z/OS: VSAM Tuning and Performance

Course Overview

This three day "hands-on" training coutrse, is suitable for the BCS Mainframe Technology professional Exams for level 1 Assistant (Production and Support) and level 2 Developer

Audience

• This course is designed for those z/OS technicians who require a greater understanding of VSAM within their z/OS installation.
• This will allow them to analyse their use of VSAM with the aim of improving performance and reliability and reducing errors.

Skills Gained

• Understand the types of VSAM data sets,
• Be able to create and control VSAM data sets with IDCAMS utility,
• Understand the factors which affect performance and apply to advantage,
• Interpret information in the LISTCAT reports,
• Apply the newer facilities available with EF VSAM data sets
• The course is based on z/OS Version 1 Release 7.

Prerequisites

• Delegates should have at least a basic knowledge of TSO/ISPF and JCL.
• An appreciation of VSAM, IDCAMS and general buffering would be helpful.

Course Outline

• General I/O
• I/O Processing and Buffering
• DASD Track Layout
• The effect of RAID Technology on performance analysis
• VSAM Overview
• Control Intervals and Control Areas
• CIDFs and RDFs
• ESDS and KSDS
• The Catalog
• The Master Catalog and User Catalogs
• The ALIAS and Multi-level Alias facility
• The Catalog Search Sequence
• BCS and VVDS
• Sharing Catalogs and ECS
• Creating VSAM Data Sets
• VSAM Terminology
• Defining Clusters
• CISIZE and FREESPACE
• Creating AIX and PATH
• Using the DELETE statement
• Recommendation and What to Avoid
• Listing Catalog Information
• Understanding the LISTCAT output
• VSAM Buffering Techniques
• Serialisation
• The SHAREOPTIONS parameter
• NSR, LSR, GSR and RLS
• Buffering options
• Recommendations
• VSAM Recent Changes
• Extended Format VSAM Data Sets
• Extended Addressability
• Data Striping
• System Managed Buffering
• Data Compression
• Partial Release
• Recommendations

Special Notes: On-site courses may be enhanced by the following:

• Access to LISTCAT listings of live VSAM data sets and production JCL,
• Access to ISMF for the Data Class constructs,
• Access to DATACLASs which request EF and associated VSAM facilities.