Best Practices and Discretionary

In Engineering, organisations like the IEEE have created standards: documents describing 'best practices' in various areas. However, there is no such IEEE standard for mainframes and z/OS. But there are best practices.

In our first technical article, we explore z/OS best practices, and where to find them. In our second technical article we take a closer look at WLM and discretionary, exploring a problem, and discussing if discretionary is even a good idea.

Finally, in our opinion article David Stephens discusses how 'quiet times' are an opportunity to learn and prepare.

We hope you enjoy this issue.

technical: Where Can You Find Mainframe Best Practices?

If you're a z/OS systems programmer, you know that it is best practice to set the IEAOPTxx PARMLIB parameter HIPERDISPATCH to YES: it improves CPU efficiency. Storage administrators know that it's best practice to avoid IMBED and REPLICATE for catalogs. COBOL programmers know that USAGE DISPLAY should not be used for calculated variables: it affects performance. These "best practices" are guidelines created by experts and validated by experience. They help you avoid mistakes made by others, and are gold, especially if you're not an expert yourself.

But where are these best practices? There's no 'Best Practices for Mainframes' book. Or is there?

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technical: Is WLM Discretionary Really a Good Idea?

Let me tell you a story about one of my clients. I recommended that jobs be moved into WLM service classes with discretionary goals. Unfortunately, this affected their online transactions in the middle of the night. But how could this happen, and does this mean that discretionary is bad?

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opinion: Making The Most Of Quiet Times

As a consultant, my life can be divided into two 'seasons': busy times and quiet times. In busy times, I'm flat out juggling multiple projects, with little time for anything else. In quiet times, there's still work, but the urgency eases, and I get some hours free. This isn't unusual; most in IT experience some kind of busy / less-busy cycle. I see these quiet times as an opportunity. Let me explain why.

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