Recommendations to set up XCOM in a Sysplex
Article ID: 273875
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
At the moment most of our XCOM activity is directed at an XCOM instance on just one of our production systems .
We're currently looking at making changes so that we can (in general) operate in a way that provides better availability and this will include the use of XCOM.
So what are the XCOM recommendations these days in regards to having a more available configuration e.g. incoming XCOM transfers will not have to target a specific XCOM server.
We have a few challenges around system-specific automation for file transfers but that's another issue. So would appreciate any suggestions and you could call this positioning for better availability.
Environment
XCOM™ Data Transport® for z/OS
Resolution
In summary, the XCOM PLEXQ facility links multiple XCOM servers together using IBM Parallel Sysplex Signaling Services.
Here are the main relevant XCOM for z/OS documentation sections:
XCOM™ Data Transport® for z/OS 12.0 > Administrating > Best Practices > PLEXQ Facility
XCOM™ Data Transport® for z/OS 12.0 > Administrating > Understanding the PLEXQ
XCOM™ Data Transport® for z/OS 12.0 > Installing > Optional Configuration Procedures > Create a PLEXQ Environment
ADDITIONAL:
XCOM Engineering had this additional advice:
PLEXQ is the best way to manage multiple servers for LOCAL activity.
For REMOTELY initiated transfers, you should consider setting up a VIPA (Virtual IP Address) that supports multiple XCOM server instances.
No additional XCOM configuration is required to support multiple servers for incoming transfer requests.
VIPA uses WLM to determine which XCOM server should process each transfer request.
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