Introduction to the new mainfame

Chapter 2: z/OS Overview

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Introduction to the new mainframe

Chapter 2 objectives
Be able to:
•Give examples of how z/OS differs from a
single-user operating system.
•List the major types of storage used by
z/OS.
•Explain the concept of virtual storage and
its use in z/OS.
•State the relationship between pages,
frames, and slots.
•List several defining characteristics of the
z/OS operating system.
•List several software products used with
z/OS to provide a complete system.
•Describe several differences and
similarities between the z/OS and UNIX
operating systems.

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Introduction to the new mainframe

Key terms in this chapter

address space multiprocessing

addressability multiprogramming
auxiliary storage page / paging
program product
dynamic address translation
real storage
(DAT)
slot
frame UNIX
input/output (I/O) virtual storage
middleware z/OS

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Introduction to the new mainframe

What is z/OS?

The most widely used mainframe operating system

64-bit operating system

Ideally suited for processing large workloads for many concurrent

users

Designed for:
• Serving 1000s of users concurrently
• I/O intensive computing
• Processing very large workloads
• Running mission critical applications securely

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Introduction to the new mainframe

Hardware resources managed by z/OS

z/OS
System Console
(hardware)

Mainframe computer
(CPU, processor
Master Console storage)
(z/OS)
Operator Console
(z/OS)

Tape drive

Tape
cartridges
DASD
controller
Disk storage
(DASD volumes)

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Introduction to the new mainframe

Summary of z/OS internals

Comprised of modules, macros, system components

Use of the program status word (PSW)

Techniques of multiprogramming and multiprocessing

Information about the system, resources, and tasks is contained in

control blocks

Management of physical storage:

• Real storage
• Auxiliary storage

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 Introduction to the new mainframe

Virtual storage concepts

Virtual storage is an “illusion” created through z/OS management of real

storage and auxiliary storage

The running portions of a program are kept in real storage; the rest is
kept in auxiliary storage

Range of addressable virtual storage available to a user or program is

an address space

Each user or separately running program is represented by an address

space

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Introduction to the new mainframe

The address space concept

16 EB

64-bit addresing
(z/OS)

2GB
The “Bar”

31-bit addresing
(MVS/XA)
16 MB
The “Line”
24-bit addresing
(MVS)

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Introduction to the new mainframe

How virtual storage works

• Virtual storage is divided into 4-kilobyte pages

• Transfer of pages between auxiliary storage and real storage is
called paging
• When a requested address is not in real storage, an interruption is
signaled and the system brings the required page into real storage
• z/OS uses tables to keep track of pages
• Dynamic address translation (DAT)
• Frames, pages, slots

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Introduction to the new mainframe

How virtual storage works (continued…)

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 Introduction to the new mainframe

Pages, Frames, and Slots

The pieces of a program executing in virtual storage must be moved

between real and auxiliary storage:
• A block of real storage is a frame.
• A block of virtual storage is a page.
• A block of auxiliary storage is a slot.
A page, a frame, and a slot are all the same size: 4096 bytes (4
kilobytes).
To the programmer, the entire program appears to occupy contiguous
space in real storage at all times.

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Introduction to the new mainframe

Pages, Frames, and Slots (continued)

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Introduction to the new mainframe

Page Stealing
z/OS tries to keep an adequate supply of available real storage frames
on hand.

When this supply becomes low, z/OS uses page stealing to replenish it.

Pages that have not been accessed for a relatively long time are good
candidates for page stealing.

z/OS also uses various storage managers to keep track of all pages,
frames, and slots in the system.

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Introduction to the new mainframe

Swapping
Swapping is one of several methods that z/OS uses to balance the
system workload and ensure that an adequate supply of available
real storage frames is maintained.

Swapping has the effect of moving an entire address space into, or out
of, real storage:

• A swapped-in address space is active, having pages in real storage

frames and pages in auxiliary storage slots.
• A swapped-out address space is inactive; the address space resides on
auxiliary storage and cannot execute until it is swapped in.

© Copyright IBM Corp., 2005. All rights reserved.

Introduction to the new mainframe

Brief history of z/OS addressability

1970 System/370 defined storage addresses as 24 bits in

length

1983 System/370-XA extended the addressability of the

architecture to 31 bits.

2000 z/Architecture extended the addressability to 64 bits.

© Copyright IBM Corp., 2005. All rights reserved.

Introduction to the new mainframe

Brief history of z/OS addressability (continued…)

© Copyright IBM Corp., 2005. All rights reserved.

Introduction to the new mainframe

What’s in an address space?

z/OS provides each user with a unique address space and maintains
the distinction between the programs and data belonging to each
address space.

Because it maps all of the available addresses, however, an address

space includes system code and data as well as user code and data.
Thus, not all of the mapped addresses are available for user code
and data.

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Introduction to the new mainframe

64-bit address space map

16 exabytes

User Extended
Private Area

512 terabytes

Shared Area

2 terabytes

User Extended
Private Area

2 gigabytes The “Bar”

16 megabyte The “Line”

Common Area

User Private Area

0
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 Introduction to the new mainframe

z/OS address spaces

z/OS and its related subsystems require address spaces of their own to
provide a functioning operating system:

• System address spaces are started after initialization of the master

scheduler. These address spaces perform functions for all the other
types of address spaces that start in z/OS.
• Subsystem address spaces for major system functions and middleware
products such as DB2, CICS, and IMS.
• TSO/E address spaces are created for every user who logs on to z/OS
• Address spaces for every batch job that runs on z/OS.

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Introduction to the new mainframe

How is peripheral storage managed?

Management of peripheral storage devices involves file allocation,

placement, monitoring, migration, backup, recall, recovery, and
deletion.

A typical z/OS production system includes both manual and automated

processes for managing storage.

A user or program can directly control many aspects of z/OS storage

use.

The primary means of managing storage in z/OS is through DFSMS.

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Introduction to the new mainframe

Summary of z/OS facilities

• Address spaces and virtual storage for users and programs.

• Physical storage are available: real and auxiliary.
• Movement of programs and data between real storage and
auxiliary storage through paging.
• Dispatching work for execution, based on priority and ability
to execute.
• An extensive set of facilities for managing files stored on disk
or tape. Operators use consoles to start and stop z/OS, enter
commands, and manage the operating system.

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Introduction to the new mainframe

Summary of z/OS facilities (continued…)

Operator communication
Address spaces

Reliability, availability, and

Physical storage serviceability
REAL
AUX

Paging Data integrity

AUX REAL

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Introduction to the new mainframe

Defining characteristics of z/OS

• Uses address spaces to ensure isolation of private areas

• Ensures data integrity, regardless of how large the user population
might be.
• Can process a large number of concurrent batch jobs, with
automatic workload balancing
• Allows security to be incorporated into applications, resources, and
user profiles.
• Allows multiple communications subsystems at the same time
• Provides extensive recovery, making unplanned system restarts very
rare.
• Can manage mixed workloads
• Can manage large I/O configurations of 1000s of disk drives,
automated tape libraries, large printers, networks of terminals, etc.
• Can be controlled from one or more operator terminals, or from
application programming interfaces (APIs) that allow automation of
routine operator functions.

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Introduction to the new mainframe

Program products for z/OS

A z/OS system usually contains additional program

products (priced products) that are needed to create a
practical working system:
• security manager
• database manager
• compilers
• utility programs
• vendor products

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Introduction to the new mainframe

Middleware for z/OS

Middleware is typically something between the operating system and an end

user or end-user applications.
Middleware supplies major functions not provided by the operating system.
Typical z/OS middleware includes:
• Database systems
• Web servers
• Message queuing and routing functions
• Transaction managers
• Java virtual machines
• XML processing functions

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Introduction to the new mainframe

A brief comparison of z/OS and UNIX…

Quite a few concepts are common to both:

• Boot the system versus IPL the system
• Files versus data sets
• Editors vi, ed, sed, and emacs (UNIX) versus ISPF (z/OS)
• telnet or rlogin (UNIX) versus TSO logon (z/OS)

© Copyright IBM Corp., 2005. All rights reserved.

Introduction to the new mainframe

Summary

• z/OS, the most widely used mainframe operating system, is ideally

suited for processing large workloads for many concurrent users.
• Virtual storage is an illusion created by the architecture, in that the
system seems to have more storage than it really has.
• Each user of z/OS gets an address space containing the same range
of storage addresses.
• z/OS is structured around address spaces, which are ranges of
addresses in virtual storage.
• Production systems usually include add-on products for middleware
and other functions.

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