TCP/IP High Availability Solutions for z/OS

Customer installations that have implemented TCP/IP on z/OS systems would like to provide a higher availability access to the systems' applications. They need to be aware of various scenarios for higher availability so they may evaluate appropriate solutions for their particular need and to be able to define the steps to implement the solutions.

z/OS systems have developed over the years in terms of their support for TCP/IP communications. As well, these systems generally have a very high level of processing power that most installations would like to access on demand. This requires the implementation of solutions that provide high availability for the z/OS.

Providing high availability for z/OS relies upon the use of load balancing and fault tolerant (or backup) options. This course reviews the connectivity, routing, and rebalance workload issues that may arise to establish the need for some of the solutions. This course answers questions such as: What if the network interface goes down? What if one of the outbound routers goes down? What if I need to move the application from one system to another?

This course reviews solutions that support concepts of high availability across each type of system configuration for the following three key considerations:

• Availability / Fault Tolerance
• Load Balancing
• Routing Backup

System programmers, network designers, network technicians, system analysts, and IT architects responsible for high availability solutions regarding z/OS and TCP/IP.

A basic understanding of TCP/IP Architecture, knowledge of z/OS TCP/IP basic configuration, and knowledge of z/OS systems.

• TCP/IP Architecture (NW48)
• TCP/IP Implementation for z/OS  (CB69)

After completing this course, you should be able to:

• Describe the options for High Availability for TCP/IP in both sysplex and non-sysplex environments
• Understand the use and setup of Dynamic VIPAs
• Understand how to configure TCP/IP in order to exploit the high availability options available
• Discuss the differences between internal and external load balancing solutions for the z/OS environment

Day 1

• (00:30) Welcome
• (00:30) Unit 1 - High Availability and TCP/IP
• (00:15) Break
• (01:15) Unit 2- Non-Sysplex System Options, Topics 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3
• (01:00) Lunch
• (01:30) Lab exercises 1, 2, and 3
• (00:15) Break
• (01:30) Topic 2.4
• (00:30) Lab exercise 4

Day 2

• (00:30) Review (optional)
• (00:30) Unit 2- Non-Sysplex System Options, Topic 2.5 start
• (00:15) Break
• (00:45) Topics 2.5, 2.6, and 2.7
• (00:30) Lab exercise 5
• (01:00) Lunch
• (01:00) Unit 3- Sysplex System Options - Fundamentals, Topic 3.1
• (00:15) Break
• (00:30) Lab exercise 6
• (01:30) Topic 3.2
• (00:30) Lab exercise 7

Day 3

• (00:30) Review (optional)
• (00:30) Unit 3- Sysplex System Options - Fundamentals, Topic 3.3 start
• (00:15) Break
• (01:15) Topic 3.3
• (01:00) Lunch
• (00:45) Lab exercise 8
• (00:15) Break
• (00:45) Lab exercise 9
• (01:00) Topic 3.4
• (01:00) Lab exercise 10

Day 4

• (00:30) Review (optional)
• (00:45) Unit 4- Sysplex Distributor, Topic 4.1 start
• (00:15) Break
• (01:00) Topic 4.1 cont.
• (01:00) Lunch
• (00:45) Lab exercise 11
• (00:45) Topics 4.2 and 4.3
• (00:15) Break
• (00:45) Lab exercise 12
• (01:00) Unit 5 - External Load Balancing