Terminal Talk

If you were able to open up a data set without knowing the volume it's on by heart, thank Catalog. This often-overlooked but absolutely necessary component of z/OS deserves a deeper look, and Stephen Branch is here to spell out all of the interesting bits, as well as explaining some data set basics for the new learners. Definitely an educational and insightful episode. 

It's been a while since we last got a deep dive into IBM z/OS Container Extensions, and there's much to discuss. Terminal Talk Top Tier Listener Anthony Giorgio is on the scene with an action-packed look at the what, how, and why of this wonderful new addition to IBM Z's bag of virtualization tricks. Anthony's got both hands on the pulse of these latest developments, and we think there will be a lot of folks taking advantage of that 90 day trial by the end. 

IBM Systems Mag: Rapid Containers: Improving zCX Runtime Performance https://ibmsystemsmag.com/IBM-Z/9/2020/rapid-containers-zcx

90 Day Trial: https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/en/SSLTBW_2.4.0/com.ibm.zos.v2r4.izso100/izso100_zcxtrial.htm

IBM Systems Mag: What's the IBM z/OS Container Extensions trial feature? : https://ibmsystemsmag.com/IBM-Z/07/2020/z-os-container-extensions-trial

Learn more here:
https://www.ibm.com/support/z-content-solutions/container-extensions/

The strengths of IBM Z have always been apparent in critical business applications, and as more and more businesses look to use cloud technology as part of their day-to-day operations, there is a great opportunity for Z to demonstrate its value once again. In this episode, we talk with Tom McPherson, Vice President of Platform Services, IBM Cloud Infrastructure, about the role IBM Z plays in making the most powerful and resilient cloud offering out there. 

Maybe it's because nobody wanted to get on another web conference, or maybe we just like the sounds of our own voices... or maybe this year's Master the Mainframe is so much different and exciting that it's worth talking about for nearly 45 minutes. No matter the reason, in this episode, we talk about the changes and challenges that went into the technical end of Master the Mainframe 2020. If you're interested, just sign up at masterthemainframe.com (available through January 17, 2021). 

Getting comfortable in z/OS takes a considerable amount of discovery. There are constructs and commands unlike anywhere else, which makes the learning curve somewhat daunting. Mike Fulton, IBM Distinguished Engineer for IBM Z Application Foundation is working to change that with IBM Z Open Automation Utilities. Now, leveraging some new capabilities in USS, users can manage jobs, files, and core Z functionality with simple commands right from their shell. Even better, this plus Python enabled that Ansible thing you've been hearing so much about. It's probably time to evolve your z/OS Stack. 

Linkage:
IBM Z Open Automation Utilities Announcement

Mike's Blog - ZOAU Introduction

Welcome / Getting Started w/ ZOAU

Behind the scenes, but bathed in light, FICON connects powerful mainframe systems to massive storage devices. Encoded within that light lives some of the world's most important data which needs to get to their destination quickly. How do you get security without sacrificing speed? Give a listen to this week's episode with Chris Colonna: FICON Channel Firmware Execution Lead

It was a dark quiet night, just like this one, when a series of Linux guests running under z/VM suddenly gave up the ghost. Those in charge knew it was time to bring in the big guns. With Chief Sleuth Emily Hugenbruch hot on the case, and a deep bench of talent providing backup, this was one defect that got de-commissioned. 

Big thanks to Jim Ground for providing the atmospheric background music. Book him for all your children's parties. 

You never know what's going to bring COBOL to the forefront of people's thoughts, but here we are. Jessielaine Punongbayan,Senior Mainframe R&D Engineer at Broadcom Inc., has made a name for herself over the years as a Systems Programmer and COBOL coder, but has recently been making waves with a series of posts on Medium.com highlighting ways that mainframe usage can be modernized, reinvented, and quite frankly, made more appealing to programmers who haven't grown up around Z systems. In this talk, we find out what drew Jessielaine to mainframe, what's on the agenda for Zowe, how she envisions the future of the technology, and what people can do to get started right now. 

Medium.com posts - https://medium.com/@jessielaine.punongbayan

Zowe.org - https://www.zowe.org

Open Mainframe Project COBOL Course - https://www.openmainframeproject.org/projects/coboltrainingcourse

When it comes to keeping data safe, there's no such thing as too many options. In this episode, Eli Dow gives us a peek into how it all works, how it will help us from a personal and business standpoint, and how you can get started today.

Learn more here:
https://fhe-website.mybluemix.net

Get the toolkit here:
https://github.com/IBM/fhe-toolkit-macos

Live from Fort Poole, we welcome Chris Poole to talk about the latest in protecting valuable business applications and data, IBM Kuberenetes Service and Hyper Protect