What Is on Program Update Tape (PUT) 4
by Katie Milhaven, IBM TPF ID Core Team

The following summarizes PUT 4 support:

Multiple I-Stream DASD I/O (APAR PJ21313)
With this support: The TPF 4.1 system can process most DASD input/output (I/O) requests from any I-stream, and you can take advantage of processors with more I-streams by not overloading the main I-stream with DASD I/O-related work.

Dynamic LU Support (APAR PJ21044)
Currently, all logical units (LUs) must be predefined to the TPF system using the offline ACF/SNA table generation (OSTG) program before the LUs can log on. Dynamic LU support made changes to eliminate this requirement. LUs can now log on to the TPF system without first being predefined using the OSTG program. Instead, resource definitions are created online for these LUs when they are found by the TPF system. New functional messages were also provided with dynamic LU support to allow users to create resource definitions online for non-LU resources. Previously, the TPF system required that these resource definitions had to be created offline by using the OSTG program.

Dynamic LU support also made enhancements to the dynamic load function (ZNOPL). You are no longer required to perform an IPL to include new Systems Network Architecture (SNA) resource definitions following a dynamic load. You are also no longer required to perform an IPL after you fall back to previous SNA resource definitions. Simply enter the ZNOPL MERGE functional message while the network is running and the TPF 4.1 system is in any TPF system state to include the new SNA resource definitions or fall back to the previous SNA resource definitions.

Coverage Display Tools (APARs PJ21167, PJ21584, PJ21596)
Coverage display tools provides the following display-type functional messages:

ZDMOD - You can now display the following main storage addresses for a module file: File status table, Device number, Queue length, Control status table.

ZMIPF - You can now display the current contents of the Multi-Processor Interconnect Facility (MPIF) I/O trace table.

ZSTAT - You can now display the delayed and deferred entry control block (ECB) count.

ISO-C File Resident Support (APAR PJ21167)
ISO-C file resident support allows infrequently used C programs to be released from storage, permitting a more effective use for main storage. ISO-C file resident programs are supported through the use of an expandable system heap. ISO-C file resident support improves the reliability of ISO-C applications because these applications are not limited by the availability of the core resident program area (CRPA). File resident support also provides an overflow area for ISO-C programs when the CRPA is full. The system heap permits multiple ECBs to access large amounts of contiguous storage. This replaces the current method of allocating these storage areas during system initialization.

TPF Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Support (APAR PJ21791) provides the following:
Industry-standard socket application programming interface (API): TPF TCP/IP support allows the socket applications on the TPF 4.1 system to communicate through a TCP/IP offload device with remote host socket applications.

Open network connectivity: Using a socket, the TPF system permits applications using Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) or User Datagram Protocol (UDP) to communicate with other IBM or non-IBM systems.

Enhanced role on the Internet: TPF TCP/IP support allows the TPF 4.1 system to connect to the Internet through a TCP/IP offload device.

Client/server environment: You can use the socket API to create socket applications that allow the TPF 4.1 system to function as either a client or a server.

Ease of porting socket applications: Because the ISO-C socket function calls use industry-standard application programming interfaces (APIs), you can easily port socket applications to the TPF 4.1 system.

TPF TCP/IP support is an offload implementation based on the IBM 3172 Interconnect Controller Model 3 that provides an effective offload program. Socket APIs permit unrelated processes to exchange data over networks implementing the industry-standard Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) sockets. ZCLAW functional messages are used to define, delete, display, activate, and deactivate the workstations.

A new publication, "TPF Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol", SH31-0120, provides an overview of the TCP/IP network and socket API functions for application programmers; this publication also provides more detailed system information for system programmers.

Additional APARs
PUT 4 contains an abstract of the problem, a problem description, and a solution for each APAR. FORA, which you can access through TalkLink, provides a list of critical APARs, minor APARs, and APARs that correct previously incorrect APARs. If you cannot access TalkLink, this same information is provided on our TPFTOOLS disk, which can be accessed by your TPF client support representative. The APAR information includes a one-line description of the problem that is being corrected.

Part 2 of the "TPF Migration Guide", GH31-0153, provides appropriate migration information for the new support as well as critical APARS, minor APARs, and APARs that correct previously incorrect APARs.