Grow your business by updating IMS applications and integrating
them into new enterprise systems
Introduction
As organizations build out their infrastructures and introduce new services, they look for ways to reduce costs and make the most of their existing IT investments by extending the life of their trusted assets. For many thousands of companies around the world, including over 75 percent of Fortune 1000 compa-nies, IBM® Information Management System (IMS™) applica-tion programs running on IBM System z® are among the most valued of these assets.
However, companies may not be aware of how efficiently they can use key integration and access points to modernize IMS applications, open these applications to the mid-tier and make them contributing components of a multitier enterprise. With the many open, standards-based channels now available for IMS, IT managers no longer need to incur the high costs of rewriting applications or lose time recertifying changed back-end applica-tions to comply with regulatory requirements. There is no need to move applications off mainframe systems, thereby losing the qualities of service associated with IBM System z.
This paper focuses on ways organizations can save money and lower their overall total cost of ownership (TCO) by retaining and modernizing IMS applications, opening up these applica-tions through industry standards as web services, mobile applications and more.
Highlights: What’s new in IMS Version 13
IMS and IMS tools continue to evolve to meet the needs of enterprise customers. The newest release of IMS, Version 13, offers the following benefits:
IMS delivers unprecedented performance gains
• 117,000 transactions per second on a single IMS Fast Path system1
• CPU time reductions of up to 62 percent in some Java applications leveraging IMS 13 Universal Database Type-2 access2
• CPU reductions of up to 15 percent for certain zIIP-enabled general-purpose processing workloads2
IMS helps lower total cost of ownership
• Reduced MIPS usage across IMS • Simplified system-generation capabilities • Extension of TCP/IP support to InterSystems
Communication (ISC)
• IMS Shared Queue processing improvements
IMS is at the center of enterprise integration
• Reuse of trusted applications and data • Industry-standard tools and interfaces
• Expanded IMS development tools and integration support • Extended Open Access with enriched functionality and
performance
• Integration capabilities with SAP and with IBM Cognos®, IBM InfoSphere® Optim™, WebSphere, InfoSphere and Data Studio
IMS delivers high availability, performance and scalability
• Outage-free database alteration • Database versioning support • Extended SQL support
• Extended IMS application callout capabilities • Expanded connectivity for IMS Java applications
IMS delivers reusable assets and
advantages
IMS provides highly reliable, low-cost transaction and hierarchi-cal database management for mission-critihierarchi-cal online transaction processing (OLTP). With the delivery of IMS 13, customers can handle 117,000 transactions per second on a single IMS database, and it is not unusual for an IMS installation to function for several years without an unplanned outage.1 IMS applications
have been running successfully at many organizations for 40 years or more, and are at the heart of many key business operations.
Modernizing these applications and integrating them into other enterprise systems and services can add exceptional value for organizations. Expansive integration capabilities enable service-oriented architecture (SOA) exploitation, enhanced analytics, new application development and mobile technology. Organizations can realize new initiatives and enhance agility by connecting IMS to modern architectures such as Java and Microsoft .NET. Architects can reuse IMS core data and transactions to meet new challenges and securely integrate valued IMS assets into the organization’s business processes. IMS is also designed to make it easy for third parties, including independent software vendors and enterprise organizations, to build applications. The IMS environment enables the creation of new, converged applications that include capabilities such as operation across fixed and mobile boundaries. It also helps bind legacy capabilities into emerging web services–based applications.
Top five capabilities to consider when modernizing applications
• Data services: Direct access to data opens up new opportunities for IMS data to be integrated for master data management, business intelligence and analytics. • Transaction services: IMS Transaction Manager, which sets
the “gold standard” for transaction processing performance and scalability, now comes with native SQL support, as well as the latest Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) and J2EE Connector Architecture (JCA) standard support, along with Java roll-your-own (RYO) capabilities.
• SOA: IMS offers enterprise service bus (ESB) integration, composite applications and other capabilities to help organizations put all the pieces together for new applications and services.
• Enterprise mobility: Open standards and enhanced support make it easy for organizations to pull in IMS data for mobile applications delivered through smartphones and tablets. • Appliances and tooling: IBM Rational® Developer for
System z, IMS Explorer for Development, IBM WebSphere® Integration Developer, WebSphere DataPower® and other tools help speed IMS application modernization.
Data services provide direct data access
Java and .NET are among the most popular architectures today, and businesses need ways to connect valuable IMS data with their Java and .NET application architecture. Organizations want to be able to go directly to IMS using a standard approach without making application architecture changes. IMS provides these capabilities, enabling customers to quickly achieve IMS value while significantly reducing development costs and improving productivity.For organizations that choose .NET as their application devel-opment platform, IMS 13 now furnishes a .NET Data feature that allows these applications to directly access IMS data. For Java applications, organizations can leverage IMS Open Database technology and the Universal Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) driver to access IMS data systems in real time from Java applications.
With the native SQL engine in IMS 13, .NET and Java solu-tions can now send SQL inputs directly to IMS for processing and pass the results back to the user with no application code changes required. Deep synergy with the IMS Catalog also allows direct Java and .NET access to IMS metadata in the catalog, so developers are no longer file system–dependent for metadata.
New integration for business intelligence
Business intelligence and decision-support applications such as IBM Cognos Business Intelligence (BI) often must query a variety of data stores to answer complex business questions. Organizations can use Cognos to look at multiple databases, such as IBM DB2® and IMS databases, and make a report based on analysis of data from these multiple sources. Enhanced integration enables Cognos to directly access IMS data for analytics and reporting. An IMS database typically con-tains operational data for high-volume transactional workloads.
These workloads often include finance, insurance and retail applications that contain a wealth of data about customers, inter-actions and business trends—valuable resources for BI. With this direct connection to Cognos, IMS provides the most cur-rent, accurate version of data for real-time BI reporting. Users can create drill-to-detail reporting applications that directly leverage IMS data, for example, without first moving the data to another database.
In addition, new capabilities with the IBM DB2 Query Management Facility™ (QMF) make it simple to present data from IMS hierarchical sources alongside data drawn from the DB2 relational database. Customers now have direct access to IMS data from within QMF Enterprise Edition, allowing them to power ad hoc queries, graphical reports and visual dashboards using IMS data.
Big data capabilities
In this era of big data, unstructured data sources are growing fast, and organizations need to merge this data with trusted OLTP data from IMS sources. IMS 13 provides the connectors and the database capability to enable the IBM InfoSphere BigInsights™ big data analytics solution to easily and efficiently access IMS data. InfoSphere BigInsights makes it simple for organizations to use Apache Hadoop to build big data applica-tions and include IMS among the query-able databases for those applications. It helps increase operational efficiency by augment-ing the existaugment-ing IMS environment and allowaugment-ing organizations to store and analyze large volumes of multi-structured data.
Trusted views of data assets
Organizations can use IMS together with IBM InfoSphere Master Data Management (InfoSphere MDM) to establish governed, trusted views of data assets for new applications (see Figure 1). MDM becomes vital as requests to connect with IMS resources come increasingly from new customer-facing services through browsers and mobile devices.
InfoSphere MDM, running on the System z mainframe or the mid-tier, can act as a security gateway and data governance device for new services. For example, InfoSphere MDM can recognize a user identification and password, check this informa tion against the MDM master data record and report whether the application can engage IMS. The MDM solution can also be used to determine the specific kinds of information users are allowed to see—for example, to allow users to check their own account balances but not access other IMS data. InfoSphere MDM supports a variety of security protocols, enabling organi-zations to use the standards they prefer.
-Transaction services deliver flexibility
and performance
Several enhancements make it simpler and easier to use IMS core transactions to meet new challenges. For example, organi-zations can leverage existing IMS transactions and make them available as callable web services (see Figure 2). Network access is provided to and from the IMS host environment, and IMS data can be called from outside IMS applications.
Application servers supported include: WebLogic and WebSphere
Application Server Application server Client application Application server MDM server Database Databases supported
include: Oracle and DB2
Synchronous Program Support enables an organization to develop a new Java workload and have it invoke existing non-Java IMS transactions that may be critical to the organization’s enterprise architecture. IMS leverages the IBM Java virtual
machine (JVM) for System z and integrates it into the IMS runtime, providing a complete Java framework for applications operating in an IMS container. Java running in IMS regions has been benchmarked at over 19,000 transactions per second.3
LUW/Distributed System z – z/OS
IMS SOAP Gateway IMS Connect API clients
Cognos JDBC Type-4 drivers SAP Discovery Database Manager Transaction Manager IMS Connect
IMS (System z – z/OS)
IMS application OTMA Cognos IMS TM re sour ce ada pt er WebSphere Message Broker IBM Business Process
Manager WebSphere Transformation Extender ODBM IMS TM re sour ce ada pt er WebSphere Message Broker IBM Business Process
Manager WebSphere Transformation Extender JDBC Type-4 drivers Other vendor solutions RYO – sockets
IMS SOAP Gateway RYO – sockets IMS DB re sour ce adapt er WebSphere ESB WebSphere Application Server IMS DB re sour ce adap te r WebSphere ESB WebSphere Application Server WebSphere DataPower Appliances
Integration with IBM WebSphere DataPower
IMS is integrated with IBM WebSphere DataPower appliances for interoperability with both IMS transactions and data. Organizations can now create both SOAP and representational state transfer (REST) services to access IMS applications and IMS databases. WebSphere DataPower firmware V6.0 provides three types of support for IMS:
●● Inbound access to IMS from external client: Using
IMS Transaction Manager (IMS TM) access, an external application can initiate a transaction request to an application running in an IMS TM–dependent region and fetch data back.
●● Outbound support from IMS synchronous callout to
external client: Applications running in IMS TM systems can make synchronous callout requests to data or service providers running on the DataPower back end.
●● Access to IMS databases: Access to IMS Database Manager
(IMS DB) allows an external application to issue SQL calls directly against an IMS database.
Additionally, IMS can communicate bidirectionally with an external service or application by taking advantage of the rapid data transformation capabilities of DataPower for mobile and cloud access. This approach leverages the multiple protocols and data transformation capabilities of DataPower to modernize IMS in a fast, secure and simplified way.
For example, a mobile application might access an IMS applica-tion through DataPower for bill-paying on a user’s account. In this scenario, the IMS application looks up the account informa-tion from the IMS database, but it must request a credit score
from an external vendor’s web service to determine the user’s payment options. The application performs a callout through DataPower and, on approval, obtains the score. The IMS appli-cation then processes the data and presents payment options back to the mobile user.
Organizations not using DataPower can instead access IMS applications for both inbound and outbound traffic by using the IMS Enterprise Suite SOAP Gateway, or by using the IMS Transaction Manager Resource Adapter in a Java EE server such as WebSphere Application Server. Another option is to write an RYO application to handle call requests, using the IMS Enterprise Suite Connect application programming interface (API) in Java or C language.
IMS and operational decision management
Decision-rich applications ranging from claims processing to real-time mobile user campaign management depend heavily on business rules. Developers need to use these rules to ensure that the right decisions are incorporated into new applications, but the rules may be scattered throughout the organization and difficult to manage.
The IBM Operational Decision Manager (ODM) platform solves the problem by capturing and documenting business rules and regulations and using them to automate decision making. Improved IMS integration and persistent connection support for IMS in ODM V8.5 improves the quality of transaction and pro-cess-related decisions in critical IMS applications, and extends the ability of organizations to leverage decision management and modernize their application assets.
With ODM, organizations can be confident they are deploying one set of rules to multiple locations. For example, a bank might have an application that is collecting transactions from the web, and also have an IMS batch application that reruns the transac-tions and requires the same set of rules to be applied. ODM can deploy rules from a central repository to the web application that requires them and also deploy that exact set of rules to the IMS application.
Mobile enablement helps extend
enterprise systems
Mobility is essential for a wide range of customer services, and the pervasiveness of smartphones, tablets and other devices is pushing organizations to extend existing enterprise systems to the mobile platform. For example, many of today’s insurance companies offer their clients “pocket-agent” applications that enable on-the-scene claims. IMS transaction and data assets include the types of core customer and policy information needed for these and similar applications.
WebSphere DataPower is positioned to bridge Web 2.0 and SOA. It can service Web 2.0 requests, including REST (JSON) invocation, acting as a bridge to enterprise protocols, including IMS Connect. DataPower can play different roles in mobile enablement:
●● Provides a representational state transfer (REST) service
façade
●● Acts as a DMZ proxy to secure a mobile network
●● Enables seamless enterprise integration for IBM Worklight®
IBM Worklight provides an open, comprehensive and advanced platform to build, run and manage mobile applications, address-ing many integration needs for mobile enablement.
IMS intends to deliver enhanced support for mobile applications by implementing WebSphere Application Server (WAS) Liberty Profile support with an integrated REST endpoint. This approach enables mobile application development using the lightweight data-interchange format JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) protocol for accessing IMS data and transactions. JSON is well suited to both mobile and web development because the JSON data structures can be immediately displayed on the mobile device without the processing-heavy transaction required for XML.
Other mobility-enabling IMS capabilities include the introduc-tion of a new and simple JavaScript Messaging API. This new API provides native messaging client samples for Android and iOS developers to connect to WebSphere MQ. For mobile application development, the IBM Mobile Development Lifecycle Solution, which incorporates IBM Worklight, provides an enterprise-grade development environment for code construction of native, web and hybrid mobile applications.
SOA-based services efficiently leverage
IMS assets
Within the SOA framework, an application developer can quickly compose a distributed application, reusing the services provided by IMS with confidence in their performance and reliability, without having to know how these services are implemented. The IBM WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus (WebSphere ESB) provides flexible mediation and hosting of SOA services for IMS implementations.
Built on top of WebSphere Application Server, WebSphere ES helps organizations create services from existing IMS assets to create new business systems. New atomic services enablement i WebSphere and IMS increases speed and efficiency by enabling SOA services to access only portions of an IMS procedure. For example, a simple procedure such as updating a customer address can be performed without starting a full mainframe application that may include unnecessary, time-consuming nested and interdependent procedures.
IMS assets in composite applications
Organizations will find it easy to include trusted assets in IMS a part composite applications using the Web Services Composite Application Framework (WS-CAF) open standard. Composite applications are very much part of the modern enterprise archi-tecture that includes web services and front-end applications served up to external users and some departments within an organization.
Used primarily in SOA environments, these composite applica-tions combine IMS-based services with functionality drawn from other applications and services. Parts of the composite application can be service-enabled to run on the middle tier of an organization’s IT infrastructure while other parts can run on the mainframe tier. For example, an online banking process might first go to a middle-tier server to verify the user’s pass-word and then kick off an IMS transaction on the System z mainframe.
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Composite applications allow an organization to introduce new services and refresh online offers without having to spend time or money changing IMS applications on the back end. For example, if a bank wants to periodically change product offers on its web pages, it can more easily make those changes on the middle tier. Changing any core banking application on the back end may trigger a long testing period and audit process to meet regulatory requirements. Instead, core back-end functionality can be incorporated, without alteration, into a composite appli-cation that includes new pieces on the front end for presentation to the customer.
Development tools help speed IMS
application modernization
To enhance speed and productivity in application development, IMS interfaces with major development environments. Companies have access to an ecosystem of developer tools supporting popular languages. SOAP and JCA standard support in IMS enables mid-tier application environments to work as integrated solutions with the IBM z/OS® mainframe environ-ment and run IMS transactions. In addition, IBM provides robust tools for IMS application development for the z/OS environment.
Rational Developer for System z (RDz), an Eclipse-based interactive development environment (IDE), serves as the integration point for z/OS application development tools.
This highly efficient platform for IMS application developmen provides a way to modernize with SOA principles, produces IMS web services via SOAP and XML plug-ins, incorporates JDBC drivers and simplifies maintenance of IMS applications. RDz appeals to many developers unfamiliar with traditional 3270-based tooling and helps transition green-screen develope to next-generation languages to support application
modernization.
The IMS Enterprise Suite Explorer for Development (IMS Explorer) provides graphical editors that simplify IMS applica-tion development by enabling developers to visualize and edit IMS database and program definitions. IMS Explorer is an Eclipse-based graphical tool that supports cross-product integr tion with RDz. New usability enhancements and integration with the IBM Data Studio database development environment make it easier to access IMS data and connect to the z/OS system.
Also, Data Studio now supports IBM pureQuery® with IMS, so organizations can use the pureQuery data access platform to optimize existing applications without making code changes, providing the potential to reduce software costs. Along with these development enhancements, a planned IMS administrati console will provide a web-based administration solution for IMS.
Cloud enablement includes IMS
multi-tenancy
As part of its overall cloud strategy, IBM is currently working t enable multi-tenancy within IMS for software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers. IMS implementation is based on dependent regions, with each region virtualizing resources for system services, application logic, database calls, message handling and
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a-on
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memory. IMS expands to a maximum of 999 dependent regions, enabling a horizontal scaling model in which IMS regions are added and the same application is recompiled in each region. While this approach works well for enterprise IT implementa-tions, it is inefficient for SaaS providers whose business model depends on sharing resources among multiple customers. To enable the SaaS model, IMS is moving to a vertical scaling model that allows multiple communication threads in the same region. For example, with three threads in an IMS region, a SaaS provider could place three customers on the same IMS instance. This new approach is designed to reduce complexity and cost for the service provider while maintaining strong separation of applications and data for customers.
Conclusion
Modernizing legacy application environments can make organi-zations more efficient, responsive and competitive—and better position them for new requirements such as cloud computing, mobility and virtualization.
Much of the world’s operational data resides in IMS on z/OS, and in many cases IMS is the center of the enterprise, managing data that reflects the most current state of the business. IBM provides a wide array of capabilities that enable organizations to retain and extend the value of their investment by leveraging IMS data and transactions for new services and requirements.
New capabilities in the latest version, IMS 13, make leveraging IMS assets more efficient and effective than ever. IBM is com-mitted to ensuring organizations can continue to gain business advantage by cost-efficiently modernizing IMS applications using modern, integrated interfaces and tools that lower the skills barrier.
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1The IMS 13 "100K" project achieved a sustained average transaction
rate of over 117,000 transactions per second (TPS) on a single system, running on the most current IBM hardware (IBM System zEnterprise® EC12 mainframe processor, IBM System Storage® DS8870 and DS8800 DASD) and operating system software (z/OS 2.1). The workload measured was the IMS Fast Path (FP) Credit Card benchmark application. The transaction messages were generated by IBM's Teleprocessing Network Simulator (TPNS), and were sent to IMS via TCP/IP through five IMS Connect address spaces with RACF security and user ID caching enabled. IMS OTMA security (level CHECK) was active, periodic IMS system checkpoints were taken during the run, and IMS Online Log Data Set (OLDS) switching and archiving occurred as needed.
Each measurement run demonstrated the greater than 117,000 TPS average rate over a 15-minute interval (the "measurement interval"). All one-minute intervals within the 15-minute measurement intervals had an average transaction rate between 114,000 and 120,000 TPS. The 15-minute measurement over 100,000 TPS was performed three times to demonstrate repeatability.
2IBM internal performance benchmarks, September 2013.
3The IMS performance team used a workload that drives various IMS
DL/I calls (both read and update calls) against several IMS Fast Path Databases. The workload was driven using Teleprocessing Network Simulator (TPNS), which makes concurrent transaction requests to IMS that then were processed in the JMP regions that were running Java application leveraging the IMS Universal Database Drivers. The measurement was executed on IBM zEnterprise EC12, IMS V12 and Java 7SR3 on November 14, 2012 and achieved 19,942.92 trans/sec.
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