By attending both this and the follow-up course, attendees will gain an in-depth insight into the fundamental structure of z/OS, enabling further skills enhancement in areas such as debugging, performance, installation and customisation of the operating system.
This course concentrates on laying the ground rules of z/OS in terms of architecture and storage management, as well as explaining the major control blocks and how to interpret them. The course also introduces the major components found in today's Z Systems environments.

On successful completion of this course you will be able to:

• describe the architectural principles governing CPU, Storage and I/O
• identify the state of a CPU and describe potential problem scenarios
• use IPCS and the debugging guides
• describe the principles of Virtual Storage
• describe the purpose of AMODE and RMODE
• describe a page fault and its consequences
• set up a flexible paging/swapping subsystem
• explain how dataspaces and hiperspaces work
• describe how an IPL works
• isolate problems during an IPL
• explain the concept of authorised programs

• Architecture
  • Component overview
  • Executing instructions
  • The Program Status Word (PSW);The control bits of the PSW
  • z/Architecture PSW
  • Pipelining
  • CPU components
  • Timing facilities
  • Registers in a z/Architecture machine
  • 64-bit registers and instructions
  • Using the registers
  • Updating the PSW
  • Instruction Length Code (ILC)
  • Multiprogramming
  • The Load PSW (LPSWE) instruction
  • Interrupts
  • Interrupt types
  • SVC interrupt
  • I/O interrupt
  • External interrupt
  • Program interrupt
  • Machine check interrupt
  • Error handling philosophy
  • Restart interrupt
  • Interrupt action
  • The current PSW is saved
  • Interrupt considerations
  • System states
  • System state and the PSW
  • How the system runs
  • Real Storage
  • Addressing mode
  • Tri-modal addressing mode
  • Memory boundaries
  • Storage keys
  • Key operation
  • The PSW key fields
  • Fetch Protect
  • Multiprocessing
  • Prefixing
  • Address types
  • I/O components
  • Serial channels
  • Multiple paths
  • Real configurations
  • Hardware Configuration Definition (HCD)
  • Dynamic Reconfiguration Management (DRM)
  • Subchannels
  • Unit Address
  • Device Number
  • Subchannel Numbers
  • Logical Control Units (LCUs)
  • Channel Command Words (CCWs)
  • Starting an I/O operation
  • When an I/O interrupt occurs
  • Obtaining I/O status
  • The Subchannel Status Word (SCSW)
  • An architectural summary
  • Review questions
  • Exercises
• Job Flow in z/OS
  • Once upon a time
  • System 360 architecture: Real storage, CPU, I/O
  • S/370 architecture: Main storage, CPU, I/O, DAS
  • S/370 XA: Main storage + Expanded Storage, CPU, I/O
  • ESA/370 and ESA/390
  • z/Architecture
  • Operating systems: S/360 operating systems, S/370 operating systems, S/370/XA operating systems, ESA operating systems, z/OS
  • A sample JOB
  • The role of MVS
  • MVS components
  • Job flow overview
  • Initialization
  • Creating a user address space
  • The Job Entry Subsystem
  • The initiator
  • Resource control
  • Program Manager
  • SFWJOB executed
  • Interrupts
  • Interrupt handlers and status saving
  • The dispatcher
  • Requesting I/O
  • Synchronizing I/O requests: WAIT, POST
  • The Recovery Termination Manager
  • The initiator/terminator
  • The Workload Manager
  • Job flow review
• Control Blocks, Dumps & IPCS
  • Introduction
  • Control block/data area
  • Information sources: Diagnostic manuals, IPCS manuals, MVS Data Areas Manuals
  • Control block header
  • Control block data area map: Data types, Bit flags
  • Cross reference table
  • Fields and subfields
  • Field redefinitions
  • Control block chaining
  • Finding control blocks - PSA and CVT
  • The Prefix Area (PSA)
  • z/OS Prefix Area (PSA)
  • Finding control blocks - UCB: UCB prefix stub (UCBPREFIX), UCB common segment (UCBOB), UCB device dependent segments (UCBMXT &UCBXPX)
  • Dump types
  • Different dumps and where to put them
  • Dump formats
  • What is IPCS?
  • What comprises IPCS?
  • DDIR contents
  • Getting started with IPCS
  • Default values selection
  • Primary Option Menu
  • Data entry panel
  • Pointer stack panel: Line commands, Pointer types
  • Sample storage panel
  • Getting around in IPCS BROWSE: Scrolling and IPCS's PFKeys, 'Stack and Go'
  • FIND primary command
  • LOCATE primary command
  • Data Descriptor - types of addresses: LITERAL ADDRESS, X, RELATIVE ADDRESS, SYMBOLIC ADDRESS
  • Using IPCS subcommands - IPCS
  • IPCS subcommands
  • Using IPCS subcommands: CBFORMAT, WHERE
  • Another WHERE example
  • Review questions
  • Exercise
• Virtual Storage Concepts
  • Introduction
  • What is a program?
  • Source code
  • Turning it into executable code
  • The compiler, The Binder, Relative Addresses
  • Real storage
  • Loading a program into real storage: Relocation, Base displacement addressing
  • Rules for loading programs
  • The problems with real storage: Fragmentation, Low MPLs
  • A solution? - Address translation tables
  • Find the code when you want it
  • Dynamic Address Translation
  • How DAT works?
  • Segments and pages
  • Segmentation
  • So how does DAT really work?
  • The 64-bit Virtual Address
  • Virtual address translation and DAT
  • The Translation Lookaside Buffer: Block numbers, The TLB
  • Goodbye fragmentation
  • Hello inactive code: Initialization code, Main functional code, Exceptional condition handling code, Termination code
  • Page stealing and the UIC: The UIC update process, UIC in z/Architecture
  • Auxiliary storage
  • Loading the program: Page stealing, Page out
  • Page faults
  • The External Page Table
  • Demand paging
  • Goodbye inactive code
  • MULTIprogramming
  • Virtual Storage capacity
  • Multiple Virtual Storages
  • What is an address space?
  • 64 bit addressing - region tables
  • Common storage
  • Dispatching an address space
  • Reloading the PSTO
  • Fixing, thrashing, etc
  • Swapping
  • The dangers of inactivity.
• z/OS Storage Management
  • Introducing, ... the lines
  • AMODE and RMODE
  • The z/OS address space - common storage
  • The Nucleus
  • The Link Pack Areas
  • The System Queue Area
  • The Common Service Area
  • Extended areas
  • The PSA
  • The Common Area boundaries
  • The z/OS address space - private storage
  • The LSQA/ELSQA
  • The SWA
  • The AUK
  • The USER region
  • Multiple address spaces
  • Identifying the address space boundaries
  • The GDA
  • The CVTSMEXT
  • Virtual Storage is not real!
  • VSM
  • RSM
  • ASM
  • VSM, the Virtual Storage Manager
  • SUBPOOLS
  • STORAGE KEY values
  • Requesting Virtual Storage
  • VSM validates..
  • Cellpools
  • How much space can I have?
  • REGION=6M
  • REGION=48M
  • REGION=0M (or 0K)
  • A larger address space in z/OS290
  • 64 Bit Storage Map - memory sharing
  • Displaying HVSHARE & HVCOMMON
  • Characteristics of memory objects
  • Guard area
  • Using memory objects
  • The IARV64 'unshared' service
  • The IARV64 'shared' services and 'common' services
  • Large page support
  • LFAREA
  • How to foil (virtual) land barons!
  • JES defaults
  • The JCL REGION=
  • SMFPRMxx MEMLIMIT
  • The IEALIMIT exit
  • The IEFUSI exit
  • RSM, the Real Storage Manager
  • Allocating frames
  • Processing page faults
  • Table maintenance
  • Instructs
  • Page fault resolution: Synchronous, Asynchronous
  • Segments faults
  • Allocating Real Storage frames
  • Fetch protected?
  • Other characteristics
  • RSM's own address space
  • The RASP A/S
  • ASM, the Auxiliary Storage Manager
  • RSM's access method
  • Page Data Sets
  • The PLPA Page Data Set
  • The Common Page Data Set
  • Local Page Data Sets
  • VIO
  • Will the data always be in storage?
  • The address space: VSM, RSM, ASM
  • Review questions, Exercise - Lab.
• Dataspaces and Hiperspaces
  • Objectives
  • I/O delay - what does it really cost?
  • Holding the data in the address space
  • Dual Address Space
  • Primary and secondary ASC mode
  • Dataspaces
  • Access Registers
  • Access Register ASC mode (AR mode)
  • Using a dataspace
  • VLF, the Virtual Lookaside Facility
  • Hiperspaces
  • Creating hiperspaces
  • Review questions
• System Initialisation
  • Overview
  • A working system
  • Installation and initialization overview
  • Software delivery
  • I/O definition
  • Define the devices
  • Define esoteric group names
  • Define the NIP Console
  • HCD - 'active configuration'
  • LOADxx and the IPL process
  • Load Unit Address
  • The Load Parameter
  • The LOADxx member
  • IPL overview
  • The hardware IPL function
  • The IPL program
  • Load the nucleus
  • Load the UCBs
  • Map the Nucleus
  • Load NIP
  • NIP overview
  • Specifying system parameters
  • No overriding?
  • System address spaces
  • Building the PLPA
  • Building the FLPA and MLPA
  • Building the link list
  • LLA
  • Trustworthy code
  • Modeset
  • The Authorized Program Facility
  • Authorized libraries
  • Initialize any other processors
  • MSI overview
  • The SubSystem Interface
  • A communications protocol
  • IEFSSNxx
  • The Master Subsystem
  • How the SubSystem Interface works
  • Load the Master Scheduler
  • Starting JES
  • Processing the command
  • Starting other work
  • Review questions

Live instructor-led training, with plenty of opportunities for hands-on exercises and discussion.
This course is also available for exclusive one-company presentations, live over the Internet, via the Virtual Classroom Environment service.

Delivered as a live, interactive online training.

A good working understanding of the z/OS environment, from a technician's perspective.

This course is designed for those who wish to gain an in-depth understanding of z/OS systems in order to improve their proficiency in the z/OS environment.