Mainframe Application Support
Mainframe Application and Screen Logic Integration
DataDirect Shadow is a unified integration architecture that provides developers with a wide range of integration options for mainframe applications, from simple SQL style access to more complex Web Services transformation of business logic or 3270 screens. Supported mainframe application environments include:
- CICS TS
- IDMS
- IMS TM
- Natural
Shadow provides high performance, SQL access to mainframe applications, using metadata created from application programs and screen maps to create database-stored procedure maps. At runtime these maps convert stored procedure calls into the appropriate underlying calling syntax for the mainframe application subsystem.
For reliable, scalable, Web services transformation, Shadow creates a reusable service by encapsulating the mainframe program or screen-based application in WSDL (Web Services Description Language), which is then easily accessible to new composite applications.
Shadow Studio provides a comprehensive range of industry-standard client drivers and interfaces – SQL APIs (ODBC, JDBC, and ADO.NET) and interfaces to support SOAP and MQ – to bridge the integration of business-critical mainframe business logic and screen logic with more modern Java, .NET or web-based applications.
Moreover, Shadow is a unique solution in that it dramatically lowers mainframe Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) by taking the zIIP beyond DB2 and offloading up to 99% of business or screen logic integration’s incremental processing from the mainframe General Purpose Processor (GPP) to the zIIP specialty engine.
Shadow provides comprehensive integration support for organizations embarking on mainframe modernization initiatives that involve IBM’s CICS TS environment. Key supporting features include:
- Support for multiple CICS Containers and Channels - Shadow z/Services now supports CICS applications that use multiple CICS containers and channels to exchange data between CICS programs.
- Shadow fully leverages all new features of CICS TS v4.1 including the ability to access the Eclipse-based Shadow Studio within CICS Explorer. Shadow also utilizes CICS Bundle support to simplify customer installation and configuration of Shadow software into CICS environments.
- Shadow z/Direct provides modern distributed applications with high-performance direct SQL access to CICS TS programs via industry-standard client drivers. Shadow provides dynamic load balancing and failover support, enhancing performance by routing application requests to the CICS address space or EXCI region with the most available resources. Shadow also offers high performance EXCI-compatible connectivity with CICS, increasing the amount of Shadow processing that is zIIP-eligible. For communication, the EXCI interface uses pipes which Shadow z/Direct manages in a highly efficient manner, often resulting in a 2x gain in performance over traditional EXCI implementations.
- Shadow z/Services exposes CICS TS resident business logic (using Channels, Containers, and COMMAREAS) as ready-to-use Web services. Also, allowing the mainframe to act as a consumer of distributed service functionality, Shadow enables CICS programs to serve as Web service requesters, automatically parsing Web services into COBOL copybooks, building the runtime infrastructure, and generating COBOL programs from copybooks. Shadow fully exploits Web Services to and from CICS without the performance and processing overhead of CICS-resident solutions. And, to improve performance and eliminate communication limits within CICS, the Shadow also provides exclusive capabilities that break through the 32K COMMAREA limit.
- Shadow z/Services transforms CICS 3270 screens into Web service providers with absolutely no changes to the host application. Shadow supports the newest CICS technologies, including Channels and Containers, URIMAP, and FEPI/Linkable Bridge. And, z/Services deployment within CICS reuses the existing CICS infrastructure including CWS–CICS Web Support and CICS Web Services.
- Shadow provides complementary support for CICS business events with Change Data Capture (CDC) across a wide range of mainframe databases, including the ability to persist all events and capabilities to filter, aggregate and enrich events for increased business meaning.
- Requiring no change to underlying host functionality, Shadow z/Presentation provides Web-enabled interfaces to existing mainframe 3270 screens in a manner compatible with JSP, ASP, and ASP.NET. Working directly with CICS logic, Shadow provides numerous direct methods of access to mainframe transactions. Shadow also automatically generates CICS-native COBOL components that interface with any platform able to communicate with a CICS DPL program.
Shadow provides comprehensive integration support for organizations embarking on mainframe modernization initiatives that involve CA’s IDMS platform. Key supporting features include:
- Shadow z/Services exposes IDMS (DC and ADS/O) resident business logic as ready-to-use Web services. Also, allowing the mainframe to act as a consumer of distributed service functionality, Shadow enables IDMS programs to serve as Web service requesters, automatically parsing Web services into COBOL copybooks, building the runtime infrastructure, and generating COBOL programs from copybooks.
- Shadow z/Services transforms IDMS screens into Web services, integrating directly into IDMS and ADS/O applications through the IDD (IDMS Dictionary) to access the metadata from the application. Shadow received the CA-Smart Certification for its capability to transform IDMS screens into industry standard Web services.
- Shadow z/Events also captures changes to records within IDMS data and propagate them as real-time events based on content. This capability allows organizations to easily leverage IDMS events as a means toward driving business process.
- DataDirect also offers a unique set of IDMS Extensions within the OCA family of APIs to assist developers facing the particular challenges of integrating IDMS database and application environments into heterogeneous platforms.
- Requiring no change to underlying host functionality, Shadow z/Presentation provides Web-enabled interfaces to existing mainframe screens in a manner compatible with JSP, ASP, and ASP.NET. Working directly with CICS and IMS logic, Shadow provides numerous direct methods of access to mainframe transactions.
Shadow provides comprehensive integration support for organizations embarking on mainframe modernization initiatives that involve IBM’s IMS TM platform. Key supporting features include:
- Shadow z/Direct provides modern distributed applications with high-performance direct SQL access to IMS TM programs via industry-standard client drivers. Shadow requires no intermediate gateways. To ensure operation consistent with organizational standards, Shadow z/Direct supports the APPC and OTMA protocols. And to support high-volume, mission-critical processing, Shadow supports transaction aggregation and filtering while providing other performance optimizations.
- Shadow z/Services exposes IMS TM resident business logic as ready-to-use Web services. Also, allowing the mainframe to act as a consumer of distributed service functionality, Shadow enables IMS TM programs to serve as Web service requesters, automatically parsing Web services into COBOL copybooks, building the runtime infrastructure, and generating COBOL programs from copybooks. Shadow also transforms IMS TM 3270 screens into Web service providers with absolutely no changes to the host application.
- Requiring no change to underlying host functionality, Shadow z/Presentation provides Web-enabled interfaces to existing mainframe 3270 screens in a manner compatible with JSP, ASP, and ASP.NET. Working directly with IMS logic, Shadow provides numerous direct methods of access to mainframe transactions.
Shadow provides comprehensive integration support for organizations embarking on mainframe modernization initiatives that involve Software AG’s Natural environment. Key supporting features include:
- Shadow z/Direct provides modern distributed applications with high-performance direct SQL access to Natural programs via industry-standard client drivers. Shadow maintains fewer ‘moving parts’ than the generalized messaging solutions often used to access Natural, eliminating additional integration programming and providing greater reliability and higher performance.
- Shadow z/Services exposes Natural resident business logic as ready-to-use Web services. Also, allowing the mainframe to act as a consumer of distributed service functionality, Shadow enables Natural programs to serve as Web service requesters. A robust solution that avoids the management and reliability issues found with multiple gateway solutions, Shadow automatically parses Web services into COBOL copybooks, building the runtime infrastructure, and generating COBOL programs from copybooks. Shadow also transforms Natural 3270 screens into Web service providers with absolutely no changes to the host application.
- Requiring no change to underlying host functionality, Shadow z/Presentation provides Web-enabled interfaces to existing mainframe 3270 screens in a manner compatible with JSP, ASP, and ASP.NET. Working directly with Natural business logic, Shadow provides numerous direct methods of access to mainframe transactions.
