Z/OS components

The parts on the bottom of the diagram are the z/OS operating system components, and the parts in the top gray box are related to the application work that runs ON z/OS.  Note the key types of application workloads listed there:

•Transaction managers – It includes CICS, IMS TM, AND WebSphere App Server in this category.  z/OS is a key platform for high volume, high value transaction management

•Database – DB2 is the key database these days, but IMS DB and several 3rd party DBMSs like IDMS and ADABAS also fall into the database management category

•Batch – batch is one of the key differentiators on z/OS.  Contrary to popular belief, batch is NOT dead.  It remains a very important application model and will continue to do so as long as IT systems exist.  z/OS is well-suited for running batch because of the OS support via job scheduling, the Job Entry Subsystem, and the ability for System z to process very large volumes of data simultaneously.

•End user access – Users of z/OS applications can be what we think of as “green screen” users of the old 3270 technology.  But nowadays, it is rare for customers to build new systems using 3270.  Most new z/OS applications use web interfaces or SOA services interfaces, just as non z systems do.

And all of these application and database middleware and systems are architected to interlock with System z security software.