IBM CICS Service Flow Feature enables composition of CICS applications to create CICS business
services
IBM United States
Software Announcement 205-303
November 22, 2005
 ENUS205-303.PDF (59KB)
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CICS Service Flow Feature, comprising a tooling component and a run-time component:
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Is a business service integration adapter for CICS applications.
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Enables integration developers to create CICS business services by composing a sequence of CICS
application interactions. These can be integrated in Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA) or
business process collaborations.
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Delivers a graphical integrated development environment for composing the CICS application
interactions, a generation facility for creating a run-time application, and a run-time component
that exploits CICS interfaces to support the service flow.
For ordering, contact:
Your IBM representative, an IBM Business Partner, or IBM Americas Call Centers at
800-IBM-CALL
(Reference: YE001).
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CICS® Service Flow Feature is a business service integration adapter for all CICS applications.
It offers both tooling and run-time components. These components enable enterprise solution
architects, enterprise integration developers, and CICS application specialists to create CICS
business services for integration in Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA), business process
collaborations, or enterprise solutions that exploit a loose coupling approach.
The CICS Service Flow Feature delivers the capability to implement CICS business services by
composing a sequence of CICS application interactions. In a single offering, CICS Service Flow
Feature delivers:
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A graphical modeling integrated development environment that enables the creation of CICS business
services by composing a flow of CICS application interactions.
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A generation capability that transforms the composed flow of CICS application interactions to form a
run-time application, highly optimized for the CICS environment, that retains the inherent qualities
of service provided by the existing CICS application implementation.
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A run-time component, known as the Service Flow Runtime, that extends the CICS Transaction Server
for z/OS® (CICS TS) environment. It offers adapters that exploit CICS interfaces to invoke the
CICS terminal-oriented transactions and COMMAREA programs as required by the service flow.
CICS business services built with and hosted in CICS Service Flow Feature expose business function
interfaces that can readily be published as Web services in an SOA by exploiting the Web services
capabilities of CICS TS V3.1. This approach complements and extends the Web services capabilities
offered in CICS for use with composed CICS applications.
Additionally, these business services can be integrated as process steps in a business process
orchestrated by a business process engine such as WebSphere® Process Server.
CICS Service Flow Feature preserves the natural modeling style of business integration solutions
while shielding the solution implementer from the detail of the CICS application implementation.
CICS application interfaces, including 3270 transaction screens and COMMAREAs, can be imported as
components into the composition workspace. Imported CICS application components are composed to
produce a CICS business service adapter that extends the value of CICS application components with a
business service interface.
The CICS Service Flow Runtime adapters allow access to existing CICS transaction and application
interfaces using non-invasive techniques, so that the CICS application assets orchestrated by the
service flow do not have to be altered to support the CICS business service flow. This enables the
fast reuse of existing assets while minimizing the risk of the new implementation.
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CICS TS for z/OS V3.1
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December 16, 2005
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The CICS Service Flow Feature, a business service integration adapter for all CICS applications,
delivers the tooling and runtime that enable CICS business services to be created more quickly and
easily by composing a sequence of CICS application interactions. The high level business function
interfaces exposed by the CICS business services enable effective integration with many styles of
modern enterprise solution such as SOA, business process integration, J2EE distributed
architectures, and message-based Enterprise Application Integration (EAI).
For many enterprises today, core LOB processes are implemented as custom CICS applications. Often
these processes are fundamental to the value that an enterprise offers to its customers, suppliers,
and partners. These applications capture, in their implementation, the optimized business behavior
that an enterprise has built over many years. And as customer, supplier, and partner relationships
have flourished and developed, the reliability, responsiveness, and robustness exhibited both within
the enterprise and externally are perceived as the normal characteristic of enterprise service
delivery.
It is imperative that, as these applications are reused, extended, and transformed in support of new
solutions that meet new business requirements, the value of these applications preserves their
existing quality of service (QOS).
As new business architectures such as application serving, business process integration, and
message-based EAI have developed and become prominent, CICS transport technologies including MQ,
IIOP, and JCA have been introduced to allow access to the business process segments implemented as
CICS applications from these styles of solution architecture. CICS TS V3 extends this set by
delivering Web services support, which enables the value and QOS of existing applications to be
retained but repurposed for new contexts.
CICS Service Flow Feature extends and complements this approach. It enables CICS application
interfaces to be composed to form CICS business services that expose high-level business function
interfaces. The CICS business service captures the transition between many different application
logic components in terms of a flow. The resulting business service performs a high level purpose
(for example, order fulfilment or bill payment), that is meaningful to an external system as a
reusable service.
Typically, modern enterprise solutions require business service level interfaces described using
XML-structured data formats. Reuse of existing application components can significantly benefit new
solution implementation by reducing cost and risk, and by speeding delivery. These benefits are
further magnified if the implementations of the reused components are encapsulated behind an
open-standard interface such as that offered by Web Services, since component reuse will not require
platform-specific implementation knowledge.
Traditional CICS applications were designed to be accessed from a 3270 terminal. The applications
exploit CICS-provided interfaces to generate and interpret the screen content and to manage the
control and interaction with the 3270 terminal. Typically such applications were designed to
deliver a sub-second response to a terminal user by exchanging small amounts of information in quick
succession; in other words, to support a "fine grained" interaction pattern.
In some cases, well-structured CICS applications implement a separation of the 3270 presentation
logic and the application business logic. They introduce the option of exposing a callable
component interface typically implemented as a CICS COMMAREA that adheres to the fine-grained
interaction pattern.
In order to implement an optimal method of integration between modern enterprise solutions and an
existing enterprise system, the number of interactions between the systems should be minimized.
This reduces the volume of request data being exchanged over the transport and the cost of data
content processing in each system. This suggests a "coarse grained" interaction pattern across the
external system boundary complemented by highly optimized processing of the request payload within
the bounds of each system.
CICS Service Flow Feature introduces the capability required to compose fine-grained CICS
application interfaces, both 3270 and COMMAREA, to form a CICS business service that exposes a
coarse-grained business level interface. Using CICS Service Flow Feature, existing CICS application
interfaces can be imported as reusable components. The CICS Service Flow Modeler delivers the flow
modeling and mapping capabilities required to transform the behavior of the application components
to form a business service without changing the underlying implementation. This enables QOS to be
retained.
CICS Service Flow Feature delivers:
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A graphical modeling integrated development environment that enables the creation of CICS business
services by composing a flow of CICS application interactions
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A generation capability that transforms the composed flow of CICS application interactions to form a
run-time application, highly optimized for the CICS environment, that retains the inherent QOS
delivered by the existing CICS application implementation.
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A run-time component, known as the Service Flow Runtime, that extends the CICS TS environment by
offering adapters that exploit CICS interfaces to invoke the CICS terminal-oriented transactions and
COMMAREA programs, as required by the service flow.
CICS Service Flow Feature Service Flow Modeler is a multifunctional tool base on the Eclipse
framework. It supports modern application architectures and the transformation and reuse of existing
application processes.
It is designed to help leverage your investment, and the QOS, of existing enterprise information
systems and CICS applications, while at the same time enabling the move towards SOA. The Service
Flow Modeler lets you:
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Model a newly composed business service — or flow — using processes or services and their
interfaces
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Capture existing screen or communication area interfaces and generate a new SOA suitable interface
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Generate adapters to and from interfaces supporting both the accumulation of information — used in
request and response processing — as well as data transformation activities between the flow and
the interface
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Expose business flows as a service or Web service
The Service Flow Modeler delivers a screen navigation mode. While in this mode, it is possible to
record a sequence of 3270 screens in a CICS application to form a reusable component. So, when a
business service request is invoked in CICS, the business service navigates the appropriate 3270
screen sequences, formulates a consolidated response, and sends a single service response to the
requestor.
CICS Service Flow Feature generator consumes the modeled flow of CICS application interactions and
produces:
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COBOL source code that implements the modeled business service behavior
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Run-time properties that are required to support CICS configuration
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The JCL required for compilation
The run-time component produced by the generator directly exploits CICS-provided capabilities such
as the Link3270 Bridge and CICS Business Transaction Services. This ensures a highly optimized
implementation for the CICS environment that retains the inherent qualities of service delivered by
the existing CICS application implementation. This approach to generation enables the navigation or
sequence flow to be placed closer to the CICS target applications, allowing multiple transactions or
applications to be accessed by invoking a single function of the CICS business service.
The Service Flow Runtime component of the CICS Service Flow Feature extends CICS TS with the
components and configuration required for flow sequence orchestration.
The CICS Service Flow Runtime delivers adapters for access to existing CICS transaction and
application interfaces using non-invasive techniques, so that the CICS application assets
orchestrated by the service flow do not have to be altered to support the CICS business service
flow. This enables the fast reuse of existing assets while minimizing the risk of the new
implementation. If required, the CICS business service can persist state data related to the
business service between multiple invocations of the CICS application interfaces.
Where there is a requirement to integrate information from non-CICS applications into the CICS
business service, the Service Flow Runtime delivers a WebSphere MQ adapter that enables the CICS
business service flow to access any MQ-enabled application, wherever it may reside in the enterprise
solution architecture.
The base capabilities offered by CICS TS to access CICS application interfaces extend to
capabilities such as:
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Link3270 Bridge
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Distributed Program Link (DPL)
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WebSphere MQ Adapter
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Front End Programming Interface (FEPI)
The CICS Service Flow Runtime exploits these capabilities when generating the CICS business service
function to deliver the implementation needed to reuse the existing CICS applications as components
in the CICS business service flow.
CICS business services built using CICS Service Flow Feature are optimized for the CICS TS
environment and are directly deployed to it and have characteristics equivalent to traditional CICS
applications. This approach ensures continued use of existing proven systems and operations
management policies and practices while preserving important qualities of service such as security,
scalability, and performance delivered by the existing CICS applications.
Other information
The following new information is provided concerning CICS TS.
MAP support in CICSPlex® SM Web User interface:
Support for the MAP function is being added to the CICSPlex SM Web User Interface. It will be
made available, via the service channel, on or before June 24, 2006.
OS/VS COBOL:
As indicated in previous announcements, CICS runtime support for OS/VS COBOL (5740-CB1,
5734-CB4, and 5740-LM1) is not provided in CICS TS V3.1. To assist users of CICS TS in preparing
for migration to CICS TS V3.1, a new function has been shipped via the service channel for CICS TS
V2.2 and V2.3, in PTF for APAR PK10480. This writes a message to a new Transient Data (TD) Queue;
this TD Queue is intended to record usage of deprecated functions in a region. A message will be
written every time a new OS/VS COBOL program is loaded or reloaded.
In addition to these online warnings, an offline detection facility will also made available. This
will be delivered as a SupportPac™, on December 2, 2005.
Support for mixed-case passwords:
As described in the announcement of CICS TS V3.1, a function has been introduced that gives the
ability to support the capability delivered in z/OS V1.7 for case-sensitive passwords. When this
function is active, it will be indicated on the CICS-supplied signon panel.
This function has already been delivered on CICS TS V3.1. It will be made available in PTF for APAR
PK08496 on CICS TS V2.2 and V2.3 on December 16, 2005.
Web Services Assistant:
A new Java™ API for invoking the Web Services Assistant is made available in CICS TS V3.1 via
the service channel, in PTF for APAR PK12805.
In addition, the Web Services Assistant API is available on Windows™, as a SupportPac.
Accessibility by people with disabilities
The Service Flow Runtime component of CICS Service Flow Feature has no interfaces to a user. The
Service Flow Modeler is a part of WebSphere Developer for zSeries® V6.0.1, and experiences
the accessibility characteristics of that product. The documentation for CICS Service Flow Feature
comes as plug-ins to the CICS TS V3.1 Information Center. This is accessible to people with visual,
physical, or hearing impairment, and incorporates features designed for users with visual
impairment.
Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act
CICS Service Flow Feature is capable as of December 16, 2005, when used in accordance with
IBM's associated documentation, of satisfying the applicable requirements of Section 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act, provided that any assistive technology used with the product properly
interoperates with it.
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The CICS Service Flow Feature enables the implementation of CICS business service interfaces to CICS
Transactions and applications. CICS Business Services are inboard application business service
adapters for the CICS environment that expose coarse-grained interfaces for optimized integration
with business process choreography in Service-Oriented Architectures. These adapters enable
fine-grained CICS application interfaces to be composed to form business service components that can
be externally orchestrated, published as Web services, and integrated with J2EE and message-based
solutions.
The highly optimized nature of the CICS Service Flow Feature infrastructure ensures preservation of
the CICS application qualities of service when accessed from a SOA, a business integration
choreography engine, a J2EE Application Server or EAI, or message-based solutions.
The capability delivered by the CICS Service Flow Feature ensures that the time to value of new
enterprise solutions based on modern SOA, business process or J2EE architectures is enhanced by the
ability to reuse existing software and data assets. Existing CICS application and data assets
should be regarded in this context as reusable components. The CICS Service Flow Feature enables
these components to be sequenced to form a series of related stateful service component invocations
that support a business service interface.
The business service interface is published and is accessible at the boundary of the CICS
environment by a variety of means including Web services, MQ, JCA, and IIOP. This ensures that the
business service implementation is adjacent to the application and data components on which it
relies, preserving the performance, reliability, scalability, and security characteristics that are
critical to the solution, while enabling easy integration.
The CICS Service Flow Feature promotes a hierarchical approach to process-based software solutions.
This architectural scenario describes specialized "subprocess" components, such as CICS business
services, implemented and optimized for particular environments which host the components that they
compose being orchestrated by external process server platforms. Platform application specific
behavior is contained within the bounds of the application platform, and coarse-grained service
interfaces are externalized at the subprocess boundary.
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SOA/ESB and Business Process integration
SOA and Business Integration solutions are able to exploit Web services to integrate with CICS
business services implemented using the CICS Service Flow Feature. This approach benefits by
optimizing the number of requests required to execute a given business service function in CICS.
Also, the CICS business service function interface is exposed in a consistent Web service style that
masks the detail of the underlying CICS application implementation. This enables effective service
reuse by process integration developers who do not require deep CICS expertise to implement an
effective solution.
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J2EE distributed architectures
WebSphere Application Server and other J2EE-based distributed applications can effectively
integrate with CICS Service Flow Feature CICS business services by exploiting either the CICS
Transaction Gateway JCA capability or by issuing EJB requests to the CICS Java environment. The
high level business service interfaces exposed by the CICS business services increase the solution
efficiency by reducing the number of JCA requests required; or, in the EJB scenario, by enabling a
single CICS Link request to be made to execute a given business service function in CICS.
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EAI and message-based solutions
WebSphere Business Integration Message Broker and WebSphere MQ-based EAI solutions can exploit
WebSphere MQ messages to integrate effectively with CICS business services implemented using the
CICS Service Flow feature. This approach benefits by optimizing the number of requests required to
execute a given business service function in CICS. Also the CICS business service function
interface is exposed with an MQ Message format style that masks the detail of the underlying CICS
application implementation within an understandable XML format. This enables effective service
reuse by integration developers who do not require deep CICS expertise to implement an effective
solution.
For each technology scenario described above, the capabilities of the CICS Service Flow Feature
facilitate and promote a teamwork approach to enterprise solution development between the
integration developer or process designer of the SOA solution and the CICS application specialist.
The shared knowledge and understanding resulting from this mode of operation will benefit the
effective implementation of solutions within an enterprise for many years to come, generating faster
return on investment through effective application asset reuse.
CICS TS V2 SOAP for CICS feature:
SOAP for CICS is a no-charge orderable feature of CICS TS V2 that is fully supported for use in
a production environment. SOAP for CICS enables CICS application specialists to expose CICS
application interfaces as SOAP services by implementing CICS integration logic that exploits inboard
CICS adapter technologies such as Distributed Program Link (DPL) for CICS COMMAREA programs, and the
LINK3270 Bridge for CICS terminal-oriented transactions.
SOAP for CICS should be considered by all customers of CICS TS V2 who want to enable CICS
applications easily to participate in new business opportunities involving open standards
technology. Solution assets developed for SOAP for CICS solutions benefit from easy forward
migration to the Web services support in CICS TS V3.1, which offers an enriched Web Services
capability, compliant with prevalent Web Services standards, supported by a performance-optimized
architecture and enhanced tools and utilities for solution development.
The CICS Service Flow Feature complements the capability offered by other elements of the WebSphere
portfolio:
WebSphere Host Access Transformation Server (HATS):
HATS delivers tools to extend existing terminal applications quickly and easily to business
partners, customers, and employees. In addition to transforming the user experience of existing
applications, HATS can be used to transform and expand the connectivity of existing terminal
applications by extending the applications as Web services. Web services generated with HATS are
deployed to an IBM WebSphere Application Server.
The Service Flow Modeler capability of WebSphere Developer for zSeries V6.0.1 can be used in
conjunction with HATS to translate 3270 or 5250-based interfaces to Web services, HTML, and
XML-based interfaces.
Service Flow Modeler can be used with HATS, WebSphere Application Server, and any supported release
of CICS TS to record CICS terminal-oriented application screen sequences and then, using HATS
with WebSphere Application Server, to configure and deploy the results as Web services. This can be
achieved either with WebSphere Application Server on zSeries or on a distributed platform. HATS on
zSeries is able to coexist with any supported level of CICS TS.
This approach may benefit CICS TS V2 customers with an immediate need to integrate CICS 3270
transactions with an SOA using Web services, but who are constrained in forward migration to CICS TS
V3.1 or have limited availability of CICS application specialist solution development skills.
The solution assets resulting from this approach can be redeployed from Service Flow Modeller
directly onto CICS TS V3.1, enabling easy forward migration of existing solution assets.
WebSphere Process Server:
WebSphere Process Server V6 is a single, integrated platform with the combined benefits of a
robust J2EE runtime delivered by WebSphere Application Server and rich, sophisticated business
process integration capabilities. It delivers business flexibility on a highly scalable, reliable
platform. WebSphere Process Server V6 is the first to offer robust process automation, advanced
human workflow, business rules with rich application-to-application (A2A) and business-to-business
(B2B) capabilities all on a common, native SOA platform with full Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)
connectivity.
WebSphere Process Server supports the Common Event Infrastructure as the foundation for monitoring
applications. WebSphere Process Server implements a number of components/services that can be used
in an integration solution. Service Component Architecture is the invocation model supported by
WebSphere Process Server. Every integration component is described through a consistent interface
style. Service Component Architecture (SCA) Bindings specify the physical description of
components. Services can be accessed as Java Objects (PoJos), EJBs, Web services, JMS Messages and
Adapters.
Business objects are the universal data description supported by WebSphere Process Server for
describing data going in and out of services. Business objects are based on the service data object
(SDO) standard. WebSphere Process Server includes business rules capabilities that extend to rule
sets (if/then rules) as well as decision tables.
In addition to automated business processes, WebSphere Process server supports Human Task flow with
the Human Task Manager. This allows for implementation of AdHoc Staff flows.
WebSphere Process Server delivers for Business State Machines, as another method of modeling, a
business process. Some processes that are highly event driven, such as an order which could be
canceled at any point during the order process, require a state machine paradigm model. WebSphere
Process Server allows a service model to be described using unified modeling language (UML) state
machine diagrams to define such event-driven business processes.
WebSphere Process Server supports four kinds of mediations that allow information flow between
process stages:
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Maps: To transform one kind of business object into another
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Relationships: To allow key management for same objects in different data stores (for example, a
customer record has a different identifier in SAP than in Siebel)
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Interface Mediation: To translate between semantically identical but syntactically different
services — for example, updateCustomer (Customer) to updateCustomerInSAP (SAPCustomer)
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Selector: To allow the invocation of a different component (with the same interface) based on
business rules
WebSphere Integration Developer (WID) Integration Adapters:
WID Integration Adapters deliver a mechanism that allows for integration of existing Enterprise
Information System infrastructure and WebSphere Process Server applications. They comply with the
integration pattern for J2EE distributed architectures described previously in this section, and
support both JMS and JCA transports. WID allows JCA-based access to CICS applications encapsulated
within a consistent SCA style interface and exploits the capabilities of the CICS Transaction
Gateway.
WebSphere Process Server applications that utilize this SCA style of integration for access to CICS
implement a "fine grained" interaction pattern. The integration logic and CICS parameter
transformation and mapping required to support interaction with the CICS applications must be built
into the WebSphere Process Server solution implementation, and require CICS knowledgeable skills to
implement.
IBM recommends that enterprises considering this nature of solution assess the advantages of a Web
Services implementation style as an alternative.
The CICS Service flow feature can be used to complement the WID adapter approach by providing access
to the high-level business service interfaces exposed by the CICS business services. This will
increase the efficiency of the implementation by reducing the number of SCA requests required for
effective integration.
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SmoothStart™/installation services
The following services are available for CICS TS V3.1.
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IBM Technology Assessment and Consultancy — Healthcheck on CICS TS
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IBM services for CICS Web enablement
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IBM migration services for CICS TS
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IBM installation services for CICSPlex SM
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TCAM to IBM WebSphere MQ Gateway Migration Services
For general information on IBM Global Services, refer to
For services for CICS, refer to
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For information on WebSphere Developer for zSeries V6.0.1, refer to Software Announcement
205-304
, dated November 22, 2005.
For the announcement of WebSphere Developer for zSeries V6.0, refer to Software Announcement
205-112
, dated May 10, 2005.
For the announcement of CICS TS for z/OS V3.1, refer to Software Announcement
204-285
, dated November 30, 2004.
For the last announcement of MQSeries® Integrator Agent for CICS TS, refer to Software
Announcement
204-040
, dated March 16, 2004.
For information about support for case-sensitive passwords in z/OS V1.7, refer to Software
Announcement
204-180
, dated August 10, 2004.
Business Partner information
If you are a Direct Reseller - System Reseller acquiring products from IBM, you may link directly to
Business Partner information for this announcement. A PartnerWorld ID and password are required
(use IBM ID).
BP Attachment for Announcement Letter 205-303
Trademarks
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SupportPac and SmoothStart are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the
United States or other countries or both.
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CICS, z/OS, WebSphere, CICSPlex, zSeries, and MQSeries are registered trademarks of International
Business Machines Corporation in the United States or other countries or both.
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Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
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Java is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.
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Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.
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For a list of relevant education for WebSphere® Developer for zSeries® V6.0.1, refer to Software
Announcement
205-304
, dated November 22, 2005.
IBM Global Services, IT Education Services, provides education to support many IBM offerings.
Descriptions of courses for IT professionals and managers are on the IBM IT Education Services Web
site
Refer to the IBM IT Education Services Web site for information on course
locations and availability dates.
Call IBM IT Education Services at 800-IBM-TEACH (426-8322) for catalogs,
schedules, and enrollments.
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Hardware requirements
The CICS® Service Flow Feature Service Flow Runtime will run on any processor capable of
supporting the operating system and CICS TS for z/OS® V3.1.
For information on the Service Flow Modeler, refer to the information on WebSphere Developer for
z/OS V6.0.1, in the reference announcement.
Software requirements
CICS Service Flow Feature Service Flow Runtime requires:
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CICS TS for z/OS V3.1
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z/OS V1.4, or later
For information on the software requirements of Service Flow Modeler, see information on WebSphere
Developer for z/OS V6.0.1, in the reference announcement.
Compatibility
MQSeries® Integrator Agent for CICS TS V1.1 (MQSI Agent for CICS, 5655-F25):
On October 28, 2003, in the announcement of CICS TS for z/OS V2.3, IBM announced the
intention to include in that product capability which would replace the MQSI Agent for CICS run-time
function. On June 7, 2005, IBM announced the withdrawal from marketing of MQSI Agent for
CICS, effective December 31, 2005.
Note also that, as IPLA licensed software, the support plan for MQSI Agent for CICS will follow the
announced IBM software support lifecycle policy, which features:
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A minimum of 3 years of support beginning at the general availability date of the version/release of
the product (for MQSI Agent for CICS, the applicable general availability date is
April 30, 2004)
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End of support (EoS) announced at least 12 months prior to when it is effective
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EoS to be at least 12 months after withdrawal from marketing
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The EoS date to be either April 30 or September 30
The announcement by IBM on June 7, 2005 also stated that:
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The tooling capability in MQSI Agent for CICS, the MQSI Agent for CICS Adapter Builder, is replaced
by the Service Flow Modeler in WebSphere Developer for z/OS V6.
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The server runtime function of MQSI Agent for CICS is replaced by capability in CICS TS for z/OS
V3.1.
Today's announcement of the CICS Service Flow Feature extends this:
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It delivers a single offering that combines new tooling and run-time capability that replace MQSI
Agent for CICS in a single package.
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The CICS Service Flow Feature includes the run-time functions of MQSI Agent for CICS, and offers a
strategic migration path for MQSI Agent for CICS.
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The CICS Service Flow Feature delivers the integration technology referred to in the previous
announcements as a no-charge, fully supported optional feature.
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The CICS Service Flow Feature delivers full backward compatibility with the MQSI Agent for CICS
Server runtime, to enable seamless forward migration of MQSI Agent for CICS solution assets.
Existing generated MQSI Agent for CICS flows will continue to run under the CICS Service Flow
Feature without modification.
Note, however, that a migration process will be necessary for MQSI Agent for CICS Adapter Builder
artefacts to be used by the Service Flow Modeler to generate new CICS Service Flow Runtime
artefacts. A migration utility to assist in this will be available.
Message Driven Processor (MDp):
In 2003, IBM notified all MDp customers of the discontinuance of service on MDp effective
December 31, 2004, with service extensions available. IBM recommends that all customers
still using MDp urgently consider implementing a strategic forward migration to the CICS Service
Flow Feature.
Migration services:
Skilled consultants from IBM Software Services for WebSphere are available to assess your
current MDp environment and discuss for CICS integration initiatives, including proof of concept and
migration and/or re-engineering of existing MDp applications. Please contact your IBM
representative or a Software Services Sales Representative for further information on services
offerings.
Customers with MQSI Agent for CICS or MDp considering migrating to CICS Service Flow Feature who
require further clarification should contact Mary Mallett, Relationship Manager for MQSI Agent for
CICS and MDp, at
You can also contact Keiron Casey, at
Planning information
Packaging:
The CICS Service Flow Feature is delivered only via Customized Offerings, on the media formats
available in the Customized Offerings. With it is delivered a Program Directory. (For further
information on publications, refer to the
Publications
section.) There is no separate Licensed Program Specifications document. The CICS Service Flow
Feature is included in the Licensed Program Specifications of the parent product.
The Service Flow Modeler component of CICS Service Flow Feature, together with associated functions
(as defined in the
Terms and conditions
section of this announcement) are provided on CD-ROMs. These CD-ROMs are delivered as a subset of a
complete media pack of WebSphere Developer for zSeries V6.0.1.
Security, auditability, and control
CICS Service Flow Feature uses the security and auditability features of the base operating system
under which it is operating. It also produces its own audit logs, providing a full audit trail for
all users. The customer is responsible for evaluation, selection, and implementation of security
features, administrative procedures, and appropriate controls in application systems and
communication facilities.
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Ordering z/OS through the Internet
ShopzSeries provides an easy way to plan and order your z/OS ServerPac or CBPDO. It will analyze
your current installation, determine the correct product migration, and present your new
configuration based on z/OS. Additional products can also be added to your order (including
determination of whether all product requisites are satisfied). ShopzSeries is available in the
U.S. and several countries in Europe. In countries where ShopzSeries is not available yet, contact
your IBM representative (or IBM Business Partner) to handle your order via the traditional IBM
ordering process. For more details and availability, visit the ShopzSeries Web site at
Current licensees
This feature can be ordered either by customers who are already installed users of, or as part of a
new order for, CICS TS for z/OS V3.1.
New licensees
Orders for new licenses can be placed now. Shipments of the basic machine-readable material are
through the Customized Offerings only.
Shipment will begin on the planned availability date.
To order this feature of CICS TS for z/OS V3.1 via the stand-alone ordering path, specify the
program number, 5655-M15, and feature number 9001 for asset registration.
In addition, specify the following:
Orderable
Description Supply ID
CICS TS for z/OS V3.1:
CICS Service Flow Feature S0129LW
Note that an order placed by the standalone path results in the shipment of the associated items
(refer to the
Packaging
section), but not of the machine-readable media. In order to receive machine-readable media, an
order must be placed via the Customized Offerings.
Basic machine-readable material:
This feature ships its executable code via the Customized Offerings (CBPDO, ServerPac,
SystemPac®). Non-customized items (such as CD-ROMs, Memos, and Hardcopy Publications) continue to
be shipped via the stand-alone product. The media type for the items is chosen during the ordering
procedure for the Customized Offerings.
Publications
The printed program directory
CICS Service Flow Feature: Program Directory
(GI13-0505)
No other hardcopy publications are provided.
The softcopy publication
CICS Service Flow Runtime: User's Guide
(SC34-5899) is offered.
This is available in PDF format from the IBM Publications Center, at
It will also be included as an Eclipse document plug-in for the CICS TS
V3.1 Information Center, when that is next refreshed. The CICS TS V3.1
Information Center is available from the IBM Publications Center.
The Program Directory is also available in PDF format from the IBM
Publications Center.
Customized offerings
CICS TS for z/OS V3.1 is shipped only via customized offerings (that is, CBPDO, ServerPac, and
SystemPac). Non-customized items, including the CD-ROMs of the Service Flow Modeler, are shipped
via an order for the stand-alone product.
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The terms for CICS TS for z/OS V3.1, licensed under the IBM Customer Agreement, are unchanged by
this announcement. These terms apply to the CICS Service Flow Feature. Should the license for CICS
TS for z/OS V3 lapse, then so does the license for CICS Service Flow Feature.
Components of WebSphere Developer for zSeries:
A license for CICS Service Flow Feature includes 10 licenses to install and run the following
functions that are part of IBM WebSphere Developer for zSeries (WDz), which is delivered with CICS
Service Flow Feature:
-
Service Flow Modeler (SFM)
-
XML Services for the Enterprise (XSE) and XML tools
-
The Web Services Test Environment
-
The Web Services Test Client
-
Web Services Explorer
-
IBM Support Assistant
-
WDz Help facility
The license for CICS Service Flow Feature does not include license to use any other function of
WebSphere Developer for zSeries.
Your use of these functions of WebSphere Developer for zSeries is subject to the terms and
conditions of the license agreement that accompanies WebSphere Developer for zSeries, except as
limited in this text.
If more than 10 licenses for the identified functions of WebSphere Developer for zSeries are
required, then the appropriate number of licenses of WebSphere Developer for zSeries must be
obtained.
Program services:
The entitlement for program services for CICS Service Flow Feature includes program services
for the Service Flow Modeler (SFM), XML Services for the Enterprise (XSE) and XML Tools, the Web
Services Test Environment, the Web Services Test Client, Web Services Explorer, IBM Support
Assistant, and WDz Help facility functions of WebSphere Developer for zSeries. Program services for
these functions should be requested via CICS service.
Note that the duration of service of these functions of WebSphere Developer for zSeries will be that
of the applicable level of the WebSphere Developer for zSeries product offering. A customer with a
valid license for CICS TS for z/OS V3.1 obtains the level of function for WebSphere Developer for
zSeries that is in service for the CICS Service Flow Feature by placing a new order for the CICS
Service Flow Feature.
IBM Operational Support Services — SupportLine:
Yes
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The prices provided in this announcement are suggested retail prices for the U.S. and are provided
for your information only. Dealer prices may vary, and prices may also vary by country. Prices are
subject to change without notice. For additional information and current prices, contact your local
IBM representative.
There is no charge for the CICS Service Flow Feature.
Reference information
For information and ordering information for the base product, CICS TS for z/OS V3.1, refer to
Software Announcement
204-285
, dated November 30, 2004.
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To order, contact the Americas Call Centers, your local IBM representative, or your IBM Business
Partner.
To identify your local IBM representative or IBM Business Partner, call 800-IBM-4YOU (426-4968).
Phone: 800-IBM-CALL (426-2255)
Fax: 800-2IBM-FAX (242-6329)
Internet: callserv@ca.ibm.com
Mail: IBM Americas Call Centers
Dept. Teleweb Customer Support, 9th floor
105 Moatfield Drive
North York, Ontario
Canada M3B 3R1
Reference: YE001
The Americas Call Centers, our national direct marketing organization, can add your name to the
mailing list for catalogs of IBM products.
Note:
Shipments will begin after the planned availability date.
Trademarks
-
-
WebSphere, zSeries, CICS, z/OS, MQSeries, and SystemPac are registered trademarks of International
Business Machines Corporation in the United States or other countries or both.
-
-
Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.
At a glance
