INTERSKILL MAINFRAME QUARTERLY Inside This IssueIBM has not been resting on its laurels, having...

INTERSKILL MAINFRAME QUARTERLYOct 2012

Inside This Issue:

Interskill Learning Releases – 2012

Is Your Data Center Career Cloudy?

Vendor Briefs

Tech-head Knowledge Test

Learning Spotlight – Cloud

Mainframe is King

management: What to Do When You Lose the Source

technical: Assembler Disassemblers

opinion: Who Needs Quality Staff?

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Interskill Learning © 2012 www.interskill.com 2

Welcome to the Interskill Mainframe QuarterlyInterskill Mainframe Quarterly is an e-Zine published by Interskill Learning, which provides world-class elearning Mainframe training programs for the Information Communications and Technology industry.

As a subscriber to Interskill Mainframe Quarterly you will receive an edition every three months which will include z/OS related articles for technical experts and management, and information on upcoming releases of Interskill’s Mainframe curriculum.

Interskill Learning Releases – 2012 Interskill Learning releases for 2012 include the following courses:

• Cloud Computing for Data Centers• Introduction to Mainframe Security• The z/OS Management Facility • The complete z/OS Series updated to V1.13 including:

• z/OS• z/Enterprise• JCL• TSO/ISPF• JES2• Console Simulations• SDSF• z/OS Systems Programming Fundamentals• Assessments

• A new z/OS Utilities series with new courses on VSAM, General Data Set Utilities, and Data Utilities

• New courses in the Power series for IBM i Operators and IBM i System Administrators including:

• Monitoring and Managing IBM i Workloads• Introduction to IBM i for System Operators• IBM i System Administration Fundamentals• Security Implementation• Journal Management• Storage Management• Logical Partitioning and Virtualization

• A new series of courses on Project Management

http://www.interskill.com/


Interskill Learning, the world’s premier provider of online mainframe training, takes immense pride in 20 years of supporting the ongoing vitality of the global mainframe computing workforce. In our continuing efforts above and beyond our core business, Interskill Learning is pleased to announce sponsorship of a new Mainframe Computing Job Website. The Top Mainframe Jobs site at http://www.topmainframejobs.com is available for use by the industry at no cost. Mainframe organizations can post mainframe computing job openings and browse the wealth of resumes posted by mainframe personnel looking for work. Mainframe job seekers can post their resumes and look for that quality mainframe job.


http://www.topmainframejobs.com


Is Your Data Center Career Cloudy?By Greg Hamlyn

The first two installments of this four part series discussed what the cloud actually is, how it can be configured and the affect it will have on jobs within the data center. This installment discusses how to create your own portfolio of cloud skills and certification that will make you more marketable both inside and outside of your organization.

Surveys and Studies

This is usually a good place to start when looking at where organizations are heading and the thoughts of management. CompTIA’s recent study incorporated feedback from 400 IT organizations with analysis indicating that more than three of every five had needed to add new sets of cloud-related skills to their IT department. While many forecast a major downward IT headcount as a result of the cloud, this same study has revealed that a third of those organizations surveyed had restructured their IT areas with half building new cloud-related roles.

CSC’s Cloud Index Usage report confirms this trend, finding that only 14% of companies

have downsized after implementing cloud while 20% have had a need to hire personnel with cloud computing expertise. This is certainly encouraging for Data Center staff looking to extend their careers.

Security

A survey undertaken by Symantec and the Cloud Security Alliance early in 2012 identified that 68% of organizations considered cloud security training as extremely important.

Security professionals require additional skills in understanding how to better secure the cloud. In particular, they require:

• A detailed understanding of cloud computing

• Additional technical knowledge• Contract negotiation skills

Job Advertisements

Another source that can be used to identify the type of skills and knowledge required for a long-term data center cloud existence is from the job boards. Perusing sites such as indeed.com, dice.com and IBM’s own systemzjobs.com provide a great insight to what is hot when it comes to the cloud. As mentioned in part two of this article, the most popular cloud related job titles were; Engineer, Architect, Developer, Administrator and interestingly there were also a number dealing with cloud project management and senior management.

From the surveys and job advertisement information it is clear that there are several layers of cloud-related knowledge that you may need:

• An understanding of the direction of your



own organization in relation to IT• An understanding of general cloud

concepts• Implementation, monitoring and

management of cloud environments• Performance measurement and

management of the cloud• Security as it pertains to the cloud• Administration associated with dealing

with cloud vendors• Management and Project Management

skills with advanced knowledge of cloud capabilities

Some of the tasks associated with the jobs above may be merged into several job titles, but at the time of writing this article, DICE which is a leading IT job advertisement site, displayed over 2700 cloud-related jobs. Interestingly, there were a number of titles dealing with cloud project management and senior management, but the most popular titles were Engineer, Architect, Developer, and Administrator.

How can I build my Cloud resume?

No matter what role you currently perform within the data center, the cloud will make it imperative that you obtain skills and knowledge that will make you more marketable if, or when, cloud restructuring hits your neighborhood.

In the next installment of this article we will look at sources that can be used to create your own portfolio of cloud skills and certification.

Certification

With any new shift in IT, associated certification usually ensures that you will be ahead of the game, but what is out there

and which is the best? Most proponents will guide you to vendor neutral certifications while others may prefer the certification provided by major players such as IBM. Some sites you may be interested in for cloud certification include:

• The Art of Service • Cloud Security Alliance (CSA)• EMC• IBM• CompTIA• Cloudschool.com• HP

Certification services are developing rapidly. Chances are that by the time you are reading this, someone else has brought out a new certification.

Online cloud communities

Online communities provide people with similar interests with an opportunity to interact, communicate, learn and collaborate on a common topic or theme. With the emergence of cloud computing comes a myriad of related online communities like, IBM developerWorks, LinkedIn, EuroCloud and bmcsoftware, to name a few.

Tradeshows and conferences

If you have been able to convince your manager that a conference is the best way of catching up on the latest cloud advances, as well as being able to listen to experts discuss the latest cloud trends, then try googling these tradeshows; AFCOM Data Center World, CloudSlam, CeBIT, Cloud Connect, Share, Cloud Asia, Cloud Expo, Cloud Computing World Forum and Interop. Virtual conferences such as Up are also gaining momentum for busy individuals, and those wanting to save on accommodation and traveling costs.



Reading material

Of course, there is no shortage of books and articles that you should not have any trouble locating. A year ago I quickly browsed Amazon book offerings on this topic and was presented with a list of over 900 cloud-related books. At the time of writing this article, this had grown considerably to over 11,000. These books cover everything from cloud fundamentals to cloud architecture, implementation strategies, certification study kits, auditing, security and best practices. Vendor specific documentation such as IBM’s Redbooks can also provide you with information on specific cloud computing topics.

Training

Again, there are ample suppliers of classroom and e-learning courses pertaining to the cloud that can be obtained through Google. Interskill has also recently released a four module e-learning course covering many of the topics mentioned in this article.

As you can see, there is no shortage of training and general information that can advance your skills and knowledge on cloud computing. The items mentioned in this article should provide you with a kick-start to identifying the cloud skills you think will best suit you and your organization.

In the last installment of this article, we will look through the cloud in the crystal ball and see where the cloud computing journey is headed…hopefully it is going in the same direction as you!

Greg Hamlyn, a senior technical course designer and developer with Interskill, has over 25 years experience working in the mainframe and z/OS data center environments, having performed in numerous operational roles ranging from computer operator to national mainframe technical training manager for a large Government agency. He has presented at AFCOM and has written a number of articles relating to training methods and trends and everything that is z/OS.

You can contact him at [email protected]


mailto:g.hamlyn%40interskilllearning.com?subject=Datatrain%20Newsletter%20July%202012


Vendor BriefsSince my last update, IBM has been very active in the marketplace, releasing a new mainframe, features and products designed for increased performance, storage and recovery. As both CA and BMC have been relatively quiet in relation to new product delivery, I thought that I would also look at what is happening at some of the other mainframe vendors.

IBM

In late August, IBM released their latest mainframe server offering, the EC12. As you would expect there was the usual performance improvements from its predecessor, the z196.

z196 EC12Processing capability 52,000 MIPS 78,000 MIPSProcessors 5.2GHz quad-core 5.5GHz hexa-coreMaximum cores 96 120Number of configurable cores

80 101

Installation Raised floor Raised floor or non-raised floorL3/L4 cache (MB)Entry level 24, 192 48, 384

Along with these improvements comes the introduction of two new features – Flash Express and the IBM System z Advanced Workload Analysis Reporter (zAware). The optional Flash Express feature is an I/O card that provides flash memory, and is used primarily for paging activity and SVC dumps. The cards are installed as pairs (for redundancy purposes) with a maximum of four pairs allowed, with each pair supporting 1.6 TB of storage. zAware is a system monitoring tool with a difference. It is designed to identify what it considers to be normal system behavior, which it does by analyzing system messages over a specified period (usually 90 days). So, it is a self learning tool that once up to speed can quickly recognize any system bottlenecks, failures or just unusual messages or their frequency, and report on them immediately.

In my last newsletter I described IBM’s PureSystems offering. IBM has not been resting on its laurels, having recently expanded its offerings for this platform by releasing three PureData system models, which are designed for improved transaction processing, business analytics and operational analytics.

IBM has also beefed up their Power Systems by releasing models based on the new Power 7 + microprocessor. These offerings boast application performance improvements of 30% - 40%, whilst including enhancements that give it cloud characteristics (elasticity capacity on demand) and enhanced memory capabilities for use with big data analytics.



With all the talk on data and how much of it we are producing, it is not surprising that IBM has recently announced its new DS8870 system storage providing up to triple the performance of its predecessor, partly as a result of it using the new Power 7 processors and its increased cache size (1 TB). Security has also been tightened with full self-encrypting drives a standard.

IBM’s TS7700 virtual tape solution has also been enhanced to provide additional capacity, increased security and an improved management interface.

EMC

EMC Corporation has recently released its new high-end DLm8000 virtual tape library. The DLm8000 leverages other EMC solutions such as SRDF remote replication and VMAX enterprise storage to form part of a family which is aimed at organizations requiring ultra high level of data consistency and speed during recovery of mission critical operations. The DLm8000 supports a maximum of 2048 emulated drives and delivers throughput of 2.7 GB/s, which EMC quotes as “two and a half times the performance of its nearest competitor”.

With many large processing volume organizations needing to meet stringent SLA requirements in regards to data recovery, the DLm8000 could be the answer.

Luminex Software

Luminex’s virtual tape solutions have recently joined forces with Nirvanix enterprise class storage specialists and announced what they call “the first cloud based vaulting solution for mainframe environments”. LUMINEX CloudTAPE allows organizations to vault mainframe tape to

Nirvanix’s Cloud Storage Network, providing the business with global access to their data. The solution supports z/OS, z/VM, z/VSE, and S/390 operating systems, and will be made available during the 2012 last quarter (possibly by the time you read this).

Tech-head Knowledge Test With every release of this newsletter a mini online test will be provided of a product that you are likely to be using in the workplace. You may want to challenge your work colleagues or just want to confirm your own knowledge! The test for this newsletter focuses on general z/OS Utilities, and consists of 15 questions. Click the link below to start.

z/OS Utilities

Learning Spotlight – CloudNo other topic has created more interest in recent times than cloud computing, but what is it all about? A recent survey commissioned by Citrix showed that over half of the respondents really didn’t know what the “cloud” was or how they were really using it.

The module that we have provided for you here is The Cloud and You, which describes what the cloud is, why it is needed, and resources you can use to increase your knowledge on this topic.

We hope you enjoy it.


http://www.datatrain.com/swf/dt_q4nl2012/play.html

http://www.datatrain.com/swf/ccdc01/play.html


Mainframe is KingSo you think you have a good general knowledge of mainframe hardware, software and programming? Challenge your co-workers, or even yourself with the crossword puzzle provided below. The solution will be in our next quarterly newsletter.

Good luck.

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The z/OS server responsible for implementing SNA and TCP/IP protocols.JCL parameter used to specify the size of a new data set.A type of VSAM file.Primary method used to install and update z/OS system software.A programming language used on the mainframe.IBM security software.IBM storage management software used for migrating non-active data to a lower cost storage device.A directory that stores location details of data sets and files.A cloud computing model in which the physical resources are offered by a provider.An operatiing system capable of running on the zEnterprise zBX.IBM’s latest platform supporting mainframe and distributed environments.A collection of integrated zEnterprise nodes.SMF Data can be recorded in a data set or this type of format.Used in a z/OS JES2 environment for reading and writing of input and output streams.ISPF edit primary command used for exiting an edit session without saving changes.JCL DD statement used to identify the library from which programs will be executed.

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IBM transaction server that runs on the z/OS system.A collection of z/OS systems interacting with each other using a coupling facility.Procedural programming language used on the mainframe.A temporary fix for a system program, supplied by IBM.Another name for the sysplex-wide system log.This SYS1 data set contains control parameters for the entire z/OS system.Program used to define VSAM data sets.The term used to describe the status of a device that will not accept any more work once its current activity has ceased.COBOL source code is translated into an object deck using this item.ISPF utility used for comparing data sets.Type of JCL statement denoted by //*This system component is responsible for processing JCL once it is selected from the JES input queue.A long running UNIX process akin to a z/OS started task.IBM utility used to copy data sets.A type of pre-formatted ABEND dump.The process of transferring all pages of an address space between central storage and auxiliary storage.A z/OS processor type configured for executing Java code.



management: What to Do When You Lose the SourceBy David Stephens, Lead Systems Programmer at Longpela Expertise

Most mainframe managers will wake up in a cold sweat from nightmares of losing their source code. In some cases, they already have. So what can you do when you don’t have source code for your modules?

They will have cast iron rules so that only programs managed by the source control system can be compiled and used. These systems are designed to enable sites to match a module with its source code with confidence. But like everything, these systems can fail.

You may have an obscure assembler routine that was developed years ago, or some source control information was lost. Or you may not be sure which source version was used to create a source module. Whatever the reason, you have a problem. You have a load module without source. You cannot change it, fix problems, or make it more efficient. You cannot modify it to work with newer applications, and you may not even know what exactly it does. So what can you do?

DZSTS1 CSET BAKR R14,0 SN R15,034

qtruct pea { int paaatuff[4] str pqz};print objprint obj

PROCEDURE DIVISION. SET ADDRESS OF FSA TO NULL. SET ADDRESS OF ASCB TO PSAAOLD. DISPLAY "(DISCOB1) " STCNAME. GOBACK.

?

Option 1: Do nothing

The most common option is simple – do nothing. And this isn’t a bad solution.

One of the strengths of the System z platform is backwards compatibility. The odds are that your orphan module will continue to do its job for many years to come. So it’s easy to ignore the problem, and deal with it when it becomes an issue.

Most problems will come from some sort of change. An upgrade of z/OS or other system software would be the odds–on favourite. A change in some other application or system wouldn’t be too far behind. So if there is a problem, you can backout the change, and then deal with the problem. Of course Murphy’s Law would argue that when the problem does occur, it will be when the change is critical, and has to happen immediately.

Leaving the problem may well be the best solution for simple routines that don’t use too many external modules or services. For example, that assembler routine created by the genius who left ten years ago, taking the source with him. COBOL modules may be more of a problem. Your old OS/VS modules are now getting more difficult to use, particularly within CICS. And there have been other changes or modifications to COBOL and runtime libraries that add risk to using that old module.

Of course, all this assumes that when the orphan module fails, you’ll see it. Hopefully, something obvious will happen such as an abend or error message. But what if the problem is more sinister? For example, a date routine that starts to output incorrect dates? Or a hash table that outputs invalid values?



Another issue could be performance. There is a good chance that your old module is costing you CPU seconds. Or minutes, or even hours. I’ve seen one example of a discontinued product costing the customer tens of thousands of dollars every year. Such high costs can make fixing the problem a cost–effective option.

So, if you can’t ignore the problem, what options do you have?

Option 2: Write a Wrapper

If your module stops working, it may be possible to write a wrapper routine as a middle man. For example, a wrapper routine could be called from XPLINK, LE or Java routines, convert parameters to something the legacy module can handle, then call that module. Similarly output from the old module can be translated back to something more palatable to your more modern routines. This approach can also increase the life of an orphan module, or buy you time while you look at the real problem. In many cases, writing such a routine may be a lot quicker and easier than replacing or fixing the original module.

Option 3: Replace the Module

If you’re lucky enough to know what goes in, and what comes out of the module, then the answer is simple. Rewrite the routine.

The problem here is that it is never as simple as this. I’ve seen one example where an old module occasionally output incorrect values. Over the years, callers of the module changed their processing to handle these incorrect values. So any replacement module needed to replicate these incorrect values.

This also becomes a problem if the routine

does some magic, and no–one can figure out how it does it. Mystical assembler routines written by geniuses that have long since moved on are a classic case. For these gremlins, you need someone equally smart to figure out what needs to be done, and do it.

Option 4: Reverse Engineer

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could take a load module, run it through a utility, and get the source code? Well, this is possible in a very small number of cases where the source code is stored with the module. Compiled REXX sometimes falls into this category. However for almost all of your modules, this is difficult. Difficult, but not impossible.

There are several disassemblers available that will take a load module, and return corresponding assembler code. Assembler coders can then take this code and run with it. We look more at some of these disassemblers in this issue’s technical article.

However the chances are that code in the original language is required, which almost always means PL/1 or COBOL. Creating such code from the output of a disassembler utility is very difficult. But again, not impossible. The Source Recovery Company based in Georgia, USA advertises such a service. Send the module, get COBOL back. The code won’t be perfect, and copybooks and coding standards won’t make it. However it can give something to work with.

Such disassembly is in effect reverse engineering. This is fine for the code that you have developed. However using this option for a current or past software product may violate copyright or contract clauses.



Option 5: Stop Calling the Module

The other option is to simply stop using the module. There may be several ways to do this, including using other services to achieve the result, or living without the functionality that the module provided. In fact, there are probably more options than you think. Existing software products may do something similar, or there may be new language functions or features that will work. If you’re very lucky, there may even be some freeware or new z/OS facility that neatly slots in.

Conclusion

If you’ve lost the source code, all is not lost. There are options, and it may be far easier and cheaper than it appears. However any such project should not be taken lightly. It will generally need highly skilled and experienced people to analyse the problem, determine the options and then implement the solution.

Even discussing this problem highlights the need and importance of good source code management. If you don’t have it, get it.

Source:Longpela Expertise, LongEx Mainframe Quarterly – August 2012, Retrieved fromhttp://www.longpelaexpertise.com.au/ezine/LostSource.php

technical: Assembler DisassemblersBy David Stephens, Lead Systems Programmer at Longpela Expertise

At a recent client site, I came across a suspicious load module that didn‘t seem to be a part of any software product. It was APF authorized, but no one knew what it did. Browsing the load module showed no copyright statements, so it was probably ‘home-grown.’ To find out more, the next step was one that few are brave enough to try – disassemble the module.

A disassembly takes the module, and produces corresponding assembler code – even if the program was not originally written in assembler. From this code, assembler programmers can determine what is going on inside. Although reading a disassembled module requires good assembler skills, producing a disassembled listing doesn’t. In this article, we’re going to look at disassembling programs. But first a warning:

Laws and software license agreements often prohibit reverse-engineering of software products. Never disassemble a module that forms part of a licensed software product without confirming that no laws or agreements will be broken. As a rule of thumb, I never disassemble a module if I can find a copyright statement from ISPF browse, unless I’m working with the copyright owner.


http://www.longpelaexpertise.com.au/ezine/LostSource.php


Commercial Disassemblers

Let’s take an example program. Below is a simple assembler program that outputs a WTO, and returns.

DZSTST1 CSECT BAKR R14,0 LR R12,R15 USING DZSTST1,R15 WTO ‘DZSTST1‘ * DC X‘00000000‘ Force abend XGR R15,R15 PR YREGS ,

END

This is a good test program: it has a 64-bit instruction (XGR), and an SVC (WTO). The commented instruction is used to force an abend. I’ll show you why shortly.

There are several commercial disassemblers on the market. The best-known is the disassembler that forms part of the IBM HLASM Toolkit. This is called from a batch job that will look something like:

//DAVIDD1 JOB MSGCLASS=C,MSGLEVEL=(1,1)//DISASM EXEC PGM=ASMDASM //STEPLIB DD DISP=SHR,DSN=HLA.SASMMOD2 //SYSLIB DD DISP=SHR,DSN=DAVID.LOADLIB//SYSPRINT DD SYSOUT=* //SYSPUNCH DD SYSOUT=* //SYSIN DD *

DZSTST1

It can be used to disassemble traditional load modules, object modules and PDSE program libraries. SYSIN specifies the load module and CSECT name if there are more than one. For our example program, the HLASM Toolkit produces the following disassembled output.

DZSTST1 CSECT BAKR R14,0 LR R12,R15 NOPR 0 BRAS R1,*+16 DC XL4‘000B0000‘ DC CL7‘DZSTST1‘ DC XL1‘00‘ SVC 35 WTO/WTOR XGR R15,R15 PR ASMDREG

END

The output is almost the same as our original. The HLASM Toolkit obviously cannot



reproduce any comments or labels – it’s ‘bare bones’. The WTO macro is also shown in its pure assembler format, though the HLASM Toolkit is nice enough to let us know that SVC 35 is the WTO SVC.

Serena’s StarTool SDM needs no JCL. Simply list the load library and type DI next to the module.

** DISASM DZSTST1 PDS141I AT 00000000:00000020 IN:B_TEXT/DZSTST1 00000000 DZSTST1 CSECT 00000000 DZSTST1 AMODE 24 00000000 RMODE 24 00000000 BAKR R14,R0 B240 00E0 *. .\* 00000004 LR R12,R15 18CF *..* 00000006 NOPR R0 0700 *..* 00000008 BRAS R1,*+16 A715 0008 *x...* 0000000C DC X‘000B0000‘ 000B0000 *....* 00000010 DC C‘DZSTST1‘,X‘00‘ C4E9E2E3E2E3F100 *DZSTST1.* 00000018 DC X‘0A23B98200FF‘ 0A23B98200FF *...b..* 0000001E DC X‘0101‘ 0101 *..*

PDS142I 1 CSECTS in this member

The StarTool ISPF interface is very nice, and it handles modules with multiple CSECTs with ease. However the disassembly didn‘t cope well with our SVC instruction.An often forgotten utility, the IBM AMASPZAP program comes free with z/OS, though its use is usually restricted to Systems Programmers. A little known fact is that AMASPZAP can also be used to output a semi-disassembled format of a module. The following is the JCL:

//DAVIDAMB JOB MSGCLASS=C,MSGLEVEL=(1,1)//STEP1 EXEC PGM=AMASPZAP//SYSPRINT DD SYSOUT=*//SYSLIB DD DISP=SHR,DSN=DAVID.LOADLIB//SYSIN DD *

DUMPT DZSTST1

This job produces output like:

B240 00E0 18CF 0700 A715 0008 000B 0000 BAKR LR BCR BRAS

C4E9 E2E3 E2E3 F100 0A23 B982 00FF 0101

UNPKUUNPKU MVO SVC XGR PR

AMASPZAP will translate the instructions, but not much else. It also gets confused with our WTO macro‘s data constants and SVC.

Other commercial disassemblers can be found in software such as Colesoft z/XDC.



Free Disassemblers

There are also several free disassemblers on the CBT website. Dick Thornton’s disassembler is in File 234, and for our test program produced:

DZSTST1 CSECT BAKR R14,R0 000000 B24000E0 LR R12,R15 000004 18CF NOPR 0 000006 0700 BRAS R1,*+16 000008 A7150008 DC XL4‘000B0000‘ 00000C 000B0000 DC CL6‘DZSTST‘ 000010 C4E9E2E3... MVO 2595(1,),2434(1,R11) 000016 F1000A23B982 DC XL2‘00FF‘ 00001C 00FF

PR 00001E 0101

Unfortunately, his utility did not cope well with our WTO data constants and SVC. His disassembler is no longer being updated, though he does include source code in File 234.

Arthur Fichtl’s disassembler is in File 773, and is written entirely in REXX. Unlike other disassemblers, it is designed to disassemble short opcode strings displayed on a screen. For our test program, it produces:

Instructions---- -----------------------------------+000 B24000E0 BAKR R14,R0+004 18CF LR R12,R15+006 0700 NOPR R0

+008 A7150008 BRAS R1,*+16

In other words, it stops when it comes across the data constant (DC) statements from our WTO.

Disassembling Modules in Dumps

The previous programs are great if disassembling a module. However there are times when disassembly of a module from a dump is needed. The solution is dump analysis software such as Compuware FileAid and IBM Fault Analyzer.

For our testing, we removed that commented out instruction in our sample program to force a x’0C1’ abend and dump. The DISASM primary command in Fault Analyzer produces the following output from this dump:

JOBNAME: DAVIDRUN SYSTEM ABEND: 0C1 S0W1 2012/07Address Offset Hex Instruction00007FD8 +0 B240 00E0 BAKR R14,000007FDC +4 18CF LR R12,R1500007FDE +6 0700 BCR 0,000007FE0 +8 A715 0008 BRAS R1,*+1600007FE4 +C 000B0000



00007FE8 +10 C4E9E2E300007FEC +14 E2E3 F100 0A23 UNPKU 256(228,R15),259500007FF2 +1A 000000007FF4 +1C 000000007FF6 +1E B982 00FF XGR R15,R1500007FFA +22 0101 PR

Not bad, though it was confused by our WTO SVC.

Commercial dump analysis software isn’t the only solution. IPCS can also help. The primary IPCS command

LIST address. LENGTH(len) INSTRUCTION

will provide a disassembled output from a dump. IPCS produces the following for our (abending) example:

LIST 7FD8. ASID(X‘002F‘) LENGTH(X‘64‘) INSTRUCTION00007FD8 | B240 00E0 | BAKR R14,000007FDC | 18CF | LR R12,R1500007FDE | 0700 | BCR X‘0‘,000007FE0 | A715 0008 | BRAS R1,*+X‘10‘00007FE0 LENGTH(X‘0C‘)==>Skipped by jump. Displayed as AREA00007FE4. 000B0000 C4E9E2E3 E2E3F100 |....DZSTST1. |00007FF0 | 0A23 | SVC X‘23‘ WTO/WTOR, type 4, calls IEAVM60000007FF2 LENGTH(X‘4A‘)==>Displayed as AREA00007FF2. 0000 0000B982 00FF0101 00000000 | .....b........|00008000 LENGTH(X‘30‘)==>All bytes contain X‘00‘

00008030. 00000000 00000000 00000000 |............ |

IPCS has done better than Fault Analyzer, disassembling our code up to our data constant of zeroes. It’s even identified data constants, and let us know that SVC 23 is the WTO SVC. IPCS can also be used to disassemble programs currently in memory by setting the source to ‘ACTIVE’.

An interesting alternate for WebSphere Application Server users is the Dump Utility program of the Switched Virtual Circuit (SVC) Analyzer utility, svcdump.jar.

The -dis command will produce a disassembled output of an address.

Conclusion

Disassemblers are in many cases your only option to determine the processing performed by a module without source code. Although there are several commercial products, free z/OS features and software can also get you close. The reality is that good assembler knowledge is essential to get benefit from disassemblies. There is rarely a perfect disassembly, and so good skills will be needed to fill in any gaps.



Source:Longpela Expertise, LongEx Mainframe Quarterly – August 2012, Retrieved from http://www.longpelaexpertise.com.au/ezine/DisAssemblers.php

opinion: Who Needs Quality Staff?By David Stephens, Lead Systems Programmer at Longpela Expertise

A year ago I wrote an opinion piece discussing whether there was indeed a mainframe shortage, and what that meant to mainframe managers and users. At that time, I believed there was a moderate shortage of mainframe talent, particularly at the elite or high-end. I believed that many organizations were doing little to address this, and that these problems would become more acute over time.

Since then, two things have happened to support my previous opinions. The first is a study performed by Compuware and Forrester Research of 520 enterprise-level CIOs at the end of last year. Amongst other findings, this study reported that 71% of CIOs were concerned that mainframe skills shortages will hurt their business. However 46% of the same CIOs had no plans to tackle these shortages. To put this into perspective, most stated that a mainframe outage would pose a serious business risk costing on average US$14,000 per minute.

There’s no doubt that a lack of quality technical staff will increase the chances of problems and outages. But more importantly, any problems or outages will also require quality staff to diagnose and

repair. And they’ll need to do this under $14,000 per minute of pressure. I’ve noticed a couple of high profile mainframe failures in the past few months that have impacted business performance. These include HSBC (UK), Royal Bank of Scotland, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and the National Australia Bank.The second thing to confirm my opinions comes from a consulting project. My client was developing a Microsoft Windows based product working with z/OS. They needed to test their product against a standard z/OS feature. They used a z/OS system hosted and supported by an external vendor as their test system. Longpela Expertise was brought in because the external vendor could not get that z/OS feature working. Their staff were excellent at basic z/OS administration. But when faced with a new feature that needed more detailed knowledge of z/OS, together with a willingness to read manuals and investigate new features; they failed. They were not quality staff.

It’s easy to see how this comes about. New staff are often thrown in the deep end with no previous z/OS experience, little training, and no one more experienced to turn to. Their workloads are high, the range of knowledge required vast, and they receive little encouragement or time to experiment, investigate and learn.

I talk a lot about quality staff: staff with technical knowledge exceeding what is required to do their day-to-day job. Quality staff understand deeper levels – why things happen, not just what happened. They can work through problems and issues using this enhanced technical knowledge, together with previous experiences and willingness to read (not just skim) manuals and technical documents. Quality staff have worked in different areas of their niche, gaining a wider understanding and experience base.


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I’ve held a long term belief that such quality technical staff are essential for any IT group, including those that work with mainframes. But quality staff don’t just appear, they are created. They need to be given time and encouragement to explore their given area – a hard ask in today’s corporate environment. They should be given training, and in the mainframe arena mainframe training options are still available. And finally, they should mentor other staff – passing on knowledge and improving their own skills at the same time.

Source:Longpela Expertise, LongEx Mainframe Quarterly – August 2012, Retrieved fromhttp://www.longpelaexpertise.com.au/ezine/QualityStaff.php


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