Communication options for data sharing groups

Applications can communicate with a data sharing group by using either Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) or Systems Network Architecture (SNA) protocol.

TCP/IP is a set of communication protocols that support peer-to-peer connectivity functions for both local and wide area networks. TCP/IP uses the client/server model of communication to enable communication between computers and computer networks of the same or different types. For more information about configuring your Db2 environment for TCP/IP communication, see TCP/IP access methods for Db2 data sharing.

Systems Network Architecture (SNA) is a proprietary IBM® architecture that describes the logical structure, formats, protocols, and operational sequences for transmitting information units through, and controlling the configuration and operation of, networks. SNA access for Db2 for z/OS® is deprecated, which means that it is supported but not recommended, and support might be removed eventually.

Tip: TCP/IP is the recommended communication protocol for communication with Db2 for z/OS. Although SNA communication remains supported in Db2 12, SNA communication and the VTAM interface are deprecated, and support will be removed in the future. If your Db2 environment still uses VTAM communication, see Converting to TCP/IP communication from VTAM in Db2 for z/OS.

Distributed data applications connect to a data sharing group by specifying a Db2 location name. The group provides a single-system image to requesting applications. For more information, see Communicating with data sharing groups.