Chapter 13 Further Reading

IBM Official Documentation

CICS Transaction Server 5.6

  • CICS TS 5.6 Knowledge Center — The authoritative reference for all CICS configuration, commands, and architecture. Start with the "CICS concepts and planning" section for architectural context before diving into reference material.

  • URL: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/cics-ts/5.6

  • CICS Intercommunication Guide (SC34-7390) — The definitive guide to MRO, ISC, IPIC, function shipping, DPL, and transaction routing. Chapters 1–6 cover the architecture; chapters 7–14 cover configuration. Required reading for anyone designing a multi-region topology.

  • CICSPlex SM Managing Workloads (SC34-7382) — Covers CPSM workload management in detail: workload definitions, routing algorithms, affinity management, and WLM integration. The examples are usable as starting points for your own configuration.

  • CICSPlex SM Managing Business Applications (SC34-7383) — Covers BAS (Business Application Services) for centralized resource definition and deployment. Essential for understanding how to manage CSD definitions at enterprise scale.

  • CICS System Definition Guide (SC34-7374) — Comprehensive reference for SIT parameters (DFHSIT), CSD resource definitions (CEDA), and system initialization. Sections on MAXTASK, DSALIM, EDSALIM, and ISC/IRC configuration are directly relevant to this chapter.

  • CICS Recovery and Restart Guide (SC34-7388) — How CICS uses system logs, journals, and the recovery manager to ensure transaction integrity. Understanding recovery is essential for designing topologies that survive region failures.

Sysplex Integration

  • CICS and Parallel Sysplex (SG24-6449) — IBM Redbook covering Sysplex-aware CICS features: shared temporary storage, named counter servers, coupling facility data tables, and VTAM generic resources. Includes practical configuration examples and sizing guidance.

  • Coupling Facility Structure Sizing (WP102579) — IBM White Paper on sizing coupling facility structures for CICS shared TS, named counters, and data tables. The formulas in this paper are the basis for capacity planning.

IBM Redbooks

  • CICS Transaction Server from Start to Finish (SG24-8347) — Comprehensive end-to-end guide covering CICS TS 5.x architecture, configuration, programming, and management. Chapters 3–5 cover region architecture, MRO/ISC, and CICSPlex SM with detailed diagrams and configuration examples.

  • CICSPlex SM for CICS TS 5.1 (SG24-8237) — Practical guide to deploying and configuring CICSPlex SM. Includes step-by-step instructions for CMAS setup, workload management, BAS deployment, and monitoring. Despite the 5.1 designation, most content applies to 5.6.

  • CICS and the Liberty JVM Server (SG24-8418) — Covers integrating Liberty JVM server into CICS regions for REST/JSON API access. Directly relevant to the SecureFirst case study's API integration pattern. Includes performance tuning and security configuration.

  • CICS Performance Guide (SG24-6530) — Performance tuning for CICS regions, including MRO session sizing, MAXTASK optimization, DSA tuning, and workload balancing. The benchmark data and tuning methodology are applicable to any CICS installation.

  • DB2 and CICS: The Perfect Couple (SG24-7421) — Integration patterns between DB2 and CICS, including connection pooling, thread management, and data sharing implications for CICS multi-region topologies.

Technical Articles and Papers

  • "CICS Region Design Patterns" — IBM Systems Magazine archives. A series of articles by CICS architects covering common topology patterns, anti-patterns, and migration strategies. The article on "Evolving from Monolithic to Multi-Region CICS" is particularly relevant.

  • "Workload Management for CICS: A Practical Guide" — IBM Developer Works. Covers the interaction between z/OS WLM service classes and CICSPlex SM routing algorithms. Includes worked examples of goal-based routing configuration.

  • "IPIC vs. SNA: Choosing the Right ISC Protocol" — IBM CICS Blog. Comparison of IPIC and SNA/APPC for inter-system communication, including performance benchmarks, security features, and migration guidance for SNA-to-IPIC conversion.

Books

  • Horswill, Matthew. CICS: A Practical Guide to System Fine Tuning, 2nd Edition. — Focused on performance tuning rather than architecture, but the chapters on MRO performance, task management, and storage optimization directly support the sizing and tuning decisions discussed in this chapter.

  • Tresch, Bob, and Frank Kyne. System Programmer's Guide to z/OS System Logger. — The CICS system log and journal are built on z/OS System Logger. Understanding the logger's architecture helps you design CICS recovery strategies, particularly in Sysplex environments where log streams can be shared or replicated.

Conference Presentations

  • SHARE Conference — CICS Track — The annual SHARE conference includes a dedicated CICS track with presentations from IBM CICS developers and enterprise architects. Presentations on multi-region topology design, CPSM best practices, and Sysplex integration are recurring topics. Archives available at share.org.

  • IBM TechU (formerly IBM InterConnect) — CICS Sessions — IBM's technical conference includes deep-dive sessions on CICS architecture, new features in CICS TS 5.6, and customer case studies. The "CICS for Architects" track is particularly relevant.

  • GSE (Guide Share Europe) — z/OS and CICS Working Groups — European user group with technical presentations on CICS architecture and operations. Often includes case studies from European banks and insurers with large CICS topologies.

  • Chapter 1: z/OS Parallel Sysplex Architecture — Foundation for understanding coupling facility, XCF, data sharing, and Sysplex Distributor — all referenced in this chapter's Sysplex-aware CICS section (13.6).

  • Chapter 2: z/OS Storage Management — Understanding virtual storage, address space limits, and above/below the bar storage is essential for DSA and EDSALIM sizing.

  • Chapter 5: z/OS Workload Manager — WLM service classes, velocity goals, and dispatching priority directly feed CICSPlex SM's goal-based routing algorithm.

  • Chapter 14: CICS Resource Definitions and System Configuration — The implementation chapter. Takes the architectural decisions from this chapter and turns them into CSD definitions, SIT parameters, and operational configurations.

  • Chapter 15: CICS Application Programming for Production — COBOL programming patterns that interact with multi-region topologies: pseudo-conversational design, DPL invocation, shared TS usage, and affinity-aware programming.

  • Chapter 16: CICS Performance Tuning — Deep dive into performance measurement and tuning for the topology patterns described in this chapter.

Online Resources

  • IBM CICS Community — Active community forum for CICS practitioners. Questions about topology design, CICSPlex SM configuration, and MRO/ISC troubleshooting regularly receive expert responses.

  • URL: https://community.ibm.com/community/user/ibmz-and-linuxone/groups/topic-home?CommunityKey=cics

  • IBM Developer — CICS — Code patterns, tutorials, and API documentation for CICS TS. Particularly useful for Liberty JVM server integration (relevant to the SecureFirst case study).

  • URL: https://developer.ibm.com/components/cics/

  • CICS Explorer — IBM's Eclipse-based graphical interface for CICS management and development. Useful for visualizing CICSPlex SM topologies and managing resource definitions. Free download for CICS TS 5.x customers.

Certification

  • IBM Certified System Administrator — CICS Transaction Server V5.3 (Exam C5050-062) — Covers CICS architecture, region management, resource definition, security, and problem determination. The architecture and topology content in this chapter aligns directly with exam objectives in the "Planning" and "Configuration" domains.

  • IBM Certified Solution Developer — CICS Transaction Server V5.x — Covers CICS application programming including pseudo-conversational design, channels and containers, and Liberty JVM server integration. Relevant to Chapters 14–16.