WebSphere Application Server platform configurations and communication protocol considerations

Depending on the configuration of your IBM® WebSphere® Application Server, you can use either TCP/IP or Local Option as your communication protocol.

The communication protocol that you use depends on the platform configuration of WebSphere Application Server and IMS. The IMS TM resource adapter can be deployed to WebSphere Application Server for distributed platforms (AIX®, HP-UX, Linux®, Linux on System z®, Solaris, or Windows) and to WebSphere Application Server for z/OS®. The IMS TM resource adapter, deployed in WebSphere Application Server, can communicate with IMS Connect by using either the TCP/IP or Local Option communication protocol. Whereas TCP/IP uses sockets, Local Option provides non-socket access (a z/OS program call) to IMS Connect from WebSphere Application Server for z/OS.

  • If WebSphere Application Server is running on a distributed platform, you must use TCP/IP to connect to IMS Connect.
  • If WebSphere Application Server is running on z/OS, you can use either TCP/IP or Local Option to connect to IMS Connect, depending on your configuration. For example:
    • If WebSphere Application Server and IMS Connect are on the same z/OS image, you can use Local Option or TCP/IP.
    • If WebSphere Application Server and IMS Connect are on different z/OS images, you must use TCP/IP.

The following diagram shows several possible deployment scenarios for the IMS TM resource adapter, and the supported communication protocols.

Figure 1. IMS TM resource adapter connections
This diagram shows that the connections between the IMS TM resource adapter and IMS Connect can be TCP/IP sockets or Local Option connections.
Important: The Local Option protocol is no longer enhanced, and does not provide the enhancements that are available in the z/OS support for TCP/IP. Choose Local Option only if you must use the thread identify and local Recovery Resource Services (RRS) two-phase commit feature. All new features in IMS TM Resource Adapter require TCP/IP connections.

The following table describes the communication protocols that are supported for the different platform configurations. All platform configurations support global transactions (two-phase commit).

WebSphere Application Server platform used with the IMS TM resource adapter Supported communication protocols
AIX TCP/IP
HP-UX TCP/IP
Linux TCP/IP
Linux on System z TCP/IP
Solaris TCP/IP
Windows TCP/IP
z/OS TCP/IP
Local Option

To use global transaction support for your IMS and WebSphere Application Server, see the topic on global transaction and two-phase commit support process for more information.