VSAM Introduction & Tuning Workshop

 LENGTH OF COURSE:
 3 Days

DESCRIPTION: This course presents the basic organization of VSAM files, stressing the use of Access Method Services facilities to create and manipulate VSAM Clusters. The material presented reflects the current releases of VSAM, ICF, OS/390, and SMS. In addition, the course covers factors that affect VSAM performance and resource utilization, examines the interaction of critical VSAM components and discusses methods of ensuring an efficient VSAM environment.

PREREQUISITES: Knowledge of file concepts and access methods is required. A basic understanding of the OS/390 or VSE environment is desirable.

INSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES: A combination of Lecture and Labs (when/where available).

AUDIENCE

Applications and Systems Personnel who are required to understand, implement, and access VSAM files. This course is designed for Applications Programmers and Systems Programmers who need a basic understanding of VSAM and performance implications.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS:
  • Identify the characteristics of VSAM
  • Differentiate among the four types of VSAM data sets
  • Identify the terminology relevant to VSAM
  • Use the hierarchy of space organization within VSAM
  • Describe how control interval and control area splits occur
  • Discern the function of the VSAM master and user catalogs and the Integrated Catalog Facility (ICF)
  • Create master and user catalogs
  • Interpret the fields listed on the output of the LISTCAT command
  • Create and load a VSAM cluster
  • Create and load a VSAM alternative index
  • Use the VSAM backup/recovery, catalog, and security facility
  • Access VSAM files from a COBOL program
  • VSAM concepts and features
  • VSAM internal structure


  • VSAM data set types, structures, and attributes
  • Access methods services
  • Alternate indexes
  • Integrated Catalog Facilities
  • Data set integrity and recovery
  • VSAM options and considerations
  • COBOL access to VSAM files
  • Generation Data Groups (GDG)
  • Concepts of fine tuning
  • Control Interval (CI) and Control Area (CA) splits
  • Glossary and features of fine tuning
  • Intervals of an Input/Output
  • Physical storage media
  • Cache DASD controllers
  • CI size and record size
  • Space allocation parameters
  • IMBED and REPLICATE
  • Techniques for using free space


  • Other performance-related parameters
  • Space estimation for data sets
  • Buffer management
  • CICS environments - NSR and LSR


FROM OUR STUDENT EVALUATIONS...
"Wonderfully informative; peppy attitude lends itself to keep the material interesting; very pleasant individual; many interesting industry-perspective stories."

J. Mark Salvtillo
CCC Information Services

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