Featured documents for CICS Transaction Server and CICS Tools

Featured Doc Content:

The content below was sent in the Support Newsletter for CICS Transaction Server and CICS Tools on 07 March 2013. If you would like to subscribe, see the instructions in the IBM Support Newsletter Knowledge Collection.

This document contains links (URLs) to CICS Transaction Server and CICS Tools technical support documents and information that can help you get more value from your software. It is intended to help you to be proactive in your support and administration of CICS Transaction Server and CICS Tools. This document includes:

• In the spotlight
• Plan
• Education

In the spotlight

1. Take a short performance survey and let CICS Development know what matters to you
   The CICS Development organization would like to learn more about the CICS workloads that you run in production, and the aspects of performance that matter the most to you. Please take a few minutes to complete the questionnaire. (new item added 22 March 2013)
   
   
2. Statement of Direction: CICS TS support for mobile and one time charge (OTC) pricing
   IBM CICS Transaction Server for z/OS (CICS TS) intends to deliver enhanced support for mobile applications, and support for deploying qualified new CICS TS workloads on IBM System z New Application License Charges (zNALC) Logical Partitions (LPARs).
   
   
3. Try CICS TS 5.1 for free with CICS TS Developer Trial 5.1
   CICS TS Developer Trial V5.1 is a try-before-you-buy edition of CICS TS V5.1. It has a zero-cost license charge and does not initiate any single version charging (SVC) period. CICS TS Developer Trial V5.1 is available through ShopzSeries as a standard offering.
   
   
4. CICS SupportPacs
   The IBM CICS SupportPac family provides you with a range of downloadable code and documentation that complements the CICS family of products. The majority of SupportPacs are available at no charge to users. Others can be purchased as fee based services from IBM.
   
   CS1V: CICS VSAM Transparency for z/OS plug-in for CICS Explorer (New)
   This plug-in for IBM CICS Explorer will help IBM CICS VSAM Transparency for z/OS users manage their migrated files
   
   
5. See the blog posts for CICS!
   The WebSphere and CICS support blog provides technical information for many of the WebSphere and CICS products. Check the blog for topics that affect you, like: "Sign up by March 12th to help IBM shape the way we deliver our technical information to you" and "CICS Transaction Server now has EPUB". You can start following the blog by using your developerWorks id, or through the RSS feed.
   
   
6. Start following IBM_CICS on Twitter now and receive timely updates!
   Top 5 tweets of 4th quarter you missed if you are not following IBM_CICS on Twitter:
   
   Garanti have provided us with a case study on how they have utilized CICS V4.2, take a look here
   
   If you missed this blog post: CICS Transaction Server now has EPUB! Some CICS books are available for your eReader
   
   New article in IBM Systems Magazine - Latest CICS release enables operational efficiency and service agility
   
   Take a look at how CICS has been utilized by University of Florida
   
   Fixes by version for CICS products
   
   
7. Use Social Media Aggregator in Support Portal to see latest social media content
   This short, 2+ minute video shows you how to see the latest social media content for your IBM products in the IBM Support Portal. It makes it easy to see the latest posts from Twitter, product forums, user groups, blogs, and wikis.
   
   
8. IBM Electronic Support Newsletter is Out!
   Subscribe to IBM Electronic Support News and stay up-to-date with IBM’s portfolio of on-line tools, tips, and resources to keep your systems, software, and applications running smoothly.
   
   

Plan

1. Things to consider when upgrading CICS Transaction Server for z/OS
   While your situation and upgrade proposal might be unique, what are the general advantages and costs when upgrading CICS Transaction Server for z/OS (CICS TS) ? And, what is required when upgrading to the latest releases of CICS TS from earlier releases?
   
   
2. CICS Transaction Server for z/OS 5.1 detailed system requirements
   This document provides access to the detailed system requirements (DSR) for the supported operating systems, hardware and software requirements, and other related information for CICS Transaction Server for z/OS (CICS TS) V5.1.
   
   
3. CICS Explorer (new or updated documents)
   
   Latest version of CICS Explorer and CICS tools plug-ins for CICS TS
   
   CICS Explorer and CICS tools plug-ins release compatibility reference tables
   
   CICS Explorer downloads
   
   
4. Upcoming conferences and seminars
   
   Impact 2013 Conference
   Impact 2013 will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, 28 April-2 May. Register today!
   
   WAVV Conference - World Alliance of VSE VM Linux
   The 2013 WAVV Conference will be held in Covington, Kentucky, 7-10 April.
   
   2013 IBM zEnterprise Technology Summit
   Attend one of our seminars on Cost-Efficiencies of a Modern Application Infrastructure for valuable insight into your enterprise which will lead to optimized performance, cost-effectiveness, faster delivery of services or achieving critical goals. Track-5 is for CICS TS 5.1: 13 March New York, 27 March Dallas, 16 April Toronto, 18 April Washington.
   
   
5. See the new overview video for IBM Support Assistant Team Server!
   IBM Support Assistant (ISA) 5.0 Team Server Beta 2 offers enhanced Java problem determination options. New automated data analysis options find symptoms and display solutions for each symptom. And now one person can download the ISA 5 Beta and others can just point their browsers to that instance,
   
   
6. Sign up to help IBM shape the way that we deliver our technical information to you!
   IBM plans to replace all documentation that is currently in our many Information Centers with one Knowledge Center. IBM would like you to participate in a beta program to test our new Knowledge Center site. Simply sign up by March 12th, spend as little as an hour with the software, and then fill out a single survey.
   
   
7. IBM Electronic Support
   IBM Electronic Support offers on-line support tools and resources to help you diagnose and resolve problems, and maintain your IBM products.
   
   
8. IBM Software Support Lifecycle
   Find detailed information about the available IBM Software Support Lifecycle Policies to help you realize the full value of your IBM software products.
   
   

Education

1. Technical Exchange Webcasts
   Join us as technical experts share their knowledge and then answer your questions. Visit this site often to see upcoming topics or follow IBM_CICS on Twitter to read about upcoming webcasts.
   
   Webcast: CICS IPIC communication Debugging
   This webcast is scheduled for 28 March and will begin with an introduction on working with relevant control blocks, then walk through some common IPIC problem scenarios, analyzing clues to the error from messages and traces. The presenters will then discuss items in the service stream, as well as touching on a performance comparison of IPIC versus XCF-MRO and LU 6.2.
   
   Webcast replay: Sizing and Analyzing JVM Memory Usage under CICS TS for z/OS
   This presentation shows how to size and account for Java™ memory usage under CICS TS for z/OS. It looks primarily at 31-bit JVMs, but it does provide some information on 64-bit Java. It reviews JVMProfiles, the use of tools such as DFH0STAT, Language Environment (LE) run-time options and what you can discover from a dump. Level of Difficulty: Intermediate Presenter(s): Michael Poil Date: 09 January 2013
   
   
2. YouTube demos for CICS Deployment Assistant 5.1
   See how you can understand and manage your CICS environments more easily. Watch these 5 new video demos featuring CICS DA 5.1.
   
   
3. IBM Redbooks publications
   View new Redbooks publications and Workshops, or search for any IBM Redbooks publication.
   
   IBM CICS Performance Series: CICS and VSAM RLS (New)
   This IBM Redpaper publication provides an overview of CICS and RLS concepts, terms, and components. It then shows comparisons and performance characteristics of a simple workload accessing VSAM data, outlines and explains the CICS and RLS activities that occur when a CICS program issues various API calls to RLS, and discusses monitoring data.
   
   IBM CICS Performance Series: A Processor Usage Study of Ways into CICS (New)
   This IBM Redpaper publication focuses on processor usage costs and documents the results of tests that are performed to assess some widely used methods of getting data in and out of CICS.
   
   IBM Problem Determination Tools for z/OS (New)
   IBM Problem Determination (PD) Tools consists of a core group of IBM products that are designed to work with compilers and run times to provide a start-to-finish development solution for the IT professional. This IBM Redbooks publication provides you with an introduction to the tools, guidance for program preparation to use with them, an overview of their integration, and several scenarios for their use.
   
   
4. IBM WebSphere Education for CICS
   This link contains the CICS Transaction Server curriculum.
   
   CICS V4.2 Fundamentals (Remote Class) VM805 has recently been added to the curriculum.
   
   
5. IBM Education Assistant modules for CICS products
   IBM Education Assistant (IEA) is a collection of multimedia educational modules that help you better understand IBM software products and use them more effectively to meet your business requirements.
   
   
6. developerWorks
   An IBM resource for developers and IT professionals.