Figure F-1: Configuration Overview
This appendix explains the MFA Server configuration requirements for Enterprise Server / Mainframe Transaction Option (ES/MTO or MTO) communications with a z/OS CICS system.
MTO is a Micro Focus Enterprise Server feature that provides a CICS execution environment for CICS transaction programs on Windows and UNIX platforms. The CICS transaction programs can be existing programs that have been migrated from the z/OS platform, or entirely new applications that have been developed for ES/MTO.
MFA Server runs on z/OS and functions as middleware, providing a transparent bridge between your ES/MTO systems and your z/OS CICS systems and enabling a full range of peer ISC communications between these systems including transaction routing, function shipping, distributed program link and distributed transaction processing. The configuration elements in MFA Server create the relationship between MTO and CICS and enable MFA Server to convert between MTO's TCP/IP-based protocol and CICS's LU6.2-based ISC protocol.
This appendix presents a step-by-step approach to completing the Mainframe Access Server customizations for ES/MTO support. For information on the customization statements that are used and additional technical detail for the parameters see the chapter Configuration. Use this appendix to work through the customizations, and refer to the chapter Configuration for more detailed information about each configuration parameter.
Be sure to complete the basic configuration and installation testing of your Mainframe Access Server before you start the advanced configuration activities for ES/MTO support. See the section Quick Configuration in the Configuration chapter for information on the basic configuration. The configuration described in this appendix assumes that you have completed all of the quick configuration steps that establish your parameter file, server definitions, JCL procedures, etc. Also complete the installation verification testing to ensure that you have a running configuration.
The diagram below shows a single MTO to CICS connection. The MFA Server configuration statements that enable this bi-directional connection are highlighted in the diagram. Keep in mind that there are corresponding configuration requirements in MTO and CICS, and the entire configuration relies on the communications infrastructure provided by your TCP/IP stack and VTAM SNA server.
ES/MTO runs on a Windows or UNIX platform and is connected to your z/OS system by TCP/IP communications. The other software elements reside on a z/OS platform(s). MFA Server runs on z/OS and functions as middleware, providing a transparent connection between ES/MTO and the CICS system. MFA Server is normally installed on the same z/OS system as CICS, although this is not a requirement. The connection between MFA Server and CICS uses standard CICS ISC LU6.2 protocols and MFA Server and CICS may reside in different systems on your SNA network. ES/MTO and MFA Server participate in the TCP/IP network by starting socket listeners, and by accepting and originating socket connection requests. CICS and MFA Server participate in the VTAM SNA network as Logical Units (LUs) by creating and opening a VTAM Access Method Control Block (ACB), and by allocating and managing LU6.2 conversations.
Figure F-1: Configuration Overview
The MFA Server configuration is easy. There are three distinct parts to the configuration, numbered 1, 2, and 3 in the diagram. Part 1 is a simple enabling, or activation, statement. Part 2 defines your z/OS CICS system and provides the information needed for a VTAM SNA connection to this system. Part 3 defines your ES/MTO system and provides the information needed for a TCP/IP connection to this system. All of these statements can be found in the PARMS (Part 1) and SERVERS (Parts 2 and 3) members of your MFA Server <hlq>.CNTL data set. The definitions shown here for ES/MTO and CICS are two of the actual samples from that data set. When you understand the configuration requirements and have determined the correct values for your systems, complete your configuration using a text editor to update these sample definitions with your values. There is no pre-processor or configuration utility used with the MFA Server definitions and there is no configuration information maintained by MFA Server across restarts. So, each time MFA Server is started, your current definitions will be read in during start up, processed and activated. If you need to make changes during your testing, simply update the configuration statements and restart MFA Server.
The following subsections describe the customizations needed for your ES/MTO - CICS connection. The discussion refers to sample definitions that are provided by MFA Server installation and if this is your first ES/MTO configuration it will be easy to update the sample definitions as described.
Your PARMS member in the MFA Server <hlq>.CNTL data set contains the ES/MTO OUTBOUND FEATURE parameter setting. This parameter is set to NO in the sample member. Change the setting to YES. This activates ES/MTO support the next time Mainframe Access Server is started. This specification directs MFA Server to activate the outbound feature and process other definition statements for the MTO feature. Without the YES specification the related ES/MTO server definitions (number 3 in the diagram) are ignored during start up.
*--------------------------------------------------------------------* * Services to be activated * *--------------------------------------------------------------------* * TCP LINK FEATURE=YES --- MFE SQL Option, Telnet client MFADIRECT=YES --- Mainframe Access services MFA FEATURE=YES --- Mainframe Access Data Connect Server PEM FEATURE=YES --- MFE Password Expiration Manager MCO FEATURE=NO --- MFE CICS Option REMOTE IMS FEATURE=NO --- MFE IMS Option CGMQOTMA FEATURE=NO --- SOA Express IMS support LIST DB2=NO --- DB2 and IMS subsystem finder ES/MTO OUTBOUND FEATURE=YES --- ES/MTO Outbound support
Your SERVERS member in the MFA Server <hlq>.CNTL data set contains two sample CICS server definitions, one being the CICA sample shown here.
<MCOID=CICA> LUNAME=CICSSYSA TPNAME=* MODENAME=#INTER SYNCLEVEL=0 SECURITY=NONE <END>
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| <MCOID=CICA> | Identifies the start of a z/OS CICS target server definition and provides the SYSID value for that server. Change this value to the SYSID of your z/OS CICS system. Specify the same SYSID when you define this CICS to your ES/MTO server in a connection definition. |
| LUNAME=CICSSYSA | Provides the SNA LU name (also referred to as the VTAM ACB name or VTAM APPL name) of your CICS system. Change the value to the LU name of your CICS system. |
| TPNAME=* | Identifies the transaction program name used in LU6.2 requests. The actual transaction program name used in each LU6.2 request depends on the function that is requested, and the value is supplied by the system that originates a request. MFA Server adapts depending on the value supplied. Leave this parameter as-is. |
| MODENAME=#INTER | Provides the name of the VTAM SNA logmode used for LU6.2 sessions. If necessary, change the value to the name of the VTAM SNA logmode you want to use for your LU6.2 sessions. This same logmode name should be used in your CICS SESSIONS definition for the ES/MTO server. |
| SYNCLEVEL=0 | Sets the synchronization level for LU6.2 requests and is supplied by the system that originates a request. MFA adapts depending on the value supplied. Leave this parameter as-is. |
| SECURITY=NONE | Sets the security level for LU6.2 requests and is supplied by the system that originates a request. MFA adapts depending on the value supplied. Leave this parameter as-is. |
| <END> | Marks the end of the definition. |
Your SERVERS member in the MFA Server <hlq>.CNTL data set contains two sample ES/MTO server definitions, one being the MTO1 sample shown here.
<ES/MTOID=MTO1> ACBNAME=MFAMTO1 IPADDRESS=YOUR.MTO.HOSTNAME PORT=2200 SESSIONS=4 SOCKETS=1 <END>
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| <ES/MTOID=MTO1> | Identifies the start of an ES/MTO target server definition and provides the ES/MTO SYSID needed to identify the ES/MTO system to MFA Server. Change this value to the SYSID of your ES/MTO server. Specify the same SYSID for the CONNECTION(name) when you define this ES/MTO server to your z/OS CICS system. |
| ACBNAME=MFAMTO1 | Assigns a VTAM ACB name (also referred to as the SNA LU name or VTAM APPL name) to the ES/MTO server. You can define more than one ES/MTO server and each server you define must have its own ACBNAME, giving it a unique identity in the z/OS CICS system. MFA Server provides two VTAM APPL definitions for ES/MTO servers - MFAMTO1 and MFAMTO2. These are installed and activated in your VTAM SNA configuration during MFA Server installation. If you are defining only one ES/MTO server, leave the ACBNAME as MFAMTO1. Use the MFAMTO2 ACB name if you define a second server. To define more than two ES/MTO servers, you must first install additional VTAM APPL definitions. |
| IPADDRESS=YOUR.MTO.HOSTNAME | Identifies the internet address of your ES/MTO server machine. Change this value to either the machine name of the server where you're running ES/MTO or the internet IP address of the server. |
| PORT=2200 | Identifies the TCP/IP port on your ES/MTO server that has been configured as an ISC listener. Change this value to the the ISC listener PORT number on your ES/MTO server. |
| SESSIONS=4 | Identifies the maximum number of transaction processing sessions that will be managed on a single socket connection. Each active LU6.2 conversation requires a session and the session traffic is interleaved on the MTO to MFA socket connection. For testing purposes, leave this value as-is. However, you might need to adjust it upwards to satisfy your installation's demand as usage increases. |
| SOCKETS=1 | Identifies the number of sockets available for each MTO to CICS connection. Because ES/MTO requires a single socket for each connection to CICS, leave this value as-is. |
| <END> | Marks the end of the definition. |
When you complete the configuration steps, save your updated definitions and restart your MFA Server to activate the definitions. Be sure to complete the related configuration activites in ES/MTO and z/OS CICS before you begin testing.
The more detailed tecnical information in this section will increase your understanding of the configuration requirements. You will also be better prepared to respond to operational issues that may arise during the testing of this feature.
The communication between ES/MTO and MFA Server uses a proprietary TCP/IP protocol that conveys the necessary LU6.2 protocol information in TCP/IP packets. The SYSIDs used in the MFA Server configuration are the key to this communication. In the example definitions, the target z/OS CICS system is identified as CICA and the target ES/MTO server is identified as MTO1. The initial connection messages between ES/MTO and MFA Server use these SYSID values to exactly identify the two target systems.
If ES/MTO initiates the socket connection to MFA Server, ES/MTO will send a "bind" packet for SYSID CICA. The bind packet also contains the SYSID of the originating MTO, MTO1. The initial packet from ES/MTO is identical to the initial packet from a Mainframe Express CICS Option client, so MFA Server needs to identify the type of requester. If MFA Server finds a definition for an ES/MTO server with a SYSID of MTO1 (the ES/MTOID in the definition) and the request originated from the IP address specified in that definition, then MFA Server recognizes this as a request from an ES/MTO server. Otherwise, the connection is recognized as a request from a CICS Option client.
At this point, it is important to note that support for Mainframe Express's CICS Option has been available in earlier versions of MFA Server and this support allows MFA Server clients to originate requests INTO a z/OS CICS system. This same level of support has also been used by ES/MTO systems, before the availability of the ES/MTO outbound feature. This level of support does not require a definition for the ES/MTO server and it does not require the ES/MTO outbound feature support. In this case, the only definition required is the definition of the target z/OS CICS system (number 2 in the diagram) and the activation of the MFA Server CICS Option support (using the PARMS statement MCO FEATURE=YES). If your only need is for ES/MTO requests into CICS, you may continue to configure your MFA Server in this way. However, our recommendation is that you follow the configuration requirements as outlined in this appendix and define a complete bi-directional connection for the systems that uses MFA Server's ES/MTO outbound feature. The extra effort is minimal and your systems will be ready to support CICS requests into ES/MTO, when they are needed. The complete configuration also results in each ES/MTO having a unique identity from the perspective of the z/OS CICS systems.
Once the initial connection is established, the ES/MTO and CICS definitions have been selected and MFA Server has all of the information it needs to accept a request from ES/MTO and send it into z/OS CICS over an LU6.2 ISC connection. MFA Server will allocate LU6.2 conversations using the MFAMTO1 ACB that has been defined for this ES/MTO. The conversation partner will be the z/OS CICS system that is using the ACB named CICSSYSA and the SNA session for the conversation will use the #INTER SNA logmode. The VTAM SNA logmodes are part of your VTAM SNA configuration and the suggested name can be changed to any other logmode name used for LU6.2 ISC connections in your system. Just be sure that the specified logmode definition is available to both MFA Server and CICS. The MFAMTO1 ACB name used in this sample definition is defined to the VTAM SNA network using a VTAM APPL definition. The APPL definition for MFAMTO1 is provided in another MFA Server sample, the MFAVTAM member in your <hlq>.CNTL data set. This member is installed in your VTAMLST definitions and activated during MFA Server installation.
Each ES/MTO server that you define must have its own ACBNAME and it is this ACBNAME that gives each server a unique identity in the z/OS CICS system(s).
The communication between z/OS CICS and MFA Server uses standard LU6.2 ISC protocol as implemented by CICS. The SNA logical unit names used in the MFA Server configuration are the key to this communication. In the example, the target z/OS CICS system is identified as CICSSYSA (LUNAME=CICSSYSA) and the target ES/MTO server is identified as MFAMTO1 (ACBNAME= MFAMTO1).
Our target z/OS CICS initiates work to ES/MTO when a request is directed to an external CICS SYSID that is associated with the MFAMTO1 LU name by CICS definitions. A CICS CONNECTION defines the MFAMTO1 LU name and assigns an external SYSID. A CICS SESSIONS definition for that connection defines the SNA logmode to be used for the ISC conversations. It is important to note that the SYSID values known to z/OS CICS do not have to match the SYSID values known to MFA Server and ES/MTO, however, MFA Server and ES/MTO must agree in their definitions. Although the SYSID values known to CICS can be different from the ES/MTO and MFA Server definitions, we recommend that the same SYSID values be used throughout the definitions.
CICS handles the request to the external SYSID by establishing the LU6.2 sessions that support the ISC exchanges, if they are not already established. CICS then sends the initial FMH-5 Attach request for the conversation to MFAMTO1. MFA Server recognizes this request as a conversation for ES/MTO because CICS used the MFAMTO1 LU name. MFA Server also checks that the request originated in a defined CICS server by locating the definition for the originator's LU name (CICSSYSA) and logmode name (#INTER) combination. Having located the two sets of definitions, MFA Server can forward the request on to the target ES/MTO server. If there is currently no socket connection to ES/MTO, MFA Server has the IP address and port number needed to contact ES/MTO's ISC listener. Now the request can be forwarded to ES/MTO over the socket connection associated with the MTO1-CICA SYSID combination.
Copyright © 2007 Micro Focus (IP) Ltd. All rights reserved.