Debugging, the Old Fashioned Way - David Liff

How far back do you go in IT?  Do you remember what debugging really is?  Take a tour into the past with this great article.

Download Article

How I Built a Home Computer Lab, Changed My Life and Saved the Earth - Andresen

Bob Andresen, CA, tells an interesting tale of what happens when you start configuring your own home computer lab.  His abstract follows:
This paper describes the choices, problems and solutions the author encountered while building a home computer lab, utilizing corporate equipment that is no longer powerful enough to run production workloads. Training classes alone won’t help build new expertise. What is learned in an expensive corporate class can easily be forgotten through non-use. Discarded hardware can be used to maintain and enhance skills in “new technology”. We’ll examine options for obtaining hardware and software to set up a small home network and to build expertise in new technologies that will allow one to keep a job with the current employer or find a better one elsewhere.
Introduction

Download Article

Considerations for data center efficiency based upon alternative Sysplex configurations - Hollander

AS LARGE SYSTEM COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS INCREASE IN SIZE IT BECOMES MORE ESSENTIAL TO FOCUS ON A DESIGN THAT MAXIMIZES AVAILABILITY AND TRANSACTION THROUGHPUT WHILE MINIMIZING OPERATIONAL COSTS.
THE RIGHT SYSPLEX BASED CONFIGURATION CAN ALLOW MAINFRAME USERS TO ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS FOR LARGE SYSTEM COMPUTING. THIS PAPER DESCRIBES THE BASIC CONFIGURATION VARIANTS, THEIR BENEFITS AND HIGHLIGHTS SOME OF THE CRITICAL CONSIDERATIONS.
SELECTING AND REFINING THE OVERALL CONFIGURATION CONTRIBUTES TO THE SUCCESS OF THE STRATEGIC BUSINESS NEEDS BEING FACILITATED IN THE SYSPLEX ENVIRONMENT. EXPANDING THE SYSPLEX TO INCLUDE NEW WORKLOADS IN DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS HELPS EXTEND THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI) OF THE SYSTEM Z HARDWARE. INCLUDING THE CONSIDERATIONS DISCUSSED HERE WILL ADD TO THE SUCCESS OF THE SYSPLEX.

Download Article

MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS, WEB SERVICES ARE FROM BETELGEUSE

Denise P. Kalm & Dr. Annie Shum
“The only way we will really know the condition of Betelgeuse is to wait a few million years.” 

Having trouble making robust legacy applications talk to hot new Web applications?  Trying to manage business transactions with your partners when everyone is running their proprietary software on different platforms?  Simple, flexible interoperability is the “holy grail” and happens to be analogous to the challenges we all face when we try to communicate with the opposite sex.  Loosely based on the Mars-Venus theme, we will explain the basics, benefits and challenges of creating or migrating to a Web services standard-based Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA).  We will extend that theme to communication with people from other cultures/languages as an analogy to cross-enterprises B2B Web Services.

Download Article

WLM- After Goal Mode, the Yellow Brick Road Didn’t Lead to Emerald City - Norm Hollander

Early piece highlighting the challenges of moving to goal mode.  A useful read for anyone, even if you think you got everything right.  (Feb 2003)

Download Article

How’s That Work? A Focus on WLM Goal Mode Batch Workloads - Norm Hollander

This session discusses various aspects of Batch Workloads in Workload Manager Goal Mode.  You will see how these Workloads originate, guidelines for setting up, options for qualifying them, and best practices for defining the associated Service Classes. 
(March 2005)

Download Article

How’s That Work? A Focus on WLM Goal Mode STC Workloads - Norm Hollander

This session discusses various aspects of Started Task Workloads in Workload Manager Goal Mode.  You will see how these Workloads originate, guidelines for setting up, options for qualifying them, and best practices for defining the associated Service Classes. 
(March 2005)

Download Article

How’s That Work?  A Focus on WLM Goal Mode Transaction & Database Management Workloads - Holla

This section discusses various aspects of Transaction Workloads in Workload Manager Goals Mode.  You will see how these Workloads originate, guidelines for setting up, options for qualifying them, and best practices for defining the associated Service Classes. (March 2006)

Download Article

z/Linux from a z/Perspective: zeeing the Opportunities - Norm Hollander

Topics covered:
- Focus on Linux on z/VM
- Opportunities from the Distributed Server Perspective
- Opportunities from the Mainframe Perspective
- Issues
(May 2006)

Download Article

New Age Autonomic Computing -  Linking Performance Monitors and Automation Solutions

In many of today’s Complex Data Center Environments, Customers are refining their Workload Manager Service Policies, Implementing Intelligent Resource Director (IRD), and investigating Enterprise WLM (EWLM), to help enhance their Continuous Availability and High Performance Environments.  But, utilizing just these tools may not be enough to achieve the desired results.  This session looks at some Autonomic Processes to link your currently installed Performance Monitors and Automation Solutions to increase the effectiveness for Self-Monitoring, Self-Configuring, and Self-Healing of Critical Business Applications.
(August 2007)

Download Article

New Age Business Resilience:  What it means to your Business - Norm Hollander

Setting the Stage: Business Resilience is About Business
A Review of History: Starting with Storage
Business Resilience Technologies Today
New Age Business Resilience Possibilities
Today’s Business Resilience IT Issues
Getting Back to Business: How it All Maps to the Bottom Line
(September 2007)

Download Article