Multinode Persistent Sessions: The Sysplex Data Sharing End Game

1. Multinode Persistent Sessions: The Sysplex Data Sharing End Game Bryant L. Osborn Bank of America

2. Introduction • APPN- (Advanced Peer-to-Peer Networking) VTAM facility introduced in the late 1980’s. • HPR - (High Performance Routing) extension to reroute sessions around links that have failed. • What does this have to do with the future of data sharing? Everything.

3. Definitions • Scalability - a measure of the practical limits to how large a system can be. • CEC - Central Electronics Complex, or mainframe, box, footprint, etc. • CPC - Central Processor Complex, or a CMOS CEC. • CS/390 - New name for VTAM

4. Sysplex Benefits (Besides software discounts) • Improved scalability • Continuous availability

5. Improved Scalability Irwin F. Kraus, “The Parallel Sysplex as SMP: Viewing Performance, Capacity, and Scalability through a Familiar Lens”, CMG96 Proceedings, December, 1996

6. Improved Scalability • For MVS, maintaining the “general case” has too much overhead to go much above 12 processors. • Sysplex no longer supports the “general case”. • Sysplex builds systems by adding MVS images to a Sysplex

7. Improved Scalability “When a user architects a parallel sysplex, the user decides how much data is to be shared, usually much less than 100%. The user decides how many processing nodes will be used and what capacity and performance. The user-system-architect has a lot of control over minimizing overhead and maximizing scalability in a ‘parallel sysplex computer’ ” - Irwin Kraus

8. Improved Scalability • MVS goes ‘massively parallel.’ Parallel Sysplex increases MVS scalability to make truly gigantic workloads possible. • But wait! Hardware improvements have resulted in CECs with 1000+ MIPS • Which way to go?

9. Continuous Availability • As workloads get larger and larger, the risk from an outage becomes greater and greater • Parallel Sysplex may allow continuous availability for overnight batch workloads, but what about interactive workloads with logged-on users?

10. Continuous Availability The $64,000,000 question: What good is it to have a single gigantic workload if the organization cannot afford even a brief outage of the entire system? Is anyone really willing to put all their proverbial eggs in one basket, and run the risk that a single outage could take down the entire workload?

11. Single-Node Persistent Sessions • A VTAM facility • There are two kinds of persistent sessions. The kind that exists today is called ‘single-node persistent sessions.’ • VTAM keeps session state information about VTAM users. When a subsystem crashes, VTAM can maintain the sessions for a specified period of time.

12. Single-Node Persistent Sessions

13. The Benefits of SNPS • Saves users from having to re-establish VTAM sessions (VTAM keeps ACBs open) • Saves application time to clean up failed sessions, but • Users can do no work until the application is brought back up, and • What happens if VTAM itself fails??

14. What if . . . Wouldn’t it be nice is there was a way that users could be reconnected to another MYCICS on CEC-B by reconnecting them through a VTAM-B? What a great idea! But is it possible? What you call it?

15. Multinode Persistent Sessions • Users of a failed application are reconnected through a different VTAM to another application on another LPAR. How is this possible? • Uses APPN’s High Performance Routing (HPR) facility • Allows fast recovery from failures of all kinds

16. Multinode Persistent Sessions • SNPS stored user session information in dataspace. Where is the only place this information could be stored in a Sysplex where: • a) all VTAMs can get to it, and • b) information will not get trashed by any failure? • Requires a coupling facility and more that one LPAR

17. Multinode Persistent Sessions • CICS implementation - MVS Automatic Restart Manager will start another region on another LPAR. VTAM will use HPR to perform a path switch to move the connection endpoint • IMS implementation - will probably allow reconnection to an existing IMS. Have users open multiple ACBs at logon time, and switch between them???

18. VTAM Primer • Node - is the endpoint of a communication link • Subarea Networks - hierarchical networks • APPN Networks - Peer-oriented networks

19. Essential Subarea Networks • Key word is ‘hierarchy’ • VTAM is ‘king’ of the hierarchy. Also called a System Services Control Point (SSCP). • Network Control Program (NCP) in a communications controller is second • Everything else is a peripheral node that comes in third

20. Essential Subarea Networks • LU (logical unit) - is a port where users connect to the node. Every LU is owned by a VTAM (SSCP). LUs request request network services from VTAM (SSCPs). • PU (physical unit) - manage links and routing. (Similar to APPN ‘control points.’)

21. Subarea Network Nodes • Type 5 Node - VTAM (SSCP) • Type 4 Node - NCP in a communications controller. Requires a type 5 node to provide all network services • Type 2 Node - Peripheral node that cannot perform routing. They are dependent on the VTAM (SSCP). • Type 2.1 Node - Peripheral node with limited peer-to-peer capabilities. Can be independent of the VTAM (SSCP) if using LU 6.2 communication.

22. Subarea Network Nodes

23. Subarea Networks • All paths must be manually defined. Route selection is chosen from from predefined routes. • Virtual Routes (VRs) - logical paths on which sessions are carried. SSCP (type 5) and NCP (type 4) nodes establish and maintain VRs. • Class of Service (COS) - sessions are assigned to VRs on the basis of an assigned class of service. • Management and Control Sessions - SSCP-SSCP, SSCP-PU, and SSCP-LU

24. Essential APPN Networks • Key word is ‘peer’ which means ‘of equal standing’ • Network Nodes (NNs) - provide all network services • End Nodes (ENs) - provide LU ports and rely on Network Nodes (NNs) for the rest.

25. Essential APPN Networks • Control Point (CP) - every APPN node has a control point from which LUs request network services. An APPN control point is similar to subarea PU. • Transmission Group (TG) - links between APPN nodes.

26. APPN Network Nodes

27. APPN Networks • APPN networks are self-defining. NNs maintain a distributed directory containing the characteristics and current status of each node and link. • Central Directory Servers (CDSs) - Large networks have one or more CDS to hold the distributed directory. • RTP Pipes - HPR groups sessions with the same Class of Service (COS) together into logical connections called RTP pipes. RTP pipes can be switched to a different path without affecting the sessions it carries.

28. APPN Networks • Management and Control Sessions - CP-CP sessions between adjacent nodes • Interchange Node (ICN) - special kind of APPN NN used to connect APPN and subarea networks. Supports hybrid VR-TG (virtual route based transmission group) communication and data flows. • Dependent LU Server (DLUS) - special kind of APPN NN used to provide SSCP services to dependent LUs in a subarea network.

29. MNPS Example

30. MNPS Example • The endpoint of an interchange node (ICN) can be either a transmission group (TG) or a virtual route (VR). Since it could be either, an RTP-capable path cannot be guaranteed, so IMS3 is not eligible for MNPS. • If an LU were owned by EndNode1 (connected directly), the session with IMS1 is not recoverable because there is no HPR path to switch.

31. The Requirements for MNPS • All VTAMs with MNPS applications (CICS, IMS, DB2) must be defined as APPN end nodes supporting RTP • All VTAMs with MNPS applications must be connected to a MVS coupling facility that contains the VTAM structures • MVS/ESA V5R2 or later • Coupling Facility Control Code (CFCC) Level 1 or later • All VTAMs that own MNPS applications must be V4R4 or later

32. Conclusions about MNPS • MNPS Fulfills the Sysplex Promise. When the risks become trivial, the size of data centers and workloads will explode. • Data Sharing  DTR  Persistent Sessions • MNPS Will Cut Across Organizational Lines. Implementation may be difficult because support will cut across support groups.

33. Questions???