z/OS Communications Server

Custom TCP/IP Solutions

Custom solutions are tailored to match the customer's needs. We provide a wide range of skills ranging from providing network architecture, design, and assessment of your network to providing necessary skill sets. Additionally, we can provide performance and capacity planning skills, along with specialized services such as migrating customers' CICS applications from the Interlink (TCPAccess) TCP/IP stack to the IBM Communications Server TCP/IP stack. These offerings, along with the skills of the consultants, enable customers to reduce deployment time while being confident that the direction is sound.

Specialized services we can provide:

• IP Security: We can assist with designing and implementing a secure IP network to protect your business transanction and your environment. For example, AT-TLS, SSL, and IPSec can be enabled to encrypt and authenticate your sensitive data. IP Filtering can be used to block unauthorized access to you system resources. Intrusion Detection Services can be enabled to monitor for scans and attaches from both internal and external threats. In addition, Policy Agent filters can be used to control application traffic inbound and outbound to your systems.

• Implementation of Gigabit Ethernet using OSA-Express adapters: There are many issues to consider with OSA-Express such as routing, ARP, IP address registration, port sharing between multiple LPARS, QDIO vs. LCS, and migration from other hardware environments. We can assist you in the migration from Cisco CIPs using the CLAW or MPC+ interfaces to OSA-Express or from OSA-2 to OSA-Express. We can address any issues regarding dynamic routing protocols in an OSA-Express environment.

• Network design: We can provide assistance with IP addressing, topology, and subnetting design issues such as the size and number of subnets and when you would want to use them along with topological placement of your mainframe TCP/IP instances.

• Implementation of dynamic routing protocols: z/OS Communications Server provides two routing daemons, ORouteD and OMPROUTE. OMPROUTE is the preferred daemon and the only one which supports OSPF. We can migrate you from ORouteD and the RIP protocol to OMPROUTE and OSPF. We can also migrate you from a statically-routed environment to OSPF. OSPF stub areas, area boundary routers (ABR), autonomous system boundary routers (ASBR), and importing static routes are examples of issues we can provide solutions for.

• TN3270 and TN3270E: TN3270(E) parameters and options are seemingly endless. We can assist with understanding the issues between TN3270 and TN3270E, providing ways to ease the definitions of large numbers of resources, understanding the precedence of the different TN3270 parameters and options so that your TN3270 clients access what you want them to access. We can also help you establish secure Telnet access using SSL and certificates.

• TN3270 Capacity Planning: As customers migrate from native SNA to IP-based solutions such as TN3270, they would like to be assured that their current and future OS/390 systems will handle the new protocols and new traffic patterns. We can help you to determine the capacity requirements for your projected TN3270 loading. We can assist in future planning and by modeling of your environment and traffic. This can also be extremely helpful in selecting hardware options like Cisco CIPs and OSA Express.

• Understanding the load-balancing and dynamic functions: VIPA, Dynamic XCF, Dynamic VIPA, DNS/WLM, and Sysplex Distributor. The dynamic functions of z/OS CS provide a range of functions from ease of definition to load balancing and high availibility. We can show you how to utilize Dynamic VIPA's IP address takeover and takeback functions to provide high-availability TCP/IP services and how to use Sysplex Distributor to provide a single-image view of your Communications Server Sysplex while providing load balancing. We can show you how to use the Sysplex Distributor/Cisco MNLB coupling which further extends the function of Sysplex Distributor.

• Configuring a DNS: We can implement a DNS and provide solutions implementing domains and sub-domains, even in special situations such as those involving firewalls.

• FTP: We can show you how to configure both the FTP server and client, addressing issues such as commonality of the parameters between the server and client, server affinity, resolver issues, MVS dataset vs. HFS files, JES access, and the enhanced user exits.

• Other TCP/IP applications: z/OS Communications Server provides a robust set of applications for which we can assist with the setup and use: for example, SMTP, SNMP agents, policy agent, and REXEC.

• General health checks: We can analyze your system's configuration and setup for existing or potential problems. Additionally, we provide suggestions on how to better configure your system. Not only will we examine the configuration files but we will also check related definitions such as those for z/OS UNIX System Services.

• IPv6 Pilot Implementation: We will help customers plan and build an IPv6 testing and development environment. This will prepare your installation for quick deployment of IPv6 in production when the business requires it and when the products are ready for it.