IBM® z/OS® Communications Server provides a set of communications protocols that support peer-to-peer connectivity functions for both local and wide-area networks, including the most popular wide-area network, the internet. It also provides performance enhancements that can benefit various TCP/IP applications.
IBM z/OS Communications Server, a high availability enterprise transaction and data server, provides common applications, such as file transfer protocol (FTP), Telnet and the remote execution of applications. Built for optimum productivity, it provides a secure platform for developing and sharing mainframe workloads.
IBM z/OS Encryption Readiness Technology (zERT) Network Analyzer, a new z/OSMF plug-in, is now available for you to easily query and analyze the cryptographic protection attributes of your z/OS TCP/IP and Enterprise Extender connections.
Updates and enhancements for z/OS 3.1 Communications Server
z/OS Communications Server performance summary reports
Supports high-bandwidth and high-speed networking technologies, including Shared Memory Communications (SMC), which provides significant performance improvements for Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) workloads.
Uses z/OS Parallel Sysplex® technology to enable high availability application support.
Protects sensitive data and the operation of the TCP/IP stack on z/OS.
Enables IPv6, the successor to aging IPv4 technology, to handle the demands of internet usage with 128-bit addressing.
Collects network topology, status and performance information.
Makes it faster and easier to configure policy-based networking functions by using Configuration Assistant.
z/OS Communications Server provides network communications and network-related services for IBM z/OS Container Platform (zOSCP).
z/OS 2.5 and 3.1 Communications Server, with APAR PH39613, provides network support for zOSCP workloads by introducing a new type of VIPARANGE dynamic VIPA (DVIPA) called ZCONTainer. A ZCONTainer DVIPA provides network access for a pod or a container when a container image is started on z/OS. It also enhances support for several new Language Environment (LE) and UNIX System Services (USS) Callable Services APIs, System Resolver APIs and the Netstat application. With this Communications Server support, containerized z/OS applications can now coexist with native z/OS applications.
z/OS Communications Server also introduces a set of Container Network Interface for IBM z/OS (z/OS CNI) plug-ins. These plug-ins provide a network fabric for the containers to communicate with each other across the sysplex and for external communications.
zERT is an intelligent network security discovery and monitoring feature of the z/OS Communications Server. It is a core capability of IBM Z® pervasive encryption.
IBM zERT Network Analyzer is a web-based interface on z/OSMF. It helps you determine which z/OS TCP and Enterprise Extender traffic is or isn’t protected according to specific query criteria.
With z/OS V2R5, zERT Policy-based Enforcement allows policy-based rules that describe different levels of cryptographic protection along with optional actions to take when TCP connections match those rules. With z/OS 3.1, IBM zERT Network Analyzer provides enhancements for database connection authentication, improved upgrade support and a user interface refresh.
Application Transparent-Transport Layer Security (AT-TLS) provides TLS encryption and decryption of TCP/IP connections based on policies created with the IBM Network Configuration Assistant. The z/OS sockets application sends and receives clear text (unencrypted) data as usual while AT-TLS applies TLS protection to the data at the TCP transport layer. With z/OS 3.1, AT-TLS supports several new System SSL features.
Get enhanced network security and compliance for more secure data transfer and higher productivity:
Get enhanced application modernization and simplified operating system management for optimized business operation:
z/OS V2R4 Communications Server has added network support for z/OS Container Extensions, which provides native z/OS support for Linux Docker-based application workloads.
z/OS V2R4 Communications Server, with TCP/IP APAR PH22695 and SNA APAR OA59152, is enhanced to support SMC-Dv2. Unlike the original Shared Memory Communication-Direct Memory Access (SMC-D) protocol, SMC-Dv2 does not require communication peers to reside within the same IP subnet.
In z/OS V2R5 Communications Server, SMC-Rv2 and IBM z15® with RoCE Express2 support “routable RoCE” connectivity over multiple IP subnets for communications across IBM Z® systems.
z/OS V3R1 Communications Server is enhanced to support:
IBM Configuration Assistant for z/OS Communications Server plays a key role for the network administrator as part of the IBM Cloud Provisioning and Management for z/OS solution.
z/OS V2R5 Communications Server provides the following TCP/IP usability enhancements to enable improved efficiency in system automation, the reduction of unwanted delays in system initialization and improved certificate-related problem determination for AT-TLS and IPSec.
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This badge earner has foundational understanding of networking on z/OS including networking principles, TCP/IP and SNA communication protocols and the logical and physical components associated with them.
This badge earner has foundational understanding of z/OS network security, including network security overview and general knowledge of IPSec, zERT, AT-TLS and IDS.
This badge earner has foundational understanding of z/OS TCP/IP configuration provided with the IBM Configuration Assistant for z/OS Communications Server.
This badge earner has a general knowledge and understanding of TCP/IP on z/OS.
This badge earner has the knowledge and foundational understanding of configuring zERT Policy Enforcement using the IBM Configuration Assistant for z/OS Communications Server.
Browse the IBM Redbooks® to install and support the z/OS Communications Server. The four volumes cover IBM z/OS V2R2 Communications Server TCP/IP Implementation.
Get introduced to z/OS Communications Server TCP/IP. This Redbook describes the system resolver and shows the implementation of global and local settings for single and multi-stack environments.
Get useful implementation scenarios and configuration recommendations for many of the TCP/IP standard applications that z/OS Communications Server supports.
This Redbook discusses virtual IP addressing (VIPA) for high-availability, with and without a dynamic routing protocol.
This Redbook explains how to set up security for your z/OS networking environment.
Information on z/OS Communications Server new function APARs available for z/OS 3.1.
Information on z/OS Communications Server new function APARs available for z/OS V2R5.
Information on z/OS Communications Server new function APARs available for z/OS V2R4.
The latest iteration of IBM Z® mainframes with on-chip AI inferencing and industry-first quantum-safe technologies.
A feature of IBM z/OS that helps to boost server communications with clustering technology.
A feature of IBM z/OS that allows communicating with and managing various aspects of a z/OS system through a web browser interface.