The mainframe is dead, long live the mainframe
The mainframe and the open world. Although the mainframe has been considered old-fashioned and outdated for many years, many companies cannot imagine IT without it. The advantages are obvious:
- A maximum of availability and performance
- Very high security
- stable, mature operating system environment
For the above reasons, the use of mainframes is still the method of choice, especially in business critical areas where sensitive data is processed and/or values are transferred.
No medal without a back
However, Security and stability come at a price: Connecting the centralized and decentralized worlds is usually not possible or only with a great deal of effort.
So what can be done when data for processes is needed that is only available decentrally? As an example, master data that is held in a central system such as ServiceNow, but is also required periodically on the mainframe for processing operations?
Authentification procedures as an obstacle
In the decentralized world, authentification mechanisms such as Kerberos, certificate-based processes or, in the simplest case, username-password procedures are being used to protect sensitive resources. Often, the use of these procedures alone prevents the mainframe from accessing decentralized databases.
The solution
NextStride’s LARS client provides a means to solve this problem. The software acts as a middleman between the worlds, as a gateway which knows the communication procedures and protection mechanisms of the decentralized world on the one hand and speaks the language of the mainframe on the other. In this way, it is easy to make data from the decentralized world available to the host.
And what if mainframe data is needed decentrally?
In this case, too, the LARS client is the tool of choice, because what works in the direction of the mainframe also works the other way around. Decentralized systems can be treated by the tool both as a source and as a sink.
Der Mainframe und die Open World
Which protocols are supported?
By default, the LARS client handles the following protocols:
- File (FTP/SFTP/FTPS)
- JDBC
- SMB
Extensibility
The LARS client is extensible. This means that required interfaces, which are not included in the standard, can be created to increase the software’s capabilities and adapt it to the needs.
Conclusion
Data can be made available transiently on the mainframe in DB2 tables or even datasets using the LARS client from a wide variety of platforms.