z/OS Extended Format Datasets - Background, Benefits, and Implementation

The collected presentations here are part of a larger project to drive adoption of Extended Format Data Sets by clients to enable the functionality afforded by Extended Format, such as Data Set Encryption, Compression, Striping, and more.

First, Dave Betten’s presentation “  PRS5396 ” provides a background to z/OS Data Set types to explain the differences between Extended Format and other types of data sets. He also dives into how access methods work in z/OS and describes different types. He ends with a discussion of the benefits of Extended Format data sets. Concepts from this presentation underpin the next two presentations by Ceci Lewis.

Three of Ceci Lewis’s presentations are included here: first, a deeper dive into the  PRS5401 , which builds on Dave's first presentation. She focuses on Extended Format, Compression, and Encryption, and explains key restrictions of EF as well as restrictions and incompatibilities. These concepts are an integral part of planning a migration to Extended Format in order to exploit the functionality that EF supports.

Ceci's second presentation is a  PRS5395 , which provides an overview of Pervasive Encryption before focusing in specifically on Dataset Encryption. This presentation builds upon the foundational principles Dave covered to describe how Dataset Encryption leverages access methods to enable application-transparent encryption.

Ceci’s third presentation, "  PRS5397 ," builds upon her other two presentations and dives deeper into specific implementation procedures for clients. She describes the implementation steps of Dataset Encryption for different personas in a client environment, such as storage or database administrators. It also provides tips and best practices for the implementation, and makes note of potential obstacles.

Finally, with the help of Dave Betten, Brian Dalton built a step-by-step tutorial on the Washington Systems Center test system that explains how to allocate data sets in Extended Format in ISMF (titled  PRS5398 l). It also builds on Dave’s first presentation to show things like data classes, storage classes, and ACS routines in practice within ISMF. Brian and Dave then focus on putting the functionality of EF Data Sets, such as compression and striping, into practice.