SHARE Atlanta is just a few days away, and we’re excited to be attending one of our favorite conferences again! SHARE continues to deliver fantastic opportunities for education, professional networking, and industry influence, and we know SHARE Atlanta 2023 will be no exception.

DTS is happy to exhibit once again this year, and our CTO, Steve Pryor, along with mainframe system engineer, Jerry Spencer, will be hosting a presentation for z/OS® systems engineers looking to create z/OSMF workflows for novice programmers.

Their presentation titled, “z/OSMF Workflows for the Baffled Sysprog” will take place Tuesday, March 7th in Hanover Room C at the Hyatt Regency from 4-5 p.m. and is the perfect introduction for mainframe professionals looking for help when it comes to onboarding new TSO users.

Last year marked a return to in-person events after online-only networking and learning opportunities during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was obvious to us how the demand for these in-person industry conferences hadn’t waned.

All of us at DTS truly value spending time with our peers and clients at these events, and there’s no doubt that Atlanta will be a chance for us to have fun and enjoy interacting with long-time colleagues and friends, as well as furthering our mission of contributing to a healthy and educated mainframe industry.

Our team is stacked with some of the most knowledgeable, experienced mainframers in the industry, and we know it’s in the best interest of our organization and of the industry as a whole to participate in the exchange of knowledge within our community. We don’t believe in gatekeeping this experience because it’s crucial for the next generation of mainframers to be welcomed into the field for the platform to thrive for years to come. Events such as our monthly educational webinar series and technical presentations at conferences like SHARE are just two of the ways DTS contributes.

Additionally, we also love meeting new faces at these events! Whether you’re interested in hearing about the technical aspects of our storage management products, or you simply want to chat with the DTS team on the exhibition room floor, we’d love for you to stop by and say hello at booth #227.

About Steve & Jerry:
DTS CTO Steve Pryor has 30+ years of experience in storage management, design, and support and is a mainstay at many of these industry events. Before joining our team in the early 2000s, Steve made many important contributions at several mainframe software vendors designing and implementing major products and components.

Jerry Spencer is also an industry veteran with over 40 years in software development and skills in IBM mainframe, Databases, IMB Db2, SaaS, and Unix. Before joining us at DTS, Jerry spent over 20 years as a lead product developer in the mainframe space.

To learn more about SHARE, visit them at www.share.org.

2023 brought us back to the classroom in this installment of the DTS Complimentary Educational Webinar Series “Understanding Your ACS Routines.” While many of CTO Steve Pryor’s webinars take on a “teach by example” approach, this webinar, due to the very nature of the topic, took on a lecture style delivering a large amount of information in the allotted time, all of which is available to review on-demand. The slide deck, along with two help files (ACSINFO and ACSCOMP), which provide a REXX example of obtaining ACS routine change information from DCOLLECT, are available for download as well.

Understanding Your ACS Routines
In z/OS®, the Automatic Class Selection (ACS) routines lie at the heart of data set creation and use. Every data set, new or old, SMS managed or not, of whatever format, relies on the ACS routines to assign the proper SMS classes and control data set use. The ACS Routine language is simple, compact, and deliberately limited in scope, yet many installations suffer from large, unwieldy, confusing ACS routines containing ancient code which are updated only rarely and with trepidation.

In this webinar, we examine the ACS Routine language itself, the best practices and proper use of the language constructs, ACS testing, and provide some suggestions on how you can improve the ACS routines in your data center.

ACS Routines, an Early Form of Artificial Intelligence?
As z/OS grew (in form and popularity), the need for system-managed storage grew as well. The goal of ACS when released in 1989 was to relieve storage administrators of the many detailed, mundane tasks of adding and removing volumes and keeping track of where every data set was stored. In a word, automation.

ACS routines automate the task of determining the SMS classes and storage groups for data sets and objects in an SMS complex. For storage administrators, ACS routines automate and centralize the process of determining SMS classes and storage groups. ACS routines also help convert data sets to an SMS environment.¹ But you can’t “set it and forget it.”

General Consensus: Most Every Installation’s ACS Routines are a Mess!
Fact is, most everyone’s ACS routines are a mess. Why? Because only the most experienced, knowledgeable storage administrators understand them in the first place. So as the years rock on, they are rarely updated, and changes are often poorly documented.

Numerous Problems Can Occur Due to Incorrect, Outdated, or Misunderstood ACS Routines

1. Data sets can be allocated to incorrect locations (wrong storage group) leading to out-of-space conditions, performance issues, or access issues such as enqueue conflicts.
2. Data sets not correctly backed up/archived/restored (wrong management class) lead to availability issues and possible restore failures.
3. Data sets get incorrect space or other allocation characteristics (wrong data class) leading to out-of-space conditions such as X37 ABENDs or IEC070I VSAM errors.
4. Data sets get wrong encryption key label, wrong VSAM RLS attributes, or other incorrect attributes.

You Set the Policies, ACS Routines Are the Enforcer
The ACS routines, along with the storage management policies, reside in a collection of data sets that IBM® refers to as the SMS Configuration. The Source Control Data Set (SCDS) is where ACS routines are defined and updated. But they are not active here. They become active when copied to another VSAM data set, the Active Control Data Set (ACDS).

The ACDS provides the active configuration – the storage management policies – that are being executed. Other elements of the configuration are the Communication Data Set, which contains space statistics and other real-time information about the SMS complex, and the SYS1.PARMLIB member (IGDSMS00), which contains a number of SMS parameters (40 to 50 or so) that influence what the ACS routines see, and the way data sets are allocated.

Examples and Additional Resources
As with every DTS webinar, the video, slide deck, and example files that accompany the webinar provide usable, helpful information in today’s z/OS shop. Pryor also includes information on key reference resources available for those who need it.

Steve makes himself available as an additional resource as well and can be reached at steve@dtssoftware.com.

Want a Free Analysis of Your ACS Routines?
Did you know DTS Software offers a free analysis of your ACS Routines? Let our team of coding experts provide recommendations on how to make the code more understandable, readable, and efficient. We’ll look for “dead code,” duplicate or confusing logic, and possible performance issues, and provide ease of understanding of the analysis. Learn more and sign up for your free analysis on our website.

Learn More in Our Webinar Available On-Demand
Along with the library of past webinars, “Understanding Your ACS Routines” is a 60-minute informative and educational look at an important topic in the mainframe space. If you weren’t able to attend or would like to review the material presented, you can view it on-demand and download a copy of the slide deck to keep as reference material. Be sure to join us each month for our complimentary webinar series. Go to www.dtssoftware.com/webinars for more information.

Over the past three years, the world has undergone arguably one of the largest labor market shifts in recent history. Throughout the pandemic, we’ve seen a massive uptick in union organization, an overnight shift to hybrid and remote work options, and what some have come to call “The Great Resignation.”

Perhaps the most obvious symptom of this era has been the near ubiquity of “help wanted” signs in local restaurants, grocery stores, childcare centers, etc. Undoubtedly, though, this movement has affected every sector of the job market.

The mainframe industry has been careening toward this reality for decades. Eclipsed over time by the attraction of newer tech, the mainframe’s talent pool is dwindling. One of its major strengths – reliability – is also one of its downfalls, as a platform so well-designed that it rarely breaks down was seemingly forgotten over time. Out of sight, out of mind. That is until the mainframe staff began to retire and replacements weren’t readily available.

The first and second generations of mainframers who entered the field at a time when the platform was relatively new and more likely to be a sought-after career path, are aging out. Some are even retiring early after enduring the challenges of working through the pandemic.

While we’re seeing some programmers working past the age of retirement, there are often few suitable candidates to replace them. And many of today’s generation of college graduates haven’t even heard of the mainframe, exacerbating the lack of available talent.

A part of the solution, and one that is happening organically, is that non-mainframe developers are moving over to the mainframe because the opportunities are greater for advancement. The mainframe is also a more strategic environment than Windows/UNIX-based systems. Because it is the most important, technical IP in the organization, some young programmers are attracted to working with the mainframe, knowing it will bring them increased satisfaction while making more of a difference.ie.

Understaffed and Underfunded. How Long Can It Last?
According to a recent study by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Deloitte, 79% of 261 business and IT leaders surveyed cited their top mainframe-related challenge is acquiring the right resources and skills to get their work done. Seventy-one percent said their mainframe team is understaffed and 54% said their team was underfunded.

These numbers should be alarming to us all! Though this fact may elude folks outside of the mainframe community, we know well just how essential the mainframe is to processing and safeguarding the world’s most critical data. From government to healthcare, airlines, banks, and more, the mainframe is an essential component to keeping these industries up and running. And without the workforce to maintain the platform, we all could suffer disastrous consequences in the industries that most rely on the mainframe – telecom, banking, insurance, healthcare, and government.

Fortunately, with the rest of the world experiencing major workforce shortages, this moment has forced everyone to take a deep look at how to rebuild IT infrastructures sustainably for the future. The problem is no longer ignorable for the mainframe industry, and that means there’s a renewed urgency to address challenges that have faced mainframers for decades.

So how do we begin addressing these challenges? At DTS Software, we believe the solution to closing the skills gap starts first with replenishing the talent pool. Education is key. Education efforts will inevitably take a long time to come to fruition, so this must be the most urgent aspect of the strategy. One upside to an aging mainframe workforce is the fact that the knowledge and experience level of today’s professionals is sky-high. These folks are bursting at the seams with mainframe knowledge, and this knowledge must be transferred to the next generation, or we risk losing it.

DTS Software founders are some of these professionals with a lifetime’s worth of knowledge under their belts, and they are dedicated to providing the highest quality educational resources out there. DTS CTO Steve Pryor’s monthly webinar series has been viewed by thousands of mainframers in the industry looking to learn new skills or brush up on highly technical aspects of the platform. Our library of Steve’s webinars is free and open to the public for viewing on-demand, and registration is open now for our January webinar titled “Understanding your ACS Routines” taking place Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 11 a.m. ET.

The second strategy to begin closing the skills gap is to lean on technology to optimize the jobs of mainframe professionals, so they can handle the ever-increasing demands of their workloads. Mainframe modernization is essential to easing the transition for the next generation of workers who will be tasked with managing more data than ever before. At DTS, we take this role seriously as pioneers in enterprise storage management software, and we’re one of many companies innovating to bring mainframe technology into the 21^st century and beyond.

Though the road ahead will be challenging, we know our greatest strength as mainframers is our sense of community and collaboration, and we’re looking forward to a new year of building a strong foundation for years to come.

To view DTS’s library of on-demand webinars, and learn more about our enterprise storage management software, visit dtssoftware.com or email us today at support@dtssoftware.com to speak directly with one of our experienced customer service representatives. 

As the Agile Manifesto approaches adulthood (it turns 21 this year) it is interesting to note its proliferation into so many facets of life. What started during a meeting of the minds at a resort in Utah is now used by groups ranging from Boy Scout troops to software developers, from marketers to manufacturers. And like most everything, it has evolved over the years.

One of the key principles of the Agile Manifesto is simplicity – the art of maximizing the amount of work not done. This, however, flies in the face of the current trend of “doing more with less.”

News of IT layoffs (big and small) are all too frequent. But the amount of work to be done steadily increases. As IT teams shrink, more of us are wearing a multitude of hats to make sure the job is done.

In the storage management corner of the enterprise software space, it can mean giving non-storage administrators the knowledge to perform tasks that storage administrators might typically be asked to handle. A recent DTS Educational Webinar focused on that very thing.

ISMF for Non-Storage Administrators
ISMF is usually thought of as the “storage administrator’s tool” used to maintain SMS constructs and ACS routines. But there is another, lesser-known side to ISMF available to end users – the Data Set and Volume functions that allow ordinary users to create filtered lists of data sets and volumes for reporting or for commands and CLISTs, along with batch reports based on saved ISMF lists or DCOLLECT output.

In this webinar, presented by DTS CTO Steve Pryor, we provided an overview of these functions along with a practical demonstration of how you can use them in your installation.

What is the Interactive Storage Management Facility?
Simply put, it’s an ISPF application that’s not too difficult to use. Yes, it is mostly used by storage administrators, but as an end-user, there is a lot you can do with ISMF.

End-users can work with datasets, volumes, and SMS constructs to view, list, filter, and extract lists of information from them. The lists, then, can be used in many ways, including saving, reusing, printing, and deleting them. This includes individual datasets, volumes, or everything in the list.

It’s important to note that an end-user can’t alter them, that is the job of the storage administrator, so having access as an end-user is not high-risk.

Examining Datasets and Volumes via ISMF
Examining datasets with ISMF can answer a number of questions, including the names and kinds of datasets on a volume, plus a long list of other criteria, which Pryor introduces during the webinar.

Where does the data come from? Typically, the Catalog, but it can also come from the VTOC, which is where you’d find allocated space, used space, the number of extents and any other information kept in the VTOC but not in the catalog.

Pryor demonstrates how to create or access saved lists in an easy-to-understand way.

Saving Lists
A nice feature of ISMF is the ability to save lists for future reference or use in creating a new list. Lists are saved in the ISMF table. Pryor demonstrates this as well.

How-to Examples and Additional Resources
Like the previous DTS webinars, Pryor includes hands-on examples of ISMF usage for end-users. He also includes information on key reference resources available for those who need it.

Steve makes himself available as an additional resource as well and can be reached at steve@dtssoftware.com.

Learn More in Our Webinar Available On-Demand
“ISMF for Non-Storage Administrators?” is a 60-minute informative and educational look at an important topic in the mainframe space. If you weren’t able to attend or would like to review the material presented, you can view it on-demand and download a copy of the slide deck to keep as reference material. Be sure to join us each month for our complimentary webinar series. Go to www.dtssoftware.com/webinars for more information.

The new year is often a time for reflection, and as 2022 fades into the rearview, we’re certainly grateful for the great year we’ve had.

In 2022 we saw a return to in-person conferences, and we were able to finally reconvene with our friends in the mainframe industry at events like SHARE and IDUG across the US and internationally. We also saw many encouraging trends in the industry, most notably the release of the IBM® z16™ mainframe, the first quantum-safe system and the first mainframe to use real-time AI for transaction processing at scale, among other notable capabilities.

We also saw encouraging statistics unveiled in Rocket Software’s State of the Mainframe report, which indicates 67% of Fortune 100 companies rely on mainframes for critical business operations.

There’s a renewed energy from business leaders to include the platform in existing modernization initiatives, and we’re happy to play our part in the efforts to make sure that not only do these important platforms keep running, but that they are utilized to their full potential.

One trend we found discouraging however, was the lack of care many of our vendor peers in the mainframe software industry show when it comes to client relations. We’ve heard that upon renewal, some of our competitors are passing increases onto their customers – you! – by as much as 40%!

And year after year, we hear from our friends in the industry that getting support for mission-critical software products grows more difficult, with so many vendors opting to go the cheaper route by outsourcing developers and customer service reps overseas. This divestment in mainframe talent from inside the big-name vendors in the space, while concurrently raising rates by (sometimes) exorbitant amounts depicts a worrying trend for our industry.

DTS Software has been in business for more than 30 years, and we know that the mainframe is still the #1 platform for processing the world’s most important data. We exclusively manufacture mainframe solutions, and our founders were pioneering innovators in the field. We’re all in on the mainframe. And though we are ultimately in the business of making money, we know that treating our customers well is the best way to do that sustainably. We are continually looking for success stories to tell, and our customers are the driving force behind that.

We do this with a 100% in-house development team, accompanied by our 100% in-house customer service team. When you call DTS, you will get a qualified mainframe professional on the other end of the line, and often times it’s one of the same people who built the product you’re looking for help with.

Though we’ll confidently stack up any of our products against our big-name competitors, we’re proud to be a small vendor in the industry, still able to provide the customized customer experience that we think is necessary when it comes to the mainframe.

And though unfortunately it’s become fashionable in the corporate world to treat your customers like they’re expendable, we’re happy to go against the grain, and our customer testimonials are proof of that.

DTS will never price gouge, nor will we ever outsource our development because we know when our customers succeed, so do we.

Looking to switch to a vendor who cares about your success with the mainframe? We’ve got a suite of products to replace many popular solutions from our big-name competitors.

Check out our Competitive Solution Replacement page today!