Overview

This course and the associated Part 2 course together form the essential core of the z/OS education curriculum for z/OS Systems Programmers. By attending both components attendees will gain an in-depth insight into the fundamental structure of MVS (now z/OS), enabling further study in areas such as debugging, performance, installation and customisation of the operating system.<br>This course concentrates on laying the ground rules of z/OS in terms of architecture, storage management, as well as the major control blocks and how to interpret them. The course also introduces the major components found in z Systems environments.<br><br>This course is also available for one-company, on-site presentations and for live presentation over the Internet, via the Virtual Classroom Environment service.
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Prerequisites

A good working understanding of the z/OS environment, from a technician's perspective.
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Delegates will learn how to

  • describe the architectural principles governing CPU, Storage and I/O
  • identify the state of a CPU and describe potential problem scenerios
  • 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.
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Outline

Architecture

The architectural principles of the CPU; PSW, registers; interrupts system states; PSW swapping; multi-processing; central storage; addressing modes; storage keys; parallel & serial channels; pathing; HCD; LCUs; CCWs; I/O operation; SCSW.

MVS Introduction

The functions of the MVS operating systems; components required to prepare MVS for work; creating address spaces; Job Entry Subsystem; initiators; resource control; interrupt handlers and status saving; dispatching work; I/O requests; Workload Manager; execute the work; exit the work from the system.

Control Blocks, Dumps & IPCS

Using IPCS and the debugging handbooks to locate and interpret major MVS control blocks in a dump; finding main control blocks such as PSA, CVT, ASCB, TCB, UCB; main IPCS menus; IPCS FIND command; IPCS subcommands; IPCS labs.

Virtual Storage Concepts

Loading programs; real storage problems; DAT; segments & pages; page stealing & UIC; page faults; demand paging; dispatching address spaces; swapping & paging.

MVS Storage Management

AMODE & RMODE; common storage; private storage; Virtual Storage Manager; subpools; storage keys; RSM; page faults; segment faults; ASM; page data sets; VIO.

Dataspaces and Hiperspaces

Primary & secondary ASC modes; access registers; using dataspaces; VLF; Hiperspaces.

System Initialisation

Sysgen and IPL processes; the function of the LOAD parameter and the LOADxx member of PARMLIB; concepts of authorised programs; the subsystem interface.

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Why choose QA

Dates & Locations

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QA online courses, also commonly known as distance learning courses or elearning courses, take the form of interactive software designed for individual learning, but you will also have access to full support from our subject-matter experts for the duration of your course. When you book a QA online learning course you will receive immediate access to it through our e-learning platform and you can start to learn straight away, from any compatible device. Access to the online learning platform is valid for one year from the booking date.

All courses are built around case studies and presented in an engaging format, which includes storytelling elements, video, audio and humour. Every case study is supported by sample documents and a collection of Knowledge Nuggets that provide more in-depth detail on the wider processes.

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When will I receive my joining instructions?

Joining instructions for QA courses are sent two weeks prior to the course start date, or immediately if the booking is confirmed within this timeframe. For course bookings made via QA but delivered by a third-party supplier, joining instructions are sent to attendees prior to the training course, but timescales vary depending on each supplier’s terms. Read more FAQs.

When will I receive my certificate?

Certificates of Achievement are issued at the end the course, either as a hard copy or via email. Read more here.

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