IBM CICS Transaction Server for z/OS, V5.5 delivers support for Node.js and further enhancements to CICS Explorer, systems management, and security

IBM United States Software Announcement 218-352
October 2, 2018

Table of contents

	Overview		Technical information
	Key prerequisites		Ordering information
	Planned availability date		Terms and conditions
	Description		Prices
	Program number		Order now

At a glance

IBM® CICS® Transaction Server for z/OS® (CICS TS), V5.5 provides enhanced capabilities for established programming concepts and builds upon on the language developments from earlier CICS TS releases. Version 5.5 delivers:

Support for JavaScript™ Node.js applications
Support for multiple IBM WebSphere® Liberty servers in the same CICS region connecting to a Liberty angel process
Support for including common configuration in JVM servers
CICS bundle status reflects Liberty application status
New option to wait for Liberty angel process to be ready
Enhancements to CICS Explorer® to provide more capability, and simplify and improve the user experience
A new GraphQL API for querying system configuration and inter-resource relationships
System management advancements that greatly improve control and ownership
Enhanced security and resiliency of applications across all supported languages
Greater API and SPI control with the use of commands and keywords

Overview

IBM CICS Transaction Server for z/OS (CICS TS) is the IBM premium mixed-language application server. Recent investments in Java™ Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) and Eclipse MicroProfile support enable CICS TS clients to do more with their application platform than ever before.

CICS TS V5.5 delivers technical innovation and improved business value, in a release that addresses a significant number of user group enhancement requests. This latest release provides clients with:

New, modernized features, such as support for JavaScript Node.js applications
An enhanced CICS Explorer that provides more capability
Advancements in systems management, and enhanced security

New and enhanced features in CICS TS V5.5 include:

Support for JavaScript Node.js applications
CICS TS V5.5 now provides support for running Node.js applications. Node.js is a server-side runtime for applications that are written in JavaScript. Designed to be lightweight, efficient, and best suited for data-intensive applications, Node.js applications are typically event-driven, single-threaded, and process requests in a non-blocking manner to achieve high throughput.

The Node.js runtime encourages a module-driven, highly scalable approach to application design and development. A large selection of Node.js modules, for many existing tasks, are available on a public package registry, saving considerable time for application developers.
Support for multiple Liberty servers in the same CICS region connecting to a Liberty angel process
It is now possible to run multiple CICS Liberty JVM servers in the same CICS region and have them connect to a Liberty angel process, for security and other services. This allows applications to be isolated from each other, with each Liberty having its own configuration and lifecycle. It also allows for an application to be hosted in more than one Liberty server in the same CICS region, for improved redundancy as well as development scenarios.
Support for including common configuration in JVM servers
A new JVM profile directive INCLUDE is provided that loads additional configuration from another file. The file may contain configuration information that is common to several JVM profiles, such as security, logging, timeout settings, or database driver configuration and shared debug controls. In addition, a new JVM profile option LIBERTY_INCLUDE_XML is provided that enables Liberty to load shared configuration. This makes it easier to administer, clone, and control OSGi and Liberty JVM servers.
CICS bundle status reflects Liberty application status
Java EE applications installed using CICS bundle parts, will remain in the ENABLING state until they are successfully installed in Liberty, or the application fails to install, or the application install is timed-out. In the failure and time-out situations the CICS bundle is placed in the DISABLED state. This provides for more robust deployment and automation procedures, and makes it easier and faster to diagnose application configuration issues.
New option to wait for Liberty angel process to be ready
A new JVM server option is provided to ensure a Liberty JVM server will connect to a Liberty angel process before reaching the ENABLED state. This results in a more robust startup of Liberty, for example after a system restart and CICS is started ahead of the angel process.
Enhancements to CICS Explorer to provide more capability, and simplify and improve the user experience
CICS Explorer is improved to enable resource query results to be aggregated. This enables commonalities and disparities between resources to be highlighted quickly.

CICS Explorer is further enhanced with a new Map view that enables relationships between definitional workload management resources, such as workload specifications and transaction groups or between Business Application Services (BAS) resources, to be visualized and understood.
A new GraphQL API for querying system configuration and inter-resource relationships
CICS TS V5.5 provides a new HTTP-based system management API, using the GraphQL paradigm. This new API enables the querying of system resource and definitions, with inherent understanding of inter-resource relationships.
System management advancements that greatly improve control and ownership:
- CICS TS V5.5 delivers new policy system rules that enable users, who want to monitor the state of system resources or the overall health of a CICS system, to define system rules in CICS policies.
- With the introduction of statistics for policy rules, CICS now collects resource statistics for each rule that is defined in a policy, and supplies a summary report.
- The CICSPlex® System Management (CICSPlex SM) exploitation of the workload manager (WLM) API is modified. A zero-health value now means that the application-owning region becomes non-selectable as a routing target.
- The management of Db2® threads that are used by CICS tasks and subject to PURGE is enhanced.
Enhanced security and resiliency of applications across all supported languages
- A new surrogate security check restricts the ability of users to submit jobs using the EXEC CICS SPOOLWRITE command.
- Performs surrogate user checking to verify if the user is authorized to submit a job with the USER ID specified on the job card.
  In CICS TS V5.5, the following areas have had security upgrades:
  - Group on VERIFY to improve use of passtickets
  - User terminal access restricted when using a default user ID
  - Increased minimum Transport Layer Security (TLS) level
  - User ID changes for use with Kerberos service principle for a CICS region.
Greater API and SPI control with the use of commands and keywords
- CICS TS V5.5 provides clients with greater control over their API and SPI by using a new CICS API rules member. This can be defined to impose restrictions on the use of specific CICS API and SPI commands and keywords.
- Access to Coupling Facility data tables (CFDTs) is now threadsafe. This means that CFDTs can be accessed by applications that run on open task control blocks (TCBs) without incurring a switch.
- New External CICS interface (EXCI) commands to query and browse containers on a channel is introduced. These new commands enable EXCI users to query the number of containers on a channel and to browse the names of the containers on a channel.
Enhancements that are delivered as part of continuous delivery releases
IBM is committed to a continuous delivery roadmap for CICS TS, to deliver regular updates in capability for all current releases. Many of the enhancements and features described in this section are available on CICS TS V5.4, or earlier, by using the standard CICS TS service channel and continuous delivery model.

A list of enhancements that are delivered using continuous delivery can be found in the Description section. References to earlier CICS TS continuous delivery software announcements are in the Reference information section.
IBM z/OS Provisioning Toolkit
IBM z/OS Provisioning Toolkit was updated to release Version 1.1.2 in July 2018. This release focuses on user efficiency by providing enhancements that only require them to configure z/OSMF workflows before they can begin provisioning and de-provisioning environments.

CICS TS Value Unit Edition V5.5

CICS TS Value Unit Edition (VUE) V5.5 delivers all of the speed, reliability and value of CICS TS with a one-time-charge (OTC) price model. Eligible workloads include Java applications that are deployed in qualifying IBM Z® New Application License Charge (zNALC) logical partitions (LPARs). These workloads can be integrated and managed alongside existing CICS TS workloads using CICSPlex SM.

CICS TS Developer Trial V5.5

CICS TS Developer Trial V5.5 is available as a try-before-you-buy edition of CICS TS V5.5 and has a zero-cost license charge. The value that could be gained from a CICS TS upgrade can be assessed, before making an upgrade decision, by ordering this product. CICS TS Developer Trial V5.5 is fully supported. It can be upgraded to CICS TS V5.5 or CICS TS VUE V5.5 without the need for a full reinstallation.

Key prerequisites

The minimum required hardware prerequisite is the IBM System z® 196 or subsequent 64-bit IBM z/Architecture® processors.

The minimum required level of operating system is IBM z/OS, V2.2 (5650-ZOS).

The minimum required level of Java is IBM 64-bit SDK for z/OS, Java Technology Edition, V8.0.

Planned availability date

December 14, 2018:

CICS TS for z/OS, V5.5
CICS TS for z/OS VUE V5.5
CICS TS for z/OS Developer Trial V5.5

Description

With CICS TS V5, developers can focus on developing core business application components by using the best programming language for the task, without having to worry about complex language interoperability constructs. This provides an excellent foundation for a stepwise low- risk, high-return approach to application modernization.

CICS TS V5.5 adds support for a number of programming concepts that are critical to the development and operations of a mixed language application hosting environment:

Support for JavaScript Node.js applications
CICS TS V5.5 extends its multi-language application server capabilities by adding support for running Node.js applications.

Node.js is a server-side runtime for applications written in JavaScript. It is designed to be lightweight, efficient, and best suited for data-intensive applications. Node.js applications are typically event-driven, single-threaded. They process requests in a non-blocking manner to achieve high throughput.

The Node.js runtime encourages a module-driven, highly scalable approach to application design and development. There are many Node.js modules available on a public package registry, for most tasks, saving considerable time for application developers.

Node.js applications can now be packaged in a CICS TS bundle by using CICS Explorer, and deployed and managed by using existing CICS system interfaces. When the bundle is enabled, CICS TS will configure and start IBM SDK for Node.js - z/OS to run the application within the CICS TS address space.

Node.js applications in CICS TS can be used to provide RESTful APIs and web interfaces. For example, they can provide APIs that aggregate several CICS web services or IBM z/OS Connect Enterprise Edition APIs.

A Node.js application can be provisioned in CICS TS by using the updated scenario Getting started with CICS by using z/OSMF workflows , available in the latest release of IBM z/OS Provisioning Toolkit.

IBM SDK for Node.js - z/OS is available as a separate product, and is required to run Node.js applications in CICS TS.
Support for multiple Liberty servers in the same CICS region connecting to a Liberty angel process
It is now possible to run multiple CICS Liberty JVM servers in the same CICS region and have them connect to a Liberty angel process, for security and other services. This allows applications to be isolated from each other with each Liberty server having its own configuration and lifecycle. It also allows for an application to be hosted in more than one Liberty server in the same CICS region, for improved redundancy and development scenarios.
Support for including common configuration in JVM servers
The JVM profile is a text file that contains Java launcher options, system properties, environment variables, and JVM server options. Together, these determine the characteristics of a JVM server in CICS. A new JVM profile directive INCLUDE is provided that loads additional configuration from another file, to enable configuration that is common to several JVM profiles, such as security, logging, database configuration, and shared debug settings.

In addition, a new JVM profile option LIBERTY_INCLUDE_XML is provided that enables Liberty to load shared configuration into server.xml. This gives more control and provides for easier maintenance of Liberty JVM servers. Examples of common options are:
- Path to the Java installation, storage sizes, and garbage collection options
- Inclusion of common libraries and JARs
- Native library support for IBM Db2 and IBM MQ
CICS bundle status reflects Liberty application status
Java EE applications can be packaged and deployed within a CICS bundle. When the CICS bundle is installed, each application is represented by a CICS bundle part. CICS TS V5.5 will now change the state of CICS bundle parts to reflect the state of the associated application in Liberty. For example, CICS bundle parts will remain in the ENABLING state until they are successfully installed in Liberty. In addition, if an application fails to install or is later uninstalled by Liberty, the CICS bundle part will change to a DISABLED state. This provides for more robust deployment and automation procedures, and makes it easier and faster to diagnose application configuration issues.
New option to wait for a Liberty angel process to be ready
A new JVM server option is provided to ensure that a Liberty JVM server will connect to a Liberty angel process before reaching the ENABLED state. This results in a more robust startup of Liberty. For example, after a system restart and CICS is started ahead of the angel process.
Enhancements to CICS Explorer to provide more capability, and simplify and improve the user experience
CICS Explorer is improved to enable resource query results to be aggregated. These commonalities and disparities between resources to be highlighted quickly. Aggregated results can be grouped by one or more attributes, and the aggregate function changed to show different analysis. These groups can then be expanded to show the underlying resources.

CICS Explorer is further enhanced with a new Map view that allows relationships between definitional workload management resources, such as workload specifications and transaction groups, or between BAS resources, such as resource descriptions and resource assignments, to be visualized and understood. The Map view can be triggered from many CICS Explorer views and editors where workload management and BAS resources are used, including the Workload Specification Editor and the CICSplex Explorer.
A new GraphQL API for querying system configuration and inter-resource relationships
A new HTTP-based system management API for CICS TS allows the querying of CICSplexes, using the GraphQL paradigm. This new API allows execution of expressive queries with inherent relationships and reduced latency, and complements the existing REST-based API.

The GraphQL API allows complex interrelationships to be discovered by any HTTP client, including the relationships between workload management definitional resources, and BAS resources. Using the GraphQL API, complex queries can be constructed that require many REST-based API calls and more complex client logic to retrieve the same information.
System management advancements that greatly improve control and ownership
- New policy system rules
  CICS TS V5.5 delivers new policy system rules that enable users who want to monitor the state of system resources or the overall health of a CICS system to define system rules in CICS policies. System rules define an automated action to be performed, such as issue a message or emit a CICS event when a particular event happens in a CICS system. These events could be where a resource state changes, or a threshold is crossed, or an unusual system state or action occurs.
- Introduction of statistics for CICS policy rules
  Statistics are now available for CICS policy rules. CICS collects resource statistics for each rule that is defined in a policy, and supplies a summary report. Policy rule statistics are retrieved by using the EXEC CICS PERFORM STATISTICS RECORD POLICY system command.
- Enhanced CICS-MQ alert monitor CKAM
  If CICS TS encounters a maximum task (MXT) condition, then transaction CKAM calculates the maximum number of MQGET calls that an MQMONITOR can issue per second when this condition exists. This imposes a restriction on the number of tasks being started by MQMONITORs while CICS is at MXT.
- Enhanced management of requests that are canceled by another task
  The CICS command DELAY is enhanced so that a user can distinguish between a delay completing successfully and a delay completing because of a cancel request. If a DELAY command is canceled by command CANCEL REQID from another task, the DELAY completes with RESP(NORMAL) and a RESP2 value of 23.
- Changes to CICSPlex SM exploitation of CICS TS support for the z/OS workload manager health API
  When CICS TS V5.4 was announced, it provided support for the z/OS workload manager (WLM) health API. CICSPlex System Manager (SM) that are exploited this API by using changes to its routing algorithm. For a zero health value, CICSPlex SM applied a high-penalty-weighting factor to discourage work from being routed there. All non-zero values were treated the same as a health value of 100%.
  
  The CICSPlex SM exploitation of the WLM API is changed. A zero health value now means that the application-owning region (AOR) becomes non-selectable as a routing target. Therefore, work will not be routed there. In addition, CICSPlex SM now reacts to target region health values between 1% and 99%. The value CICSPlex SM uses as maximum task (MXT) in its routing calculations now scales up in proportion to the target region's health value. This allows regions to gradually accept more work as their health value increases.
- Support for multi-factor authentication for CMCI enhancements
  New configuration options in CICS TS V5.5 simplify installation and implementation of the CMCI JVM server. The CMCI JVM server runs in the CICSPlex SM Web User Interface (WUI) region and handles CMCI requests when multi-factor authentication (MFA) is required. These new options include allowing a named Liberty angel to be used for the CMCI JVM server. The CMCI will wait for the Liberty angel initialization, rather than failing CMCI initialization.
- Enhanced management of IBM Db2 threads that are used by CICS TS tasks
  The management of Db2 threads that are used by CICS tasks and subject to PURGE or FORCEPURGE requests, is enhanced. The SET TASK command is enhanced, such that CICS processing of task PURGE or FORCEPURGE requests will attempt to cancel active Db2 threads, which are used by CICS tasks, that are purged. If CICS detects that the task to be purged has a thread active in Db2, then it issues an instrumentation facility interface (IFI) Db2 cancel thread command to cancel the request in Db2 before it initiates the purging of the CICS task. This enhancement ensures that the purge does not cause problems for Db2 and that the Db2 updates are safely backed out. This capability requires APAR PI92893 on Db2 V11, or later.
- Real-time monitoring of outbound web requests
  - Clients may now monitor, in real time, the URIMAPs and WEBSERVICEs that are opened or invoked by CICS TS as a web client. CICS TS monitoring is enhanced with new monitoring records URIMAP and WEBSERVICE in the resource monitoring class. Multiple URIMAP or WEBSERVICE records can be monitored for one task.
  - A URIMAP record monitors the completion of WEB OPEN URIMAP, WEB RECEIVE, WEB SEND, and WEB CONVERSE requests that are issued by the user task for a URIMAP.
  - A WEBSERVICE record monitors the completion of INVOKE SERVICE requests that are issued by the user task for a WEBSERVICE, and tracks the name of the PIPELINE resource definition that was used.
    This enhancement makes it easier to identify the URIMAPs or WEBSERVICEs associated with prolonged socket wait time and diagnose troublesome destinations.
- IBM z/OS Provisioning Toolkit
  - Delivers a simple command line utility for the rapid provisioning of development environments. It is fully supported and available to existing clients of IBM z/OS V2.1, or later, at no additional charge. It can be downloaded direct from IBM.
  - Version 1.1.2 focuses on a 'getting started' variation of the product. This simplifies the installation process. Clients now are only required to configure z/OSMF workflows before they can begin provisioning and de-provisioning environments.
    For further information on the z/OS Provisioning Toolkit, V1.0, see the Reference information section.
Enhanced security and resiliency of applications across all supported languages
- Security checks on submitting jobs by using the CICS spool
  A new surrogate security check restricts the ability of users to submit jobs using the EXEC CICS SPOOLWRITE command. The new command is available by using feature toggle com.ibm.cics.spool.surrogate.check .
- Improved security for JCL job submissions to the JES internal reader
  - For JCL jobs that are submitted to the JES internal reader by using spool commands, CICS TS now performs surrogate user checking to verify if the user is authorized to submit a job with the user ID specified on the job card.
  - To support this verification, the following new toggle-enabled features are introduced: i) Surrogate user checking for spool commands; ii) User ID that is used for JCL job submission when no job user ID is specified on the job card
  This enhancement makes job submissions from CICS TS to the JES internal reader more secure.
- Group on VERIFY to improve use of passtickets
  With the new parameter GROUPID in VERIFY PASSWORD and VERIFY PHRASE, CICS TS can perform password or password phrase verification against the group ID in addition to a user ID and password or password phrase that is recorded in the external security manager.
- User terminal access is restricted when using a default user ID
  New options, EXIT or DISCONNECT, on the GMTRAN system initialization parameter, are provided for users who use the CICS-supplied sign-on transaction CESL or CESN for log-on. These new options allow users to control what happens if the sign-on fails to complete.
- Increased minimum Transport Layer Security (TLS) level
  The default value for the MINTLSLEVEL system initialization parameter, which specifies the minimum TLS protocol that CICS uses for secure TCP/IP connections, is changed to TLS12.
- User ID changes for use with Kerberos service principle for a CICS region
  The new KERBEROSUSER system initialization parameter can be used to specify a user ID other than the CICS region user ID, to be associated with the Kerberos service principal for the CICS region.
Greater API and SPI control with the use of commands and keywords
- Controlling the use of CICS API and SPI commands and keywords
  - A new CICS API rules member in SYSPARM, named DFHAPIR, can be defined to impose restrictions on the use of specific CICS API and SPI commands and keywords.
  - The CICS translator is enhanced to process the restricted commands member. During translation, the CICS translator checks a source file against the specified restricted commands or keywords, and will generate warning or error messages in case of violation.
- Access to Coupling Facility data tables is now threadsafe
  Access to Coupling Facility data tables (CFDTs) is now threadsafe. Therefore, CFDTs can be accessed by applications that run on open task control blocks (TCBs) without incurring a TCB switch. Syncpoint processing of CFDTs can also run on an open TCB. However, the opening and loading of a CFDT still occurs on a quasi-reentrant (QR) TCB.
- Introduction of new EXCI commands to query and browse containers on a channel
  The external CICS interface (EXCI) provides four new commands:
  - QUERY CHANNEL
  - STARTBROWSE CONTAINER
  - GETNEXT CONTAINER
  - ENDBROWSE CONTAINER
  These new commands enable EXCI users to query the number of containers on a channel and to browse the names of the containers on a channel.
Simplified Upgrading
Upgrading has been simplified by removing the requirement to assemble and linkedit program list tables (PLTs) for each release. CICS will now read the PLT source from either Parmlib or the new DFHTABLE DD statement in the JCL.

Enhancements to CICS TS using continuous delivery

IBM is committed to a continuous delivery roadmap that delivers regular capability updates for current releases of CICS TS. Many of the features described in this section are made available for current releases of CICS TS, by using the standard CICS TS service channel and continuous delivery model.

The following table lists the enhancements that were applied to the current CICS TS releases, as part of continuous delivery updates. For further information, see the Reference information section.

Capability	Availability method
Support for system rules in CICS policies across CICS TS V5 releases	Use CICS TS V5.1, CICS TS V5.2, and CICS TS V5.3 APAR, with PI83667
Introduce CICS TS V5.4 MFA support for CICS Explorer	Use CICS TS V5.4 APAR PI87691
Support for static data on CICS policy events across CICS TS V5 releases	Use CICS TS V5.1, CICS TS V5.2, CICS TS V5.3, and CICS TS V5.4, with APAR PI88500
Eclipse MicroProfile 1.2	Use CICS TS V5.4 APAR PI91554 and IBM 64-bit SDK for z/OS, Java Technology Edition, V8.0
OAuth 2.0, JSON Web Token, and OpenID Connect support	Use CICS TS V5.3 and CICS TS V5.4, with APAR PI91554
JSON Mapping Level 4.2	Use CICS TS V5.4 APAR PI86039
JSON Mapping Level 4.3	Use CICS TS V5.4 APAR PI88519
Multi-factor authentication for CMCI enhancements	Use CICS TS V5.4 APAR PI92676
VSAM dynamic buffer addition disabled for CICS LSR pools	Use CICS TS V5.1, CICS TS V5.2, CICS TSV5.3, and CICS TS V5.4, with APAR PI92486
Changes to CICSPlex SM exploitation of the CICS TS support for the z/OS Workload Manager Health API	Use CICS TS V5.4 APAR PI90147
New policy system rules for PROGRAM, BUNDLE, MRO and IPIC CONNECTION status	Use CICS TS V5.4 APAR PI92806
Enhanced management of Db2 threads that are used by CICS TS tasks	Use CICS TS V5.1, CICS TS V5.2, CICS TS V5.3, and CICS TS V5.4, with APAR PI98569

Stabilization of support and discontinued functions

Removal of utility DFHMSCAN in a future release of CICS TS

The CICS TS utility DFHMSCAN, which scans a load module library to identify programs that use CICS macros, will be removed in a future release of CICS TS.

Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act

The programs in this announcement are capable as of December 14, 2018, when used in accordance with associated IBM documentation, of satisfying the applicable requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, provided that any assistive technology used with the product properly interoperates with it. A US Section 508 Accessibility Conformance Statement can be requested on the Product accessibility information website.

Hardware and software support services

SmoothStart/installation services

IBM SmoothStart Services, on-site implementation and training startup services, are designed to accelerate your productive use of your IBM solution. The services are provided by IBM Global Services or your IBM Business Partner at an additional cost. For additional information, contact your IBM representative and ask for SmoothStart Services for CICS TS.

Reference information

For information on the July 2018 continuous delivery update of CICS TS V5.4, see Software Announcement 218-220, dated July 3, 2018.

For information on the April 2018 continuous delivery update of CICS TS V5.4, see Software Announcement 218-121, dated April 3, 2018.

For information on the January 2018 continuous delivery update of CICS TS V5.4, see Software Announcement 218-003, dated January 9, 2018.

For information on the June 2017 general availability of CICS TS V5.4, CICS TS Value Unit Edition (VUE) V5.4, and CICS TS Developer Trial V5.4, see Software Announcement 217-113, dated May 16, 2017.

For information on CICS TS for z/VSE® V2.2, see Software Announcement 217-351, dated October 10, 2017.

For information on CICS PA V5.4, see Software Announcement 217-115, dated May 16, 2017.

For information on IBM z/OS Provisioning Toolkit, V1.1, see Software Announcement 218-025, dated January 9, 2018.

For information on IBM z/OS Connect Enterprise Edition, V3.0, see Software Announcement 217-060, dated June 13, 2017.

For information on IBM Record Generator for Java, V3.0, see Software Announcement 217-295, dated July 17, 2017.

For information on the end of support for CICS TS V4.1 and CICS TS V4.2, see Software Withdrawal Announcement 915-025, dated February 3, 2015.

Availability of national languages

Description	Availability date	Language
CICS TS V5.5	December 14, 2018	Multilingual
CICS TS VUE V5.5	December 14, 2018	Multilingual
CICS TS Developer Trial V5.5	December 14, 2018	Multilingual

For CICS TS V5.5, some product documentation is translated. See the Ordering information section for details.

Translation information, if available, can be found at the Translation Reports website.

Program number

Program name	V.R.M	Program number
CICS Transaction Server for z/OS	5.5.0	5655-Y04
CICS Transaction Server for z/OS Value Unit Edition	5.5.0	5722-DFJ
CICS Transaction Server for z/OS Value Unit Edition S&S	1.1.0	5722-DFK
CICS Transaction Server for z/OS Developer Trial	5.5.0	5655-Y30
CICS Transaction Server for z/OS Developer Trial S&S	1.1.0	5655-Y15

Business Partner information

If you are a Direct Reseller - System Reseller acquiring products from IBM, you may link directly to BP Attachment for Announcement Letter 218-352 for this announcement. A PartnerWorld ID and password are required (use IBMid).

Technical information

Specified operating environment

Hardware requirements

Processor

CICS TS V5.5 runs on any machine that supports the required z/OS operating system. For example, the minimum required hardware prerequisite for CICS TS V5.5 is System z 196 or subsequent 64-bit z/Architecture processors.

Parallel Sysplex® support

A Parallel Sysplex environment is not required for CICS TS V5.5 but can be exploited by each of the following data-sharing facilities that are supported by CICS, and by the usage of the MVS™ system logger's log stream merging facility:

IMS™ databases
Db2 databases
VSAM data sets
CICS temporary storage
Coupling facility data tables
Named counter server

IBM Z cryptographic hardware

Appropriate IBM Z cryptographic hardware is required if clients need to exploit signature verification functions with WS-Security. For IBM System z9® and z10™, it is the CP Assist for Cryptographic Functions and the Crypto Express® 2 Coprocessor. For z196, it is CP Assist for Cryptographic Functions and the Crypto Express 3 Coprocessor. For zEnterprise® EC12, it is the CP Assist for Cryptographic Functions and the Crypto Express 4 Coprocessor. For z13® it is CP Assist for Cryptographic Functions and the Crypto Express 5 Coprocessor.

Katakana terminal devices

CICS TS has to issue certain messages in mixed-case, and is therefore not supported with displays or terminal emulators that are restricted to the non-extended single-byte character set (SBCS) Katakana part of code page 930.

Software requirements

Operating environment

The minimum required level of operating system for CICS TS V5.5 is z/OS V2.2 (5650-ZOS).

Java Runtime Environment

The minimum level of Java is IBM 64-bit SDK for z/OS, Java Technology Edition, V8.0.

CICS Explorer

CICS Explorer V5.5 requires CICS TS V5.5 to make use of the latest functionality provided.

Details of system requirements for CICS products are available at the Software Product Compatibility Reports website.

Details relating to service and support for CICS Explorer are available on the Ordering maintenance for IBM CICS Explorer and CICS Explorer plug-ins web page.

User group requirements

Requirements for CICS TS can be created, viewed, and voted for in the IBM Request For Enhancement (RFE) community.

The following Request for Enhancements (RFEs) are satisfied or partially satisfied in CICS TS V5.5:

RFE number	Description
16194	CPSM Workload Connect Message, indicating workload joined
18027	Expand the Query Security API
23477	Unique DFHPLT prefix (GSE requirement DBCICS96001)
23643	OTE Threadsafe Coupling Facility Data Tables.
25408	EXEC CICS QUERY SECURITY api command calls performance improvement
25428	CEGN hangs forever after RACF® terminal timeout
25455	USSHOME=NONE causes unpredictable results but doesn't warn or stop the user from doing so.
29373	System event enhancement: monitor CONNECTION status, similar as DB2CONN.
41097	Record count of transaction abend in transaction resource statistic
52827	New System Event.......
54134	Enhance Security on JCL submit from CICS
54672	PLT TABLES LOADED DURING THE STARTUP. NOT COMPILED.
58050	Summarize feature
59654	BUNDLE state Changes should be part of the System Events
60433	Provide statistics for CICS Policies
61072	Compatibility of CSMI with RSA Securid
67854	Define the USERID parameter on a Transient Data Extrapartition queue.
68807	CMCI connection parm override to turn on analyzer
71455	Set EIBERR if terminal is no longer usable
72507	IGYOS4090 I The "LIB" option specification is no longer required when compiling with COBOL Version 5 under CICS.
74887	Improve CWS Statistics
74925	Change GETMAIN for STORAGE_CLASS(TEMPSTG) to use 31 bit DSA
75177	CICS Explorer DFHWBAAX - Mainframe Version Control Enhancements
76174	CESN PF3/PF15
76251	Ability to override parameters in a JVM profile when sharing between JVM servers
76952	SMF SOCIPHER is needed for outbound TCP/IP connections.
77462	Missing Info about LOCALCCSID
83803	More than one Liberty server per CICS region - using authorized services via Angel
89747	Make the tn3270 tcp address available using exec cics inquire terminal
91774	Have message DFHTD0386 issue an action prompt
92351	CICS Channel and Container - Managing High number of Containers
92489	MFA/2FA authentication for z/OS unix file explorer
95668	RACF GROUPID in EXEC CICS VERIFY PASSWORD
96741	Option to drive additional security check when using EXEC CICS SPOOLWRITE
96880	Monitoring Webservices INVOKED by CICS transaction
97669	Adding more information to DFHSM0102 Storage Violation messages
98067	There is no way to limit the size of AIDs Chain
99680	JCICS classes invalidated after being invoked from non-cics task in liberty
100779	Please provide in Explorer the ability to see if a task has an active DB2® thread
101399	Angel support for more than one Liberty per CICS address space
101624	CICS storage protection related to PMR: 88893 112 848
104224	Need MQ shared message consumption to be responsive to CICSplex workload balancing signals
106872	Move CICS internal storage associated with Webservice processing to 64Bit storage.
107028	RSA multi-factor authentication support
107246	Control CICS USS Processes for Webservice regions
107322	Error code on FREEMAIN on a ptr-ref from a GET CONTAINER SET(ptr-ref)
107357	CICS Explorer - WLM MAP Function
107358	CICS Explorer Screen Help "?" icon
107653	Add Support for & APPLID in the MONDATA field of a MQMonitor resource
107912	Allow the use of PATH pointing on DFHTEMP and DFHINTRA
107925	Option to turn off z/OS DBA (dynamic buffer allocation).
108835	Amend DELAY API to be aware if it is canceled.
108903	Improve CICS start up checking of access to Category 1 Transactions
109448	To add container count to DFHEP.CCECONTEXT
109629	Notify CPSM as soon as AOR is immediate shutting down
110012	CTS 5.4 EXCI need BROWSE Container function
110841	CICS Explorer Timeout
110925	Provide initiating program name in XPCFTCH parameter list
111418	Provide an XPI to inquire on Feature Toggles
111421	CICS Preprocessor LIB option
112568	Provide ability to 'smartly' purge transactions performing 'must complete' activity
113288	In CICS TS, for CICS Explorer, provide form-based authentication
113698	Option to turn OFF - VSAM dynamic buffer addition in CICS regions
114799	CICS/Liberty: DFHSJ* messages should be written to JESMSGLG
114960	Enhance CICS SPI to access PLTPIUSR
115180	Provide CICS CEMT I and a API call to obtain date of region's last COLD-START
115241	Modernize DFHPLT - Transition away from assembled table
116825	Allow override of HPO SIT parm in PARM; add RACF/ESM facility resource to control use
118127	Deployable properties - Environment Variables
118758	CICS TS to log original transaction indicator for function shipped CFC2
119204	CICS Explorer - Whitelist Version Control Disabled Indicator
119297	Syncpoint and FullAPI support for the Link to Liberty function
122465	Immediate shutdown of CICS hangs in VSAM after CICS issues message DFHKE1799 Termination of CICS is complete.

Security, auditability, and control

The programs in this announcement use the security and auditability features of the operating system under which they are running. Information about security is available in the online product documentation for CICS TS V5.5, in IBM Knowledge Center.

The client is responsible for evaluation, selection, and implementation of security features, administrative procedures, and appropriate controls in application systems and communication facilities.

Ordering information

New licensees

Orders for new licenses can be placed now. Registered clients can access IBMLink for ordering information and charges. Shipment will not occur before the availability date. Unless a later date is specified, orders entered before the planned availability date will be assigned a schedule date of one week following availability.

Orders entered after the planned availability date will be assigned a schedule date for the week following order entry.

or
Orders entered with a scheduled date before the planned availability date will be shipped CICS TS V5.4.
Orders entered with a scheduled ship date after planned availability will be shipped CICS TS V5.5. Unless a later date is specified, an order is scheduled for the week following order entry.

Shipment will begin on the planned availability date.

Orders that ship before the planned availability will receive CICS TS V5.4.
Orders that ship after the planned availability date will receive CICS TS V5.5.

New users of CICS TS V5.5 should specify Type: 5655 Model: Y04

New users of CICS TS VUE V5.5 should specify Type: 5722 Model: DFJ

New users of CICS TS Developer Trial V5.5 should specify Type: 5655 Model: Y30

Graduated or processor-based charges: Not applicable.

Parallel Sysplex license charge (PSLC)

To order a basic license, specify the program number and quantity of Service Units in Millions (MSU).

If there is more than one program copy in a Parallel Sysplex, the charge for all copies is associated to one license by specifying the applicable PSLC license options and quantity represented by the sum of the MSUs in your Parallel Sysplex. For all other program copies, specify the System Usage Registration No-Charge (SYSUSGREG NC) Identifier on the licenses.

Program name: CICS TS V5.5

Program ID: 5655-Y04

Entitlement ID	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S0172DF	CICS TS V5.5	Basic MLC, PSLC below 3 MSU Basic MLC, PSLC AD SYSUSGREG NC, PSLC AD

Orderable supply ID	Language
S018CLF	Multilingual

Advanced Workload License Charges (AWLC)

To order a basic license, specify the program number and quantity of MSUs. If there is more than one program copy in a Parallel Sysplex, the charge for all copies is associated to one license by specifying the applicable AWLC license options and quantity represented by the sum of the Service Units in Millions (MSUs) in your Parallel Sysplex. For all other program copies, specify the System Usage Registration No-Charge (SYSUSGREG NC) Identifier on the licenses.

Program name: CICS TS V5.5

Program ID: 5655-Y04

Entitlement ID	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S0172DF	CICS TS V5.5	Basic MLC, AWLC

Orderable supply ID	Language
S018CLF	Multilingual

Advanced Entry Workload License Charges (AEWLC)

To order a basic license, specify the program number and quantity of MSUs.

Program name: CICS TS V5.5

Program ID: 5655-Y04

Entitlement ID	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S0172DF	CICS TS V5.5	Basic MLC, AEWLC

Orderable supply ID	Language
S018CLF	Multilingual

Country Multiplex License Charges (CMLC)

Country Multiplex License Charges (CMLC) basic license

To order a basic license, specify the program number and quantity of MSUs.

If there is more than one program copy in a Country Multiplex, the charge for all copies is associated to one license if all the copies are licensed to one customer number within the multiplex. If there is more than one customer number, the charge for all copies is prorated to one license for each customer within the multiplex.

For each license being charged, specify the applicable CMLC license options and the prorated quantity of the Service Units in Millions (MSUs) for each customer number within the multiplex. For all other program copies, specify the Workload Registration No-Charge (WLREG NC) Identifier on the licenses.

Program name: CICS TS V5.5

Program PID: 5655-Y04

Entitlement identifier	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S0172DF	CICS TS V5.5	Basic MLC, CMLC

Variable Workload License Charge (VWLC)

If there is more than one program copy in a Parallel Sysplex, the charge for all copies is associated to one license by specifying the applicable WLC license options and quantity represented by the sum of the Service Units in Millions (MSUs) in your Parallel Sysplex. For all other program copies, specify the Workload Registration Variable WLC Identifier on the licenses.

Entitlement ID	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S0172DF	CICS TS V5.5	Basic MLC, Variable WLC Workload Registration, Variable WLC

Orderable supply ID	Language
S018CLF	Multilingual

Entry Workload License Charge (EWLC)

Entry workload license charge (EWLC) basic license

To order a basic license, specify the program number and the quantity of MSUs.

Program name: CICS TS V5.5

Program PID: 5655-Y04

Entitlement ID	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S0172DF	CICS TS V5.5	Basic MLC, Entry WLC

S/390 and z Systems Usage License Charge

Usage License Charge (ULC) basic license

Charges will be based upon the Peak MSUs. Usage reported between thresholds of features 1, 2, or 3, will be rounded up to the next MSU level. Above 1.0 MSU, usage will be rounded to the nearest whole MSU. For example, 2.4 MSUs would round to 2.0 MSUs for pricing, and 2.5 MSUs would round to 3.0 MSUs for pricing.

Program name: CICS TS V5.5

Program ID: 5655-Y04

Entitlement identifier	Description	License option/ Pricing metric
S0172DF	CICS TS V5.5	0 to 0.25 MSU Base
		0.26 to 0.5 MSU Base
		0.51 to 1.0 MSU Base
		Level A Chg/MSU (2 to 11 MSUs)
		Level B Chg/MSU (12 to 44 MSUs)
		Level C Chg/MSU (45 to 78 MSUs)
		Level D Chg/MSU (Above 78 MSUs)
		Level D Chg/MSU (Above 78 MSUs), per 50 MSUs

z Systems entry license charge (zELC)

To order zELC software, specify the program number and z800 model.

Specify the zELC monthly license option.

Program name: CICS TS V5.5

Program ID: 5655-Y04

Entitlement ID	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S0172DF	CICS TS V5.5	Basic MLC, zELC

Basic machine-readable material

Charge metric (for CICS TS VUE V5.5)

Program name	PID number	Charge metric
CICS TS VUE V5.5	5722-DFJ	Value Unit

Program number	Program name	Value unit exhibit
5722-DFJ	CICS TS VUE V5.5	VUE007

For each IBM Z IPLA program with Value Unit pricing, the quantity of that program needed to satisfy applicable IBM terms and conditions is referred to as the required license capacity. Your required license capacity is based upon the following factors:

The IBM Z IPLA program you select
The applicable Value Unit Exhibit
The applicable terms
Whether your current mainframes are full capacity or sub-capacity

Value Unit exhibit VUE007

	MSUs minimum	MSUs maximum	Value Units/MSU
Base	1	3	1
Tier A	4	45	0.45
Tier B	46	175	0.36
Tier C	176	315	0.27
Tier D	316	+	0.2

Value Units for mainframes without MSU ratings:

Hardware	Value Units/machine
MP3000 H30	6
MP3000 H50	8
MP3000 H70	12
ESL models 2	2

Ordering example

The total number of Value Units is calculated according to the following example.

If your required license capacity is 1,500 MSUs for your selected IBM Z IPLA product, the applicable Value Units would be:

Translation from MSUs to Value Units

	MSUs	*	Value Units/MSU	=	Value Units
Base	3	*	1.00	=	3.00
Tier A	42	*	.45	=	18.90
Tier B	130	*	.36	=	46.80
Tier C	140	*	.27	=	37.80
Tier D	1,185	*	.20	=	237.00
Total	1,500				343.50

When calculating the total number of Value Units, the sum is to be rounded up to the next integer.

Basic license (for CICS TS VUE V5.5)

On/Off CoD

CICS TS VUE V5.5 is eligible for On/Off CoD with a temporary use charge calculated based on MSUs per-day usage.

Program name: CICS TS VUE V5.5

Program ID: 5722-DFJ

Entitlement ID	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S01770R	CICS TS VUE V5.5	Basic OTC, Per MSU-day TUC

Program name: CICS TS VUE V5.5

Program ID: 5722-DFJ

Entitlement ID	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S01770R	CICS TS VUE V5.5	Basic OTC, per Value Unit, Multi Version Measurement No Charge

Orderable supply ID	Language
S018CLH	Multilingual

Subscription and Support PID: 5722-DFK

Entitlement ID	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S01770Z	CICS TS VUE Subscription and Support	Basic ASC, per Value Unit SW S&S, No charge, decline SW S&S Per MSU SW S&S registration, Multi Version Measurement No Charge

Orderable supply ID	Language	Distribution medium
S01770X	Multilingual	Hardcopy publication

Subscription and Support (for CICS TS VUE V5.5)

To receive voice technical support via telephone and future releases and versions at no additional charge, Subscription and Support must be ordered. The capacity of Subscription and Support (Value Units) must be the same as the capacity ordered for the product licenses.

To order, specify the Subscription and Support program number (PID) referenced above and the appropriate license or charge option.

IBM is also providing Subscription and Support for these products via a separately purchased offering under the terms of the IBM International Agreement for Acquisition of Software Maintenance. This offering:

Includes and extends the support services provided in the base support to include technical support via telephone.
Entitles you to future releases and versions, at no additional charge. Note that you are not entitled to new products.

When Subscription and Support is ordered, the charges will automatically renew annually unless canceled by you.

The combined effect of the IPLA license and the Agreement for Acquisition of Software Maintenance gives you rights and support services comparable to those under the traditional ICA S/390® and IBM Z license or its equivalent. To ensure that you continue to enjoy the level of support you are used to in the ICA business model, you must order both the license for the program and the support for the selected programs at the same Value Unit quantities.

Charge metric (for CICS TS Developer Trial V5.5)

Program name	PID number	Charge metric
CICS TS Developer Trial V5.5	5655-Y30	No charge. Unlimited Installs

Basic license (for CICS TS Developer Trial V5.5)

CICS TS Developer Trial V5.5

Basic license: No charge. Unlimited Installs

To order, specify the program product number and the appropriate license or charge option. Also, specify the desired distribution medium. To suppress shipment of media, select the license-only option in CFSW.

Program name: CICS TS Developer Trial V5.5

Program ID: 5655-Y30

Entitlement ID	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S0172F9	CICS TS Developer Trial V5.5	No charge, Unlimited Installs, Multi Version Measurement No Charge

Orderable supply ID	Language
S018CR9	English

Subscription and Support PID: 5655-Y15

Entitlement ID	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S016Z0T	CICS TS Developer Trial Subscription and Support	No charge, Unlimited Installs, SW S&S Reg, No Charge, Multi Version Measurement No Charge

Orderable Supply ID	Distribution medium
S016Z28	CICS TS Developer Trial S&S Hardcopy publication

You choose the delivery method when you order the software. IBM recommends internet delivery. However, if you still require physical media, then you can choose DVD.

Customization options

Select the appropriate feature numbers to customize your order to specify the delivery options desired. These features can be specified on the initial or MES orders.

Example

If publications are not desired for the initial order, specify feature number 3470 to ship media only. For future updates, specify feature number 3480 to ship media updates only. If, in the future, publication updates are required, order an MES to remove feature number 3480; then, the publications will ship with the next release of the program.

Expedite shipments will be processed to receive 72-hour delivery from the time IBM Software Delivery and Fulfillment (SDF) receives the order. SDF will then ship the order by overnight air transportation.

Publications

Product documentation for CICS TS V5.5 is provided by IBM using four separate approaches. The documentation is refreshed regularly to reflect feedback from users, and includes changes that result from IBM Service. Detailed information is provided in What documentation is available?

Online information in IBM Knowledge Center
Online documentation for CICS TS V5.5 is hosted in IBM Knowledge Center.
PDF manuals
Documentation for CICS TS V5.5 is provided for download in Adobe™ PDF format from IBM Knowledge Center. In this release, three new manuals are introduced and for CICS TS V5.4 some manuals are stabilized. See Documentation in PDF for details.
Offline information, by using IBM Knowledge Center Installer
IBM Knowledge Center Installer for IBM Explorer for z/OS (Aqua) is an application that enables the installation of an IBM Knowledge Center on a workstation for local access on Microsoft™ Windows™ or Linux®. The pre-built IBM Knowledge Center includes documentation for CICS TS V5.5, and a number of other products related to IBM Explorer for z/OS.

IBM Knowledge Center Installer replaces both the IBM Knowledge Center for CICS products and the documentation packages for CICS TS that were available for download that were available from IBM Shopz.

See CICS TS V5.5 Downloadable documentation for details about CICS documentation in IBM Knowledge Center Installer for IBM Explorer for z/OS (Aqua).
Offline information, by using IBM Knowledge Center for z/OS
IBM z/OS V2R2 contains a base element of IBM Knowledge Center for z/OS which provides the ability to add content, and display, navigate, and search content in a manner similar to IBM Knowledge Center on the IBM Support site. See CICS TS V5.5 Downloadable documentation for details about how to add CICS TS V5.5 documentation into IBM Knowledge Center for z/OS.

IBM Knowledge Center update schedule

The contents of IBM Knowledge Center Installer and IBM Knowledge Center for z/OS are refreshed on a monthly schedule that is independent of IBM Z product releases. As a result, the documentation in this format for supported IBM products may not be available at their general availability, but will be added at a subsequent refresh.

IBM Knowledge Center accessibility

Within IBM Knowledge Center, the CICS documentation is designed to be accessible. For example, instead of viewing diagrams, users can choose to read text descriptions. A US Section 508 Accessibility Conformance Statement can be requested on the Product accessibility information website.

CICS TS program directories in IBM Publications Center

The following CICS TS program directories are available in the IBM Publications Center:

Description	Document number
CICS TS for z/OS V5.5 - base	GI13-4430
CICS TS for z/OS V5.5 - activation module	GI13-4431
CICS TS for z/OS Value Unit Edition V5.5 - activation module	GI13-4432
CICS TS for z/OS Developer Trial V5.5 - activation module	GI13-4433

National language versions

Some documentation is translated into languages other than English. For details of the content that is translated and the formats in which it is available, see the CICS TS V5.5 product documentation in IBM Knowledge Center, under section Translated documentation.

Other CICS publications

CICS TS V5.5 documentation is complemented by technical articles and papers in the CICS Developer Center.

Other CICS publications are available, in IBM Redbooks®.

Packaging

CICS TS V5.5 consists of CICS as its base element, together with several other elements providing CICS-enabling functions. The elements of CICS TS V5.5 are:

CICS Version 7.2
CICSPlex SM Version 5.5
CICS Service Flow Runtime for CICS TS
REXX Development System for CICS/ESA Version 1.1
REXX Runtime Facility for CICS/ESA Version 1.1

Physical delivery

The following hardcopy documents and DVDs are shipped, together with the basic machine-readable material for the product:

Licensed Program Specifications DVD (for CICS TS V5.5) (GC34-7374)
License Information DVD (for CICS TS VUE V5.5) (GC34-7375)
License Information DVD (for CICS TS Developer Trial V5.5) (GC34-7376)
Memo to Licensees (GI13-4434)
CICS Technical Services Flyer (GI13-4435)

Certain other items, such as specification sheets of related IBM products, might be included.

Subsequent updates (technical newsletters or revisions between releases) to the publications shipped with the product will be distributed to the user of record for as long as a license for this software remains in effect. A separate publication order or subscription is not needed.

Customized Offerings

Product deliverables are shipped only through CBPDO and ServerPac. These customized offerings are offered for internet delivery from Shopz. For more details on internet delivery, go to the Help section on the Shopz website.

You choose the delivery method when you order the software. IBM recommends internet delivery. However, if you still require physical media, you can choose DVD.

Many products can be ordered in ServerPac the month following their availability in CBPDO. z/OS can be ordered through CBPDO and ServerPac at general availability. Many products will also be orderable in a Product ServerPac without also having to order the z/OS operating system or subsystem.

Shopz and CFSW will determine the eligibility based on product requisite checking. For more details on the product ServerPac, go to the Help section on the Shopz website.

Production of software product orders will begin on the planned general availability date.

CBPDO shipments will begin one week after general availability.
ServerPac shipments will begin two weeks after general availability.

Terms and conditions

The terms for CICS TS V5.4, licensed under the IBM Customer Agreement (Z125-4575) or IBM Client Agreement (Z125-4575) (ICA), or as a Monthly License Charge Program under the IBM Client Relationship Agreement (Z126-6552) with IBM Attachment for Mainframe Monthly License Charge Programs (Z126-6969) are unaffected by this announcement.

The terms for CICS TS Value Unit Edition V5.4 and CICS TS Developer Trial V5.4, licensed under the IBM International Program License Agreement, are unaffected by this announcement.

Statement of good security practices

IT system security involves protecting systems and information through prevention, detection, and response to improper access from within and outside your enterprise. Improper access can result in information being altered, destroyed, or misappropriated or can result in misuse of your systems to attack others. Without a comprehensive approach to security, no IT system or product should be considered completely secure and no single product or security measure can be completely effective in preventing improper access. IBM systems and products are designed to be part of a lawful, comprehensive security approach, which will necessarily involve additional operational procedures, and may require other systems, products, or services to be most effective.

Important: IBM does not warrant that any systems, products, or services are immune from, or will make your enterprise immune from, the malicious or illegal conduct of any party.

IBM Electronic Services

Electronic Service Agent™ and the IBM Electronic Support web portal are dedicated to providing fast, exceptional support to IBM Systems clients. The IBM Electronic Service Agent tool is a no-additional-charge tool that proactively monitors and reports hardware events, such as system errors, performance issues, and inventory. The Electronic Service Agent tool can help you stay focused on your company's strategic business initiatives, save time, and spend less effort managing day-to-day IT maintenance issues. Servers enabled with this tool can be monitored remotely around the clock by IBM Support, all at no additional cost to you.

Now integrated into the base operating system of AIX® V5.3, AIX V6.1, and AIX V7.1, Electronic Service Agent is designed to automatically and electronically report system failures and utilization issues to IBM, which can result in faster problem resolution and increased availability. System configuration and inventory information collected by the Electronic Service Agent tool also can be viewed on the secure Electronic Support web portal, and used to improve problem determination and resolution by you and the IBM support team. To access the tool main menu, simply type smitty esa_main, and select Configure Electronic Service Agent. In addition, ESA now includes a powerful web user interface, giving the administrator easy access to status, tool settings, problem information, and filters. For more information and documentation on how to configure and use Electronic Service Agent, go to the IBM Electronic Service Agent website.

The IBM Electronic Support portal is a single internet entry point that replaces the multiple entry points traditionally used to access IBM internet services and support. This portal enables you to gain easier access to IBM resources for assistance in resolving technical problems. The My Systems and Premium Search functions make it even easier for Electronic Service Agent tool-enabled clients to track system inventory and find pertinent fixes.

Benefits

Increased up time: The Electronic Service Agent™ tool is designed to enhance the Warranty or Maintenance Agreement by providing faster hardware error reporting and uploading system information to IBM Support. This can translate to less wasted time monitoring the symptoms, diagnosing the error, and manually calling IBM Support to open a problem record. Its 24 x 7 monitoring and reporting mean intervention is not required to report errors.

Security: The Electronic Service Agent tool is designed to be secure in monitoring, reporting, and storing the data at IBM. The Electronic Service Agent tool is designed to securely transmit either through the internet (HTTPS or VPN) or modem to provide clients a single point of exit from their site. Communication is one way. Activating Electronic Service Agent does not enable IBM to call into a client's system.

For additional information, go to the IBM Electronic Service Agent website.

More accurate reporting: Because system information and error logs are automatically uploaded to the IBM Support Center in conjunction with the service request, you are not required to find and send system information, decreasing the risk of misreported or misdiagnosed errors. Once inside IBM, problem error data is run through a data knowledge management system and knowledge articles are appended to the problem record.

Customized support: Using the IBMid entered during activation, you can view system and support information in the My Systems and Premium Search sections of the IBM Electronic Support page.

My Systems provides valuable reports of installed hardware and software using information collected from the systems by Electronic Service Agent. Reports are available for any system associated with your IBMid. Premium Search combines the function of search and the value of Electronic Service Agent information, providing advanced search of the technical support knowledgebase. Using Premium search and the Electronic Service Agent information that has been collected from your system, you are able to see search results that apply specifically to your systems.

For more information on how to utilize the power of IBM Electronic Services, contact your IBM Systems Services Representative, or go to the IBM Electronic Support website.

Prices

For additional information and current prices, contact your local IBM representative or IBM Business Partner.

Program name: CICS TS V5.5

Program ID: 5655-Y04

Entitlement ID	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S0172DF	CICS TS V5.5	Basic MLC, zELC

Orderable supply ID	Language
S018CLF	Multilingual

Parallel sysplex license charge (PSLC)

Program name: CICS TS V5.5

Program ID: 5655-Y04

Entitlement ID	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S0172DF	CICS TS V5.5	Basic MLC, PSLC below 3 MSU, SYSUSGREG NC, PSLC AD

Orderable supply ID	Language
S018CLF	Multilingual

Program name: CICS TS V5.5

Program ID: 5655-Y04

Entitlement ID	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S0172DF	CICS TS V5.5	Basic MLC, AWLC

Orderable supply ID	Language
S018CLF	Multilingual

Program name: CICS TS V5.5

Program ID: 5655-Y04

Entitlement ID	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S0172DF	CICS TS V5.5	Basic MLC, CMLC

Orderable supply ID	Language
S018CLF	Multilingual

Program name: CICS TS V5.5

Program ID: 5655-Y04

Entitlement ID	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S0172DF	CICS TS V5.5	Basic MLC, AEWLC

Orderable supply ID	Language
S018CLF	Multilingual

Variable workload license charge (VWLC)

Entitlement ID	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S0172DF	CICS TS V5.5	Basic MLC, Variable WLC Workload Registration

Orderable supply ID	Language
S018CLF	Multilingual

Sub-capacity charges for AWLC, AEWLC, CMLC, zNALC, VWLC, EWLC, and MWLC products

Sub-capacity charges for eligible products are based on product LPAR utilization capacity. Product LPAR utilization capacity for a sub-capacity product is the highest number of MSUs utilized by the combined LPARs in which the product runs concurrently during a reporting period. The number of MSUs is based on the highest observed rolling 4-hour average utilization used by the combination of the relevant LPARs during the reporting period.

Sub-capacity charges terms and conditions

z Systems® software charges at less than full machine capacity for eligible sub-capacity products apply when z/OS, z/TPF, or z/VSE is running in z/Architecture (64-bit) mode on an IBM z Systems® server, no other MVS-based, TPF-based, or VSE-based operating system respectively is licensed to that server, and the required information is provided by the customer in accordance with the applicable terms.

Sub-capacity charges for a sub-capacity product are based on the utilization of the LPARs where/when the product executes. To obtain charges at less than full machine capacity for sub-capacity products, the customer is required to:

Sign and abide by the terms of one of the following:
- Attachment for IBM System z Advanced Workload License Charges (Z125-8538)
- Attachment for IBM System z Advanced Entry Workload License Charges (Z125-8755)
- Attachment for IBM Country Multiplex Pricing (Z126-6965)
- Attachment for zNALC License Charges on IBM System z (Z125-7454)
- Attachment for IBM System z Workload License Charges (Z125-6516)
- Attachment for EWLC, TWLC, zELC, and z/OS.e License Charges (Z125-6587)
- Attachment for IBM System z Midrange Workload License Charges (Z125-7452)
Obtain the latest version of the Sub-Capacity Reporting Tool.
Install any sub-capacity product and IBM z Systems Licensed Internal Code (LIC) service required for sub-capacity charging. Required service will be listed on the IBM z Systems Sub-Capacity website.
Collect SMF or SCRT89 data as required by the Sub-Capacity Reporting Tool. Retain the collected data for a period of not less than six months.
Use the IBM provided Sub-Capacity Reporting Tool to process the collected SMF or SCRT89 data. The Sub-Capacity Report produced by the tool is used to determine required license capacity for the sub-capacity products. Required license capacity is determined based on the largest MSU value of a sub-capacity product running concurrently in all LPARs during the reporting period. IBM reserves the right to request the system data that supports these product-defined capacity values for a period of up to six months after the data was collected.
Provide an initial Sub-Capacity Report to begin to receive the benefits of less than full machine capacity charges. Sub-capacity charging will follow submission of a Sub-Capacity Report. There will be no retroactive application of sub-capacity charges.
Submit Sub-Capacity Reports monthly between the 2nd and 9th days of the month after the reporting period.
Submit Sub-Capacity Reports for all sub-capacity products with complete data for the entire reporting period via the method specified on the IBM z Systems Sub-Capacity website.
Sub-Capacity Reports that reflect a changed product defined capacity will be considered to be orders placed by the customer without further action on the customer's part, and IBM is authorized to make any resulting billing increase or decrease, including the ordering of any necessary new licenses. To discontinue licenses, move licenses between machines, report a hardware model upgrade, or enable or disable product features, the customer must contact IBM or their IBM Business Partner.
Configure the machine to send weekly Transmit System Availability Data (TSAD) to IBM via the IBM z Systems Remote Support Facility (RSF). If the machine cannot connect via the RSF, provide this TSAD through an alternate means documented in the SCRT Users Guide (SG24-6522) publication on the IBM z Systems Sub-Capacity website.

Entry Workload License Charge (EWLC)

Program name: CICS TS V5.5

Program ID: 5655-Y04

Entitlement ID	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S0172DF	CICS TS V5.5	Basic MLC, Entry WLC

Orderable supply ID	Language
S018CLF	Multilingual

Entitlement ID	Description	License option/Pricing metric
S0172DF	CICS TS V5.5	0 to 0.25 MSU Base
		0.26 to 0.5 MSU Base
		0.51 to 1.0 MSU Base

		Level A Chg/MSU (2 to 11 MSUs)
		Level B Chg/MSU (12 to 44 MSUs)
		Level C Chg/MSU (45 to 78 MSUs)
		Level D Chg/MSU (Above 78 MSUs)
		Level D Chg/MSU (Above 78 MSUs), per 50 MSUs

Programming announcement reference: Not applicable.

Variable charges

The applicable processor based one-time charge will be based on the group of the designated machine on which the program is licensed for use. If the program is designated to a processor in a group for which no charge is listed, the charge of the next higher group listed applies. For movement to a machine in a higher group, an upgrade charge equal to the difference in the then-current charges between the two groups will apply. For movement to a machine in a lower group, there will be no adjustment or refund of charges paid.

Order now

To order, contact the IBM Digital Sales Center, your local IBM representative, or your IBM Business Partner. To identify your local IBM representative or IBM Business Partner, call 800-IBM-4YOU (426-4968). For more information, contact the IBM Digital Sales Center.

Phone: 800-IBM-CALL (426-2255)

Fax: 800-2IBM-FAX (242-6329)

For IBM representative: askibm@ca.ibm.com

For IBM Business Partner: pwcs@us.ibm.com

IBM Digital Sales Offices
1177 S Belt Line Rd
Coppell, TX 75019-4642, US

The IBM Digital Sales Center, our national direct marketing organization, can add your name to the mailing list for catalogs of IBM products.

Note: Shipments will begin after the planned availability date.

Trademarks

MVS, IMS, z10 and Electronic Service Agent are trademarks of IBM Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.

IBM, CICS, z/OS, CICS Explorer, WebSphere, CICSPlex, Db2, IBM Z, System z, z/Architecture, S/390, z Systems, Redbooks, AIX, z/VSE, Parallel Sysplex, System z9, Express, zEnterprise, z13, RACF, DB2 and IBM z Systems are registered trademarks of IBM Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.

Oracle and Java are trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates in the United States, other countries, or both.

Adobe is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States, and/or other countries.

Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States, other countries, or both.

Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.

Terms of use

IBM products and services which are announced and available in your country can be ordered under the applicable standard agreements, terms, conditions, and prices in effect at the time. IBM reserves the right to modify or withdraw this announcement at any time without notice. This announcement is provided for your information only. Additional terms of use are located at

For the most current information regarding IBM products, consult your IBM representative or reseller, or go to the IBM worldwide contacts page

IBM United States