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MVS Concepts Lesson 1

History and Basics
by
Philip L. Yuson
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Learning Objective
By the end of the course, the learner will be able to:
1. Describe the general components of a computer system
2. Define virtual storage
3. Describe why multitasking is important
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Basic Components of a Computer
Processor Memory
All computers have a processor, memory and input
output devices.
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Basic Components of a Computer
The input/output devices are
interfaces that the user uses to
interact with the processor
The data can be used
immediately or stored and used
whenever it is needed.
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Basic Components of a Computer
Processor
The processor is responsible
for controlling everything in the
computer system.
It executes commands to
perform specific functions.
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Basic Components of a Computer
Memory
The memory contains data
that the processor uses
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Mainframe Computer
A mainframe computer functions the same way as a basic
computer.
It has a processor, it has memory and it also has lots of
input and output devices.
Its processor may not be as simple as a basic
computer
Input output devices are a lot more complex than a
basic computer
It is used in many organizations especially those that
require fast and large processing capacity.
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Operating System
Some basic functions in a computer system can be repeated.
Examples of these will be reading or writing to an I/O device,
managing memory or managing the workload within a system.
These functions are controlled by programs that directly
operate the processor and hardware. These programs are
called operating systems.
An operating system therefore is a set of programs that provide
common functions to other programs. It also controls how the
processor operates and manages tasks.
The mainframe operating system has undergone several
iterations. It is currently called z/OS. It used to have several
versions but the more popular name is MVS which stands for
Multiple Virtual Storage.
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Virtual Storage
Processor Memory
Remember this diagram? The memory is limited by its
physical size.
In a PC, when you buy 4 GB of memory, that is the
physical size of your memory.
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Virtual Storage
The mainframe
operating system
allows you to
increase your
storage to say 8GB
or more even if you
have a physical
memory of 4GB.
MVS can have
virtual storage of up
to 2
63
Bytes.
The resulting
available storage is
called virtual
storage.
4 GB
Real Memory
2
63
B
Virtual Storage
Transformed to
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Virtual Storage
For our course, it is sufficient to say that the
operating system manages the resources that
allow you access to memory that is more than
your physical memory.
4 GB
Real Memory
8 GB
Virtual Storage
Transformed to
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This virtual storage is allocated between all
the tasks running in the system
Single Virtual Storage
Other operating systems
may be able to give you
virtual storage, but this
virtual storage is allocated
among all the tasks in the
system.
Let us say you have 1000
tasks running in your
system, and your system
gives you a virtual storage
of 4GB, that 4GB is split
between the 1000 tasks
running.
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Multiple Virtual Storage
MVS does not only give
you virtual storage, it
gives you multiple virtual
storage.
If you have 1000 jobs in
your system, each of
these jobs can
theoretically have 2
63
B of
virtual storage!
Each job has its own
address space.
4 GB
Virtual Memory
4 GB
Virtual Memory
4 GB
Virtual Memory
8 GB
Virtual Storage
THATS A LOT OF
STORAGE FOR ONE
JOB!!!
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Multitasking
MVS allows more than one program to execute
at any time. This feature is called multitasking.
Multi-tasking is managed by the operating
system.
4 GB
Virtual Memory
4 GB
Virtual Memory
4 GB
Virtual Memory
32 GB
Virtual Storage
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Multitasking
This allows the computer to process more
than one program at the same time. On the
PC, we see this happening. You may be
surfing the web and later, be typing an email
while your browser is still open.
On the mainframe, you can have several
programs running concurrently. One could be
managing your transactions, another could be
processing batch jobs while another could be
processing your transactions.
This maximizes the use of your computer
system.
Manage
Transaction
Batch job
Process
transaction
MVS System
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How MVS Manages Work
MVS manages work in Jobs. A job is a single unit of work. It
can be made up of several programs executed in sequence.
Jobs are controlled using job control cards. These cards are
coded in Job Control Language (JCL).
When working on the mainframe, you will often hear the term
JCL.
JCL is referred to the language used to create the job control
cards. It is also used to refer to the job control cards itself.
The subsystem that manages the entry and output of jobs is
called the Job Entry Subsystem (JES). The more popular job
entry subsystem is called JES2.
Job
JCL
JES2
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Types of Jobs
There are several types of jobs in MVS. All these need JCLs to
execute:
1. Started Task (STC)
a. These are tasks that are automatically started by MVS when
it starts up or are started by the operators from the MVS
console
2. TSO User (TSU)
a. These are jobs that control the interactive sessions of
developers. These are started when a user logs on the the
MVS system.
3. Batch Job (JOB)
a. These are the regular jobs that are submitted by users
through TSO or internally from another job. These require
JES2 initiators to execute. These are often called batch
jobs.
STC
TSU
Batch
JOB
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Job Control
In the early incarnations of MVS:
1. Input is done using punched cards through a physical card
reader.
2. These cards have 80 columns. This is why all JCLs are coded in
80 column records.
3. The cards specify:
a. The sequence of programs to be executed
b. conditions for executing the program
c. The files used by these programs
Today, there are no more physical card readers. JES reads these
cards through a logical reader.
Sample punch
card
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Job Entry
1. When a job is submitted:
a. JES checks the JCL for syntax
errors
b. If there are no errors, the job is
queued in the input queue
2. Every batch jobs has a class and priority
JES2 check for
syntax
JCL
Job Input
Queue
Submit to JES2
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JES Initiators
Initiators are controlled by JES2. These are basically system
started tasks that look at the input queue and process jobs
based on their class.
1. An initiator can process jobs in one or more classes.
2. When an initiator is available, it scans the input queue of a
specific class. If there are jobs within that class, the job
with the highest priority is executed.
3. If there are no jobs within the class, the initiator is left idle
and will wait until there is a job in the classes that it
processes.
Process
jobs
based on
class
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Job Initiation
1. If an initiator finds a job in a class that it processes, it will
initiate the job
2. When it initiates the job, the initiator will check to make sure
that all the files are not on hold. If the files are archived, the
initiator will send a request to recall these files so that the job
can use it.
3. The initiator sets up the environment for the step to execute.
a. Before it passes control to the program in the step, the
initiator will allocate the files used by the program.
i. If files exist and are consistent with what is
specified in the JCL, the initiator will proceed to
pass control to the program.
ii. If there is an error in the file specification, the
initiator will terminate processing of the job.
Job Input
Queue
Initiator
Initiator
Initiator
Initiator
Initiator
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Job Execution
1. When control is passed to the program, the program will
run.
2. There are three ways the program may end:
a. Normal End. This happens when the program has
no errors. It will end with a zero return code.
b. Error. This happens when the program has errors
that it can handle. This normally will cause a non-
zero return code.
c. Abnormal End (ABEND). This happens when a
program encounters an error it cannot handle.
Sometimes, the system will cause an ABEND on
error conditions.
Normal
Error
ABEND
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Job Printout
1. In a normal situation, programs will print out reports. In
a PC environment, the reports may be printed
immediately since the printer is probably used by one
person.
2. In a multiple user environment, the reports are placed
in a SPOOL.
3. Reports are placed in a class within the SPOOL.
4. Printers are defined to process outputs from specific
classes in the SPOOL. Reports are printed once the
printers are available.
5. If a report is not printed, it remains in the SPOOL until it
is purged.
Program
SPOOL
Output