Overview of CICS TS

With CICS Transaction Server for z/OS (CICS® TS), IBM® continues to integrate CICS with a set of other supporting software, offering you a single product in place of several products. You order an entire set of software, integrated into one licensed product, instead of having to order new levels of some products but not others.

CICS TS is a member of the z/OS® family of MVS-based software servers, and is separately orderable as a single part number.

Within CICS TS, the levels of all products reflect the level of the CICS TS product itself. Even the word "product" has new meaning; for this reason the products that make up the base of CICS TS are called elements. CICS TS marks a significant change from the former piecemeal approach to the way you order and install CICS and its related software.

Getting all the elements in CICS TS installed and running is the subject of this book. Because the elements and features of CICS TS are integrated into a single package with compatible service levels, it is expected that you will migrate all elements and features of CICS TS at the same time.

Packaging

The packaging of CICS TS into a number of elements is similar to the packaging of z/OS. For its operating system environment, CICS TS requires z/OS, Version 1 Release 4. As you prepare to install CICS TS, keep in mind that you gain the benefits of a comprehensively tested environment when you install CICS TS.

In summary, the concept of CICS TS is to integrate a range of transaction server functions into a single product that delivers the function previously provided by a number of individual IBM software products. CICS TS consists of several base elements. The intent is that IBM ships, and you run, all elements at the single release level that IBM has subjected to comprehensive system testing.

Migrating from one release of CICS TS to the next is relatively simple, and the transition from your current systems to CICS TS should also be straightforward.

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