The latest z/OS enhancements

The end of June saw the second quarter enhancements to z/OS. In case you missed them, here are the key features from the announcement.

• z/OS Parallel Sysplex^(R) enhancements for the IBM z16TM CFLEVEL 25: Enhancements include z/OS support for the new z16TM coupling facility, CFLEVEL 25, which provides a variety of enhancements for improved Parallel Sysplex performance, scalability, and resiliency.
• CFRM support for 4096 CF structures in a Parallel Sysplex: Previously announced support for up to 4096 CF structures in a sysplex has been temporarily disabled/withdrawn, pending a complete resolution to issues found with the support.
•  z/OS support for System Recovery Boost: Enhancements to accompany the IBM z16 can provide boosted processor capacity and parallelism for specific recovery events. Client-selected middleware starts and restarts may be boosted to expedite recovery for middleware regions and restore steady-state operations as soon as possible. SVC dump processing and HyperSwap^(R) configuration load and reload may be boosted to minimize the impact to running workloads.
•  z/OS upgrade improvements for IBM z16: The z/OS IBM z16 Upgrade Workflow has been provided in a program temporary fix (PTF) to help position z/OS for usage on the new IBM z16 server.
• z/OSMF ServerPac update: Because the z/OSMF Software Management data set merge function is now available and the z/OSMF ServerPac Portable Software Instance has enabled it, the CustomPac Dialog installation method is planned to be removed.
• IBM z/OS Management Facility (z/OSMF) enhancements: New capabilities allow users to better leverage existing CFRM Policy Editor functions, support creating or deleting USS symbolic links, and easily validate the connection status of managed systems.
• Cloud Provisioning and Management for z/OS: Enhancements expand the type of potential configurations a user can modify during the provisioning process.
• z/OS Management Services Catalog enhancements: Numerous enhancements to the user experience flow have been delivered to efficiently create and manage z/OS management services. In addition, two new sample services are provided.
• z/OS Job REST Completion Notification to eliminate Common Information Model (CIM): The asynchronous job completion notification function of the REST jobs API has been enhanced to eliminate the dependency on CIM and Common Event Adapter (CEA). 
• z/OS Container Extensions (zCX) enhancements: A new performance improvement has been delivered to reduce the chances of lock contention in high frequency code paths.
• Data Set File System: The new physical file system renders traditional z/OS data sets accessible by programs, shell scripts, and end users of z/OS UNIX^(R) System Services.
• COBOL-Java^TM interoperability: The IBM Semeru Runtime Certified Edition for z/OS has been enhanced to provide the 31-bit/64-bit interoperability support.
• New IBM Open XL C/C++ 1.1 compiler: A new component for z/OS V2.4 and V2.5 adds C/C++ language standards support, ideal for z/OS UNIX users porting applications from distributed platforms.
• Resource Measurement Facility (RMF) and Advanced Data Gatherer (ADG) enhancements: Support has been added to report on the new Crypto Express 8S card of the IBM z16 and allow machine configurations with up to 256 physical processors.
• MEMLIMIT diagnostics for CICS^(R) and Java enhancements: Serviceability is enhanced for MEMLIMIT diagnosis in high virtual memory.
• z/OS Encryption Readiness Technology (zERT) Network Analyzer enhancements: Passphrase support is added, and usability is improved for database connection authentication.
• RACF^(R) Database Encryption: This function allows an installation to encrypt a VSAM data set that is used as a part of a RACF database as well as share that data set among z/OS systems in certain configurations to help further strengthen the overall security posture of the z/OS platform.
• Compliance support for z/OS: z/OS has been enhanced to modernize compliance data reporting. This support enables the collection of compliance data from numerous IBM z16 and z/OS products and components, and simplifies auditing by publishing z/OS hardening guideline.

The enhancements should be available now.

Z/OS Version 2.5 runs on the following mainframe models:

• IBM z16 Model A01
• IBM z15^TM Models T01 and T02
• IBM z14^(R) Models M01-M05
• IBM z14 Model ZR1
• IBM z13^R)
• IBM z13s^(R)

It’s great to see IBM embracing quarterly updates on z/OS and many of its other products. And it’s also great to see the useful updates that are being produced each quarter.

Just to mention, the latest version of IMS is now available. According to IBM, Version 15.3 “streamlines your journey to the cloud”. You can read the details here.