Ricardo Mendes on Host Integration Server | Rory

DoomBringer
Doom!

Oh man, this brings back the memories of working on CICS. COBOL! JCL!! OMG!

TimP

Awesome video. I do z/OS software support at work so it's cool to see it featured. While I don't do application development, I've had to pull data from the mainframe to Windows for macro programming on several occasions, so I know some of the pain involved.

I've been down to the data center a few times at work and seen the mainframes, DASD, and tape drives, etc. so I'd be very interested in seeing Microsoft's own mini-HIS data center (probably the only platforms in Redmond that MS doesn't do native application development for). I'd love to hear anything and everything else Ricardo has to say about HIS, so keep em' coming!

And if Ricardo is reading, you're obviously very familiar with IBM host environments, were you a sysprog in a previous life or have you acquired it through app development?

PeterF
Early Adopter

A new form of advertisement?

ricardom

Tim,

I was not a sysprog in a previous life (at least I don't recall being one Big Smile ). To keep the story short, sometime (not to say years) ago I was working on a project to integrate WinDNA applications (yeah, you heard correctly - there were no CLR at that time, unfortuntely) with mainframe applications. That was my first contact with HIS and since then, as I always was curius about other computer platforms, I start learning the internals of it. The end result is that currently I'm able to apply my .NET knowledge to design Mainfarme integration solutions as you saw on this short video.

You can expect additional HIS related content in the feature, as recording these videos is really fun! Big Smile

Take care,

Ricardo

MotoWilliams

Can this product enable a application or database activity (DB2) to initiate an event towards a windows application or database call? Or is this only to enable communication towards the legacy platforms.

DenvilleSteve

very well done Rory and Ricardo.

Can the web service wizard call into procedures exported from AS400 service programs? ( a SRVPGM being the functional equivalent of a windows DLL )

and oh, you can drop the name iSeries. The name for the last few years is "System i5" Wink

ricardom

Hi Motowillians,
Host Integration Server allows a .NET or COM object to be called from a Host Application running on IBM Mainframes or AS/400 computers thru the Transaction Integrator - Host Initiated Processing feature. Altough this feature was not designed to be called from DB2, if you have DB2 on one of the host platforms mentioned above, you can execute a host program from DB2 which in turn will can your .NET or COM component thru the Transaction Integrator - Host Initiated Processing feature.
Hope that this helps.
Thanks,
Ricardo

ricardom

Steve,
The answer is yes, by using the Transaction Integrator - Windows Initiated Processing feature.
Thanks,
Ricardo

raghur

Good overview of HIS.

I am currently reviewing HIS 2006 for mainframe connectivity. What I found so far is that while the programming model is very easy, the configuration part is the beast. Is this intrinsic to mainframe configuration or is it just HIS? There is a 66 page document on MSDN on how to configure a IP-DLC link (http://download.microsoft.com/download/a/f/f/affdc2aa-63ca-48c7-9431-c50736f24236/Configuring_IPDLC_Link_Service.doc). You mentioned that there is software that need to be installed on mainframe side but this configuration is monstrous. Please comment on this. Also my understanding is that you can only use IP DLC if the mainframe's network is configured with TCP/IP. If mainframe's network is configured with SNA, then you can not use IP DLC from HIS. Please confirm. I would also like to see the links to HIS configuration documents for non-IP DLC protocols.

The HIS screen scraping ability in the form of session integrator allows programmers to write code to get and set data on screens. Do you have plans to provide recording of this screens that would automate the programming aspects? If you know LegaSuite products, you would know what I mean. If HIS offers this kind of functionality, will its components need to be installed on mainframe.

Thanks.
Raghu/..