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Users say they are pleased with IP as an access tool, but not much else.
There is little doubt that IP is rapidly becoming a standard part of the mainframe connectivity repertoire, but when it comes to managing that environment, many pieces are still missing.
Specifically, analysts and users say there is a limited variety of tools available for managing and monitoring the performance of IP on mainframes. Speed is another issue. IP processing consumes an inordinate number of CPU cycles on the mainframe, despite the fact that IBM and others have made substantial improvements to its IP stack on OS/390.
For example, IBM typically has promised threeto sixfold improvements with each rewritten stack. And because upwards of 50% of IBM mainframes will be running TCP/IP by year-end, it is imperative that the IP stack performs well.
Running IP on the mainframe often proves to be a clunky affair, says Michael Lowe, vice president of data planning for Citicorp's global technology infrastructure. Getting a mainframe to reduce the CPU cycles it expends on IP "is still a somewhat contentious issue," says Lowe, whose network supports somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 users.
Ultimately, TCP/IP users aren't used to the features a mainframe has - including high availability, storage facilities and throughput capabilities - but they want them. The strategy for IBM, Cisco Systems, Inc. and other vendors in the IP mainframe connectivity market is to give IP mainframe...