IBM® zEnterprise® System (zEnterprise) provides the capability to integrate HiperSockets™ connectivity to the intraensemble data network (IEDN); HiperSockets connectivity to the IEDN is referred to as the z/OS® Communications Server IEDN-enabled HiperSockets function. Within each central processor complex (CPC) that is a member of an ensemble, you can define a single Internal Queued Direct I/O (IQD) channel path ID (CHPID) for HiperSockets to provide connectivity to the IEDN; you configure the designated IQD CHPID using a channel parameter in the hardware configuration definition (HCD), which enables the Internal Queued Direct I/O extensions (IQDX) function of HiperSockets. The IQDX function is a channel function and is not a new CHPID type. When the IQDX function is configured, the single IQD CHPID is integrated with the IEDN; for communications within the CPC, the IQDX function enables secure network access using the designated IQD CHPID.
The z/OS Communications Server IEDN-enabled HiperSockets function provides the following benefits:
- Combines the existing high-performance attributes of HiperSockets for intra-CPC communications with the secure access control, virtualization, and management functions of the IEDN that are provided by zEnterprise Unified Resource Manager (zManager)
- Converges OSA connectivity and HiperSockets connectivity into a single
logical network interface
The single interface simplifies network management by reducing the number of resources that are required to represent individual unique networks, including the following resources:
- IQD CHPIDs
- IP interfaces
- IP subnetworks (VLANs)
- IP addresses
- IP routes
- Eliminates the HiperSockets configuration
tasks within z/OS Communications
Server and zManager
The HiperSockets network configuration is inherited from the OSA-Express for zBX (OSX) configuration.
- Simplifies z/OS movement
by eliminating or minimizing reconfiguration tasks
The z/OS network configuration that is related to the IP topology (IP address, IP subnet, and VLAN) for the IEDN, which is configured with the OSX interface, does not change when a z/OS image is moved to a different CPC. Given that IQDX configuration attributes are inherited from the OSX configuration, no reconfiguration tasks are required for IQDX interfaces.
- Enables sysplex network traffic to transparently use HiperSockets connectivity for VIPAROUTE processing over OSX interfaces
Figure 1 shows the key concepts of the z/OS Communications Server IEDN-enabled HiperSockets function; HiperSockets connectivity is transparently converged with OSA-Express connectivity.
Communications Server provides transparent access to the IQD CHPID that is configured for the IQDX function. For each configured OSX CHPID and for each IP version, Communications Server dynamically creates and associates an IQDX interface and transport resource list element (TRLE) to the IQD CHPID. The dynamically created IQDX interfaces inherit the VLAN IDs and IP addresses of their associated OSX interfaces, thus eliminating the need for IP topology, routing, or security changes in the network. Communications Server dynamically determines whether traffic routed to the IEDN over a given OSX CHPID can also use the IQDX interface; if the traffic can use the IQDX interface, Communications Server routes the traffic over the high-performance HiperSockets IQD CHPID.
IQDX interfaces and TRLEs are created when the AUTOIQDX parameter is specified (or is specified by default) on the GLOBALCONFIG statement in the TCP/IP profile and an IQD CHPID is configured for the IQDX function.
- The naming convention for the dynamically created IQDX interfaces
is EZAIQXxx (IPv4) and EZ6IQXxx (IPv6),
where xx is the OSX CHPID number to which
a particular IQDX interface is associated.
The IQDX interfaces are identified by interface type IPAQIQDX for IPv4 and interface type IPAQIQDX6 for IPv6. Traffic for unique VLANs over the same OSX CHPID (multiple VLANs) share the same IQDX interface.
- The naming convention for the dynamically created IQDX TRLEs is IUTIQXxx (IPv4) and IUTIQ6xx (IPv6), where xx is the OSX CHPID number to which a particular IQDX interface is associated.
To enable Communications Server to access the IEDN using HiperSockets interfaces, see Steps for enabling HiperSockets access to the intraensemble data network.