{"id":13097,"date":"2024-07-17T14:28:13","date_gmt":"2024-07-17T12:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itpatagonia.com\/?p=13097"},"modified":"2026-04-20T15:11:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T13:11:00","slug":"cics-como-mejorar-el-rendimiento-del-mainframe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itpatagonia.com\/en\/blog\/cics-como-mejorar-el-rendimiento-del-mainframe","title":{"rendered":"How to improve performance and increase mainframe availability by improving CICS configuration"},"content":{"rendered":"

CICS is probably the most successful software of all time<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the pillar of enterprise computing worldwide<\/a>. Millions of users unknowingly enable CICS every day, and if it were to disappear, the world economy would come to a standstill. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is crucial for the mainframe because it enables the efficient and reliable execution of high-performance enterprise applications, managing thousands of simultaneous transactions with high availability and security. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article we explain what CICS is, what its main features are, how it works and what its benefits are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also identify use cases and discuss some strategies to consider for improving mainframe performance and increasing availability by improving CICS configuration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is CICS?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Customer Information Control System Transaction Server<\/strong> (CICS\u00ae) is the transaction processing software for mainframe environments developed by IBM <\/a>for z\/OS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a powerful application server, used for processing large volumes of transactions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He CICS event processing provides a non-invasive methodology<\/a> to extend business applications. Events are defined and handled independently of business logic, extending or monitoring a business application without any modification. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CICS provides a Robust and scalable platform that facilitates interaction between applications and databases<\/strong>, which optimizes system performance and ensures that business operations are carried out without interruptions. An essential feature for Maintain business continuity and customer satisfaction<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is widely used in sectors such as insurance, banking, finance, retail and government, where reliability and high-performance processing of online transactions are critical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nowadays, in the world of social media - which many entrepreneurs use to publish their articles and market their products or services - or in the use of credit cards, Almost all transactions are processed using CICS<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this regard, it is worth noting that CICS transactions are identified by a four-character transaction ID. For example, the transaction ID \u201cDS01\u201d could represent a transaction showing the balance of a customer\u2019s account, or a banking transaction involving, for example, withdrawing money from an ATM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CICS transactions are special because of their speed, reliability, scalability and security<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is CICS Cobol?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Refers to the use of the Cobol programming language in a CICS environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When programming Cobol applications that will run under CICS, developers can take advantage of the transaction management and database access capabilities offered by CICS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This involves writing Cobol programs with CICS-specific commands to perform tasks such as reading and updating records in databases, managing communications between terminals, and handling transaction concurrency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This helps optimize performance and data integrity in critical business systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"C\u00f3mo
By improving the configuration of CICS, you can increase mainframe availability.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What are the main features of CICS?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The most important features of the Customer Information Control System Transaction Server<\/strong> are as follows: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Transaction management<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is highly efficient in handling large volumes of online transactions, which Accelerates response times and increases consistency in data processing<\/strong>. Additionally, it enables the coordination and management of distributed transactions that may involve multiple systems and resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Scalability and performance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CICS is designed to support mission-critical environments with high availability and disaster recovery requirements. In parallel, it has the ability to handle a large number of simultaneous transactions, making it Suitable for organizations with large volumes of data and users<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Security and control<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of authentication, CICS implements robust security mechanisms to ensure that only authorized users can access and execute transactions.<\/strong> Additionally, it provides extensive logging and auditing capabilities for monitoring and controlling transactional activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Compatibility and flexibility<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is compatible with various programming languages like Cobol<\/a>, PL\/I, Java, and C, allowing organizations to use the language that best suits their needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for interoperability, you can interact with a variety of systems and services<\/strong>, including databases, messaging systems, and web services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Application development and management<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

IBM provides tools such as CICS Explorer to facilitate the development, administration, and monitoring of these applications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also supports legacy application modernization, enabling integration with modern technologies such as RESTful APIs, web services, and microservices architectures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Support for integration and middleware<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facilitates integration with other enterprise systems and middleware, such as IBM MQ<\/a>, to ensure uninterrupted flow of data and processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does CICS work?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As explained from IBM<\/a>CICS event processing support enables users to identify and specify significant business events to be emitted by applications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CICS Event Binding Editor is used to create event specifications that are installed on the system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At run time, CICS uses event specifications to detect and capture events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each event specification describes how the data in the event payload is obtained from the data available when an event occurs in the application. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These event specifications are grouped into event bindings. The event binding is the unit for deploying, enabling, and disabling the CICS events it contains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An application analyst deploys event bindings to the system and enables event emissions. For each event binding, the CICS event processing (PS) adapter configuration is specified. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The adapter transforms the event data into a suitable output format and then uses a transport mechanism to direct the events so that they are available to potential event clients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For IBM Business Monitor and CICS integration, the output is in CBS (Common Base Events) format and the transport mechanism is WebSphere MQ. The bridge between WebSphere MQ and CEI (Common Event Infrastructure) on the IBM Business Monitor server is a WebSphere MQ binding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To better understand its scope and how to use it, IBM provides a series of manuals with programming and reference material<\/a> for Customer Information Control System, including its administration and operations and communications between products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"IBM
IBM provides tools such as CICS Explorer to facilitate the development, administration, and monitoring of these applications.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What are the benefits of CICS?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

CICS Transaction Server is an essential solution for organizations that require a Efficient, reliable and secure transactional processing in your mainframe environments<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why? Because it facilitates both the operation of legacy applications and integration and modernization with contemporary technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its main advantages include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n