricing for Z Applications
- - z/OS 2.3 ESP Client Experience
- - - 47% in Production before General Availability (end of Sept. 2017)
- - - 88% satisfied
- - - 82 defects found

• 21788 Bit Bucket x'37'
- by a host of characters
• OSA ICC TLS by Mary Anne Matyaz
- - see Bit Bucket presentation
• Moral Support by Ed Jaffe
- - Granular APAR search for Z
• Go with the Flow by Ed Jaffe
- - !CDATA to add Styling (fonts, etc.) to Workflow Text
• Tighten Up by Tom Conley
- - See Joel Tilton's KDFAES Walkabout
- - II14765 performance APARs for KDFAES
• Highway S722 by Skip Robinson
- - SPOOL files to 100% is a problem
- - z/OS 2.3 JES2 Privileged Space helps

• z/OS SERVICE STATUS

- z/OS 1.9 End of Service was Sept. 30, 2010
- z/OS 1.10 End of Service was Sept. 30, 2011
- - Two more years (until Sept. 2013) for a fee
- z/OS 1.11 End of Service was Sept. 30, 2012
- - Two more years (until Sept. 2014) for a fee
- z/OS 1.12 End of Service was Sept. 30, 2014
- z/OS 1.13 End of Service was Sept. 30, 2016

- z/OS 2.1 End of Service is Sept. 30, 2018
- z/OS 2.2 End of Service is Sept. 30, 2020
- z/OS 2.3 End of Service is Sept. 30, 2022

- z/OS V2 has 5 years of Support plus 3 more years of fee-based Support

• SHARE STATUS
- SHARE Attendance Trending Upward
- SHARE Live! Recorded 30+ Sessions in Sacramento
- - 140+ registered by week's end (New Record! Again!)
- SHARE Execuforum Suspended
- - Not Delivering the Numbers
- - Under Evaluation
- Messenger Bags Given Away for Sacramento

- SHARE Affiliate Rate is $99 Per Year (no voting)
- SHARE Select Membership (Annual Corporate) includes SHARE Live! and Archived Sessions
- SHARE Monthly Webinars between Conferences
- - Registration required but free
- - Some vendor sponsored
- SHARE "Day" 8:30-5:15 (most breaks 15 min.)
- SHARE Mobile App for iOS and Android
- - Earlier Availability
- - Sharing between devices still needs work

- Submit Your Proposal to Speak at SHARE in St. Louis by Friday, April 6, 2018

- SHARE Proceedings Access Needs SHARE Userid (free)
- - Go to www.share.org

• SHARE SACRAMENTO RESULTS (And Comparisons)

- SHARE Sacramento Exhibitors
47 Seattle (2015)
52 Orlando (2015
54 San Antonio (2016)
54 Atlanta (2016)
49 San Jose (2017)
52 Providence (2017)
50 Sacramento (2018)

- - 7 New Exhibitors in Sacramento:
- - 4 brand new to SHARE
- - - Computer Management Sciences
- - - Model9
- - - RSM Partners
- - - SVA Software
- - 3 returning after a few years

- Number of People Onsite
1,004 Seattle (2015)
1,106 Orlando (2015
1,300 San Antonio (2016)
1,130 Atlanta (2016)
1,222 San Jose (2017)
1,252 Providence (2017)
1,268 Sacramento (2018)

- Number of Attendees (excludes exhibitors, compensated speakers, press, and staff)
830 Seattle (2015)
892 Orlando (2015
928 San Antonio (2016)
750 Atlanta (2016)
888 San Jose (2017)
876 Providence (2017)
908 Sacramento (2018)

- Number of Companies Represented
290 Seattle (2015)
314 Orlando (2015
358 San Antonio (2016)
545 Atlanta (2016)
259 San Jose (2017)
236 Providence (2017)
259 Sacramento (2018)

- First-time Attendees
174 Seattle (2015)
266 Orlando (2015
268 San Antonio (2016)
205 Atlanta (2016)
214 San Jose (2017)
208 Providence (2017)
276 Sacramento (2018)

- First-time Attendees As a Percentage of Total Attendance
17.33% Seattle (2015)
24.05% Orlando (2015
20.60% San Antonio (2016)
18.18% Atlanta (2016)
17.50% San Jose (2017)
16.60% Providence (2017)
27.80% Sacramento (2018)

• FUTURE SHARE LOCATIONS

- SHARE131 - St. Louis
- August 12-17, 2018
- America's Center Convention Complex
- St. Louis, MO

- SHARE132 - Phoenix
- March 10-15, 2019
- Phoenix Convention Center
- Phoenix, AZ

• The presentation ended about 8:50 PM.

• Contact Info:
Ed Webb
SAS Institute
Email: Ed.Webb@sas.com
Work: 919-531-4162

• Presentation Access - See SPARTA webpage for the complete presentation.

• The April 3, 2018 monthly meeting ended about 8:50 PM.

Treasurer’s Report for April 2018

contributed by Randy Springs

The balance in the account is $1,035.76 as of April 30, 2018.

SPARTA Financial Report
3/01/2018 through 04/30/2018

Items of Interest

SPARTA Schedule and Menu for 2018

contributed by Chris Blackshire

May 1, 2018 - Pizza
June 5, 2018 - Fried chicken
July 10, 2018 - Subs (date changed because of the July 4 holiday)
August 7, 2018 - BarBQ
September 11, 2018 - Pizza (date changed because of the Labor Day holiday)
October 2, 2018 - Fried chicken
November 6, 2018 - Subs
December 4, 2018 - BarBQ

Reserve Your Room Now for SHARE in St. Louis in mid-August

Contributed By Ed Webb

Start working now on getting to SHARE in St. Louis, Missouri August 12-17, 2018. Hotel reservations can be made at no charge at SHARE's Event hotel site.

Early registration ends Monday, June 25, 2018. And yes, for the first time in 7 years (15 SHARE conferences), the registration fees have increased.

Be prepared to participate in 2019 at one of these just announced venues:

SHARE Winter 2019:     Phoenix, AZ   March 10-15
SHARE Summer 2019:  Pittsburgh, PA  August 4-9

You can always see the future SHARE schedule here.

Tape delivery of IBM Z PTFs ends July 2018

Contributed By Ed Webb

"As stated in the IBM Software Announcement 218-118 dated March 6, 2018, on July 1, 2018, delivery of PTFs for z/OS, z/VM, and z/VSE on tape is planned to be discontinued with an effective date of July 16, 2018. IBM plans to support Internet and DVD delivery options for PTF delivery in ServiceLink.

This includes: z/VM - PTF orders z/VSE - PTF orders z/OS - PTF orders.

If you currently have PTFs delivered on tape, now is a good time to make sure you are prepared to use a different acquisition method. IBM recommends Internet delivery for speed and convenience. It is the most popular option and is used for nearly 90% of software orders. However, if you still require physical media, you can choose DVD."

New IBM Mainframes Deliver More with Smaller Footprint

Contributed By Dan Squillace

"IBM mainframes have existed since the early 1950s, but are getting new life today thanks to enterprise demand for both blockchain and mobile technologies. To meet this demand, IBM announced on Tuesday two new IBM mainframe systems that promise to deliver more capacity and memory than their predecessors.

The new IBM mainframes – the IBM z14 Model ZR1 and IBM LinuxONE Rockhopper II – are a standard size, so they can be deployed in any data center. Featuring a 19-inch, single-frame design, the new z14 and LinuxONE systems take up 40 percent less space than their predecessors, IBM says.

....

“The reality is [that the Mainframe is] used extensively for anything high transactional, high load, high encryption …,” John Mertic, director of program management for the Open Mainframe Project said. “One in six workers in the US gets paid by ADP, one in four gets a W-4 from ADP; that's all thanks to Linux on the mainframe. If you are going to New York City and you are safe because the police force is keeping up and co-ordinating, and looking out for everything, that's all thanks to Linux on the mainframe. There's just so many of these stories that keep happening there.”

Learn about How Mainframes Deliver More from this article from DataCenter Knowledge.

Humor

Computer - Male or Female?

Contributed by Duane Reaugh

A Spanish language teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

"House" for instance, is feminine:     "la casa."
"Pencil," however, is masculine:       "el lapiz."
A student asked, "What gender is 'Computer'?"  

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher divided the class into two groups, Male and Female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether "Computer" should be a masculine or a feminine noun.

  Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

  The men's group decided that  "Computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender ("la computadora"),  because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone  else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck to buy accessories for it.

(THIS GETS  BETTER!)  

The women's group, however,  concluded that computers should be masculine ("el computador"),  because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they are the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one,  you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have got a better model.

The women won!

Membership Information

Don’t Forget the Next SPARTA Meeting

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

7 p.m.

Location: LabCorp in RTP

Take I-40 to Miami Boulevard and go north. Turn right onto 1912 T.W. 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 Bill Johnson. Bill will escort you to the conference room. Use 1912 TW Alexander Drive, Durham, NC 27703 in your map app.

Free Food before meeting: Pizza, Sodas and Tea, Dessert

Program:

CICS Transaction Server 5.4

Speaker: Dan Zachary of IBM

SPARTA News

P.O. Box 13194

Research Triangle Park, NC  27709-3194

First Class Postage

SPARTA Corporate Sponsors: