About this Course

This 5-day, instructor-led course teaches CICS system programmers how to install and tailor CICS Transaction Server (TS) for z/OS. You learn to tailor the system by defining transactions, programs, files, and the other resources that CICS applications need. The course also provides a thorough introduction to security and recovery concepts that are needed to administer new or existing installations of CICS TS. Lecture topics include problem determination tools, intersystem communication, CICS DB2, Database Control (DBCTL), and WebSphere MQ interfaces.

You practice your new skills on a z/OS system that is configured specifically for this lab-intensive course.

The lab environment for this course uses the z/OS platform.

Audience Profile

This course is designed for system programmers who are new to the installation and tailoring of CICS Transaction Server.

At Course Completion

Upon completing this course, students will be able to:

• Set up specific CICS regions ready to be started:
  • Identify sources of information necessary to do preinstallation planning
  • List the CICS TS data set requirements
  • Identify operating system requirements necessary to install CICS TS
  • Identify the pregenerated elements of CICS TS

• Analyze an application description, define resources, and customize:
  • Transactions and associated programs/map sets
  • VSAM files
  • 3270 terminals and auto-install models that support them
  • Transient data destinations
  • Shared temporary storage pools
  • CICS TS log streams

• Define the major functions and parameters that are associated with:
  • Initiation/termination
  • Recovery/restart; use of MVS log streams
  • Security

• Identify the procedures that are required to install the first application
• Identify the functions of the basic system control parameters
• Identify the major elements of the statistics
• Identify requirements to collect monitor data
• List the functions of intercommunication facilities
• Identify sources of information necessary for basic problem determination
• Describe how the other MVS resource managers offered by IBM interface with CICS Transaction Server
• Describe the choices for invoking CICS programs and accessing CICS data from outside CICS
• Use the CICS Explorer to inquire and set CICS resource definitions

Prerequisites

You should:

• Be familiar with CICS architecture and facilities
• Have a working knowledge of z/OS, JCL, and TSO/ISPF
• Have a basic knowledge of z/OS Communications Server concepts
• Have a basic knowledge of VSAM concepts and Access Method services

Course Outline

• Course introduction
• CICS Transaction Server for z/OS overview
• Installation and verification
• Exercise: Getting acquainted with CICS TS for z/OS
• Resource definition online
• Exercise: Using the RDO batch utility DFHCSDUP
• Supporting terminal access
• Exercise: Administering terminals
• Defining transactions, programs, and map sets
• Exercise: Defining transactions, programs, and map sets
• File control functions and file definition
• Exercise: Defining files and (optionally) LSR pools
• CICS TS queuing facilities
• Exercise: Defining transient data queues
• CICS intercommunication services
• Exercise: Connecting systems
• Managing CICS resources
• Exercise: Using the CICS Explorer
• Storage management and storage protection
• System control
• Startup, recovery, and restart
• Exercise: Defining recoverable resources and journal models
• Security using an external security manager
• Basic problem determination
• Measurement and evaluation
• Exercise: CICS sample statistics program
• Accessing external resource manager data
• Sysplex support functions
• Related CICS licensed programs
• Course summary