What Is on Program Update Tape (PUT) 11?
Tom Brocker, IBM TPF ID Core Team

The following summarizes PUT 11 support:

  • The TPF 4.1 system is enabled to run remote procedure call (RPC) (APAR PJ26575) servers through a partial port of the Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) RPC run-time library. DCE RPC is based on a thread model; therefore, server applications must be thread-safe. RPC allows applications on one workstation to call functions that reside on and are run by another workstation. The RPC run-time library allows you to develop RPC server applications that can be accessed by using the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) or User Datagram Protocol (UDP) Internet protocols. The RPC library application programming interfaces (APIs) establish required client/server connections by using socket APIs. Two new socket APIs, sendmsg and recvmsg, have been added. The RPC model has been added to the ZINET ADD functional message.

Client applications running on any IBM or non-IBM DCE platform are able to run remote procedure calls to a TPF server. All DCE services are available to client applications; however, the TPF 4.1 system supports only a subset of the DCE RPC services. The following are elements of a traditional DCE RPC environment that can be used with the TPF implementation:

  • Server support only (no client support)
  • Unauthenticated RPC only (no DCE security service or Kerberos provided)
  • An offline process to load TPF server information into a directory server (no directory service APIs)
  • Preassigned server port numbers (no dynamic server port assignment at run time).
  • Mapping of Airline Traffic over Internet Protocol (MATIP) enhancements (APAR PJ26693) expands MATIP support by providing a way to define a host descriptor table for Type-A and Type-B hosts. This is done by adding new parameters to the ZMATP functional message, and adding new error messages and a new user exit.

Agent set control unit (ASCU) information was previously defined and changed through the MATIP ASCU user exit and the MATIP security user exit. Now you can also change and define ASCUs through the ZMATP functional message as well as associating ASCUs with a specific host name. The ASCU information is preserved on file so that it does not have to be specified again after the TPF 4.1 system is re-IPLed. The DISPLAY parameter of the ZMATP functional message has been enhanced to display various characteristics associated with a specific MATIP session.

  • File system performance is enhanced (APAR PJ26713).
  • TPF transaction services enhancements (APAR PJ26687) includes the ability for you to define the location of the recovery log to an application subsystem rather than to the basic subsystem (BSS).
  • TPF Support for VisualAge Client includes the following three small programming enhancements (SPEs):
  • Debug on system error (APAR PJ26660)
  • Universal data display (APAR PJ26581)
  • Trace on production (APAR PJ26666).
  • Tape record migration (APAR PJ26577) supports using additional record types for tape support. Ordinal-based processor unique fixed file record types are replaced with FACE table (FCTB) processor unique fixed file record types. Using these additional record types removes some of the complexity of adding a processor to your complex. See the TPF Migration Guide for more information about tape record migration.
  • Enterprise Storage Server (ESS) disk storage system support APAR (PJ26160) exploits the functions provided by the ESS disk storage system, which is defined to the TPF 4.1 system as a type of 3990 storage controller with attached 3380 or 3390 device types configured in TPF mode. The ESS disk storage system provides the following performance, scalability, and accessibility improvements:
  • It allows you to add capacity and connectivity and upgrade performance while your complex continues to run.
  • It scales from 420 gigabytes (GB) to 11 terabytes (TB).
  • It works with a variety of platforms including OS/390, VM/ESA, and TPF, to name a few.
  • TPF compiler support (APAR PJ26578) updates include the following:
  • TPF 4.1 PUT 11 is compiled with the OS/390 Version 2 Release 6 compiler. You must use this level of the compiler if you change segments that are linked to object code that is shipped by IBM. To allow you to install PUT 11 without the V2.6 compiler, all C load modules are shipped in partitioned data set ACP.LINK.OCO40.
  • The new LINKALL parameter for the system initialization program (SIP) GENSIP macro. This parameter specifies whether SIP will send link-edited jobs to a stage II deck for a C load module.
  • The new LINK parameter for the SPPBLD macro.
  • With TCP/IP native stack support, socket application programs on the TPF 4.1 system can use the socket API to communicate with remote socket applications. Before TCP/IP native stack support, the TPF 4.1 system was required to communicate through a TCP/IP offload device to connect to Internet Protocol (IP) networks. With TCP/IP native stack support (APAR PJ26683), the TPF 4.1 system can connect directly to 3745 and 3746 IP routers using standard IP protocols. TCP/IP native stack support also provides the following additional functions:
  • Improved network throughput
  • Support for more socket options
  • Support for a new TPF-unique activate_on_accept socket API
  • Support for a full-function IP trace facility.
  • The limited lock facility (LLF) and the concurrency filter lock facility (APAR PJ26707), which are two external lock facilities (XLFs) supported by the TPF 4.1 system, were required to control access to data shared by two or more processors in a loosely coupled complex. Coupling facility (CF) record lock support now provides the option of using one or more CFs as XLFs.
  • ZDECB (APAR PQ26534) is a new functional message that allows you to display in-use entry control blocks (ECBs). See TPF Operations for more information about the ZDECB functional message.
  • Multiple module (multi-mod) copy support (APAR PJ26686) allows you to do the following:
  • Run more than one copy function at the same time
  • Display the status of DASD modules that are being copied
  • Set the maximum number of DASD modules that can be copied concurrently in a processor complex, on a channel, on a control unit, or on a processor
  • Copy a DASD module to the same channel or control unit as a specified prime DASD module
  • Cancel the copying of a DASD module from a processor that is not performing the copy function
  • Restart all DASD module copies in a processor complex.