Features and benefits of FPB

IMS Fast Path Basic Tools consists of the following tools; DEDB Pointer Checker, DEDB Tuning Aid, DEDB Unload, and DEDB Reload.

DEDB Pointer Checker is a tool for database administrators and technical support personnel. It provides complete database integrity verification, and summary and detail analysis reports for those directly involved in database management, maintenance, and performance tuning.

When used in an appropriate manner, on a regular basis, DEDB Pointer Checker can help you to:

Verify the complete integrity of all IMS pointer chains, FSE chains, VSAM control fields, and space management
Improve performance and transaction throughput
Determine the optimal time for database reorganization
Determine the optimal physical attributes for the database (that is, optimal values for the ROOT and UOW parameters on the AREA statement in your DBD)
Eliminate application failures caused by out-of-space conditions
Increase productivity of database support personnel
Make more efficient use of IMS regions and buffer pools
Evaluate the effectiveness of the randomizing module
Reduce maintenance frequency and the associated costs (for example, logging activity or log record volumes)
Reduce DASD requirements

DEDB Tuning Aid is a comprehensive tuning utility for DBAs and technical support staff who are directly involved in database management, maintenance and performance management. DEDB Tuning Aid tests necessary database changes before beginning the time-consuming unload/reload process and shares a common report generation module to help simplify tuning evaluation and comparison. None of these functions influences or impacts IMS system performance or database availability.

DEDB Unload and DEDB Reload are tools for database administrators and technical support personnel involved in database management, maintenance, and performance tuning. The facilities provided by DEDB Unload and DEDB Reload can:

Increase application availability
Significantly reduce the time and resources required for database maintenance
Significantly reduce the time and resources required for offline sequential reporting runs
Increase the productivity of database support personnel
Significantly reduce maintenance and database conversion costs.

Support for IMS managed ACBs environment

In an IMS managed ACBs environment, IMS can manage the runtime application control blocks (ACBs) for databases and program views for you. When IMS manages ACBs, IMS no longer requires DBD, PSB, and ACB libraries.

The following tools of FPB support IMS managed ACBs environment.

DEDB Pointer Checker
DEDB Unload
DEDB Reload

For more information, see the following topics:

Topic "IMS Tools Catalog Interface" in the IMS Fast Path Solution Pack: IMS High Performance Fast Path Utilities User's Guide
For DEDB Pointer Checker, IMSCATHLQ and IMSCATACB_INPUT keywords in FABADA1 SYSIN DD data set
For DEDB Unload, IMSCATHLQ, IMSCATACB_INPUT, and IMSCATACB_OUTPUT keywords in DEDB Unload SYSIN DD data set control statements
For DEDB Reload, IMSCATHLQ and IMSCATACB_INPUT keywords in DEDB Reload SYSIN DD data set control statements

Support for DEDB encryption

All the tools of FPB support encrypted DEDB area data sets (ADSs).

To enable the tools to process DEDB ADSs that are encrypted with z/OS® data set encryption, APAR PI83756 must be applied to IMS 15.

You do not need to change the JCL streams to process encrypted DEDB ADSs.