CMS Virtual Machine Environments
z/VM provides two versions of CMS:
- ESA/390 CMS (generally referred to simply as CMS)
- CMS runs in the following virtual machine architectures:
- ESA/390 (ESA or XA virtual machine)
- An ESA virtual machine simulates IBM® Enterprise Systems Architecture/390 (ESA/390), which is a superset of IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture/370 (ESA/370), which is a superset of IBM System/370 Extended Architecture (370-XA). The XA virtual machine designation is supported for compatibility; an XA virtual machine is functionally equivalent to an ESA virtual machine.
- ESA/XC (XC virtual machine)
- An XC virtual machine processes according to IBM Enterprise Systems Architecture/Extended Configuration (ESA/XC), which is an architecture unique to virtual machines. Although XC virtual machines run with dynamic address translation off, they can take advantage of a subset of dynamic address translation architectural features, and in particular, data spaces.
- z/Architecture® CMS (z/CMS)
- z/CMS runs in the following virtual machine architectures:
- z/Architecture (ESA or XA virtual machine)
- z/Architecture uses 31-bit addressing mode in
an ESA ,XA
, or Z
virtual machine.
CMS
programs can use z/Architecture instructions,
including those that operate on 64-bit registers, while permitting existing ESA/390 architecture CMS
programs to continue to function without change. When z/CMS is IPLed in an ESA/390 (ESA or XA) virtual machine, z/CMS switches the virtual machine to z/Architecture mode and thereafter executes in z/Architecture mode.
- z/XC (XC virtual machine)
- A z/XC guest uses VM Data Spaces with z/Architecture in the same way that an ESA/XC guest uses VM Data Spaces with Enterprise
Systems Architecture. CMS applications that run in z/Architecture can use multiple address spaces. z/CMS can use VM Data Spaces for accessing
Shared File System (SFS) Directory Control (DIRCONTROL) directories. z/XC supports programs that
employ z/Architecture instructions and registers
(within the limits of z/CMS support) and programs that exploit data spaces in the same CMS
session.
When z/CMS is IPLed in an XC virtual machine, z/CMS switches the virtual machine to z/XC mode and thereafter executes in z/XC mode.
Unless otherwise indicated, CMS
means either
version, and descriptions of CMS functions apply to both CMS and z/CMS.
For information on the differences between z/CMS and CMS and how to
use z/CMS, see z/VM: CMS Planning and Administration.
The virtual machine mode is defined by using the MACHINE or GLOBALOPTS directory statement, the CP SET MACHINE command, or the Systems Management application programming interfaces.
Note: CP does not support System/370 architecture (370 mode) virtual
machines. However, the 370 Accommodation Facility allows many CMS
applications written for System/370 virtual machines to run in ESA/390
and ESA/XC virtual machines. The CP level of the 370 Accommodation
Facility is activated with the CP SET 370ACCOM command. The CMS level
of the 370 Accommodation Facility is activated with the CMS SET CMS370AC
command. In addition, although the 370 option of the GENMOD command
is not supported, modules generated with the 370 option can be run
in an ESA/390 or ESA/XC virtual machine by issuing the CMS SET GEN370
OFF command. For more information about the 370 Accommodation
Facility, see z/VM: CP Programming Services. See z/VM: CP Commands and Utilities Reference for information on
the SET 370ACCOM command and see z/VM: CMS Commands and Utilities Reference for information on
the SET CMS370AC and SET GEN370 commands.
The relationships between virtual machines and processor architectures
are summarized in Table 1.

| CMS Version | Virtual Machine Architecture Mode1 | Virtual Machine Architecture | Addressing Scheme | Addressable Primary Storage | Addressable Data Space2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMS | ESA, XA3 | ESA/390 | 31-bit | 2047 MB | 2 GB per data space4 |
| CMS | XC | ESA/XC | 31-bit and access registers | 2047 MB | 2 GB per data space |
| z/CMS | ESA, XA3, Z | z/Architecture5 | 31-bit6 | 2047 MB7 | 2 GB per data space4 |
| z/CMS | XC | z/XC8 | 31-bit6 and access registers | 2047 MB7 | 2 GB per data space |
|
Notes:
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