IBM Corp has released enhanced versions of its mainframe operating systems and two new products: VisualLift, which enables users of MVS, VM and VSE to update 3270-based applications while working at the personal computer level; and Distributed Security Manager, which provides a common graphical user interface on OS/2 clients for adminstering resources in client-server environments. The launches follow the debut of IBM’s standalone 9672 R-series mainframes (CI No 2,498) and its six models of the System/390 Parallel Enterprise Server (CI No 2,500). The mainframes and enhanced software are part of IBM’s fightback to counter the rise of client-server environments. IBM, of course, likes to refer to its mainframes as servers, as with the S/390 Parallel Enterprise Server, which can be somewhat confusing if the server is being used for batch processing. New versions of VM/ESA, VSE/ESA and MVS/ESA are all available and at lower prices if used on the smaller processors. IBM says the combinations create a low-cost, highly-efficient system that can be used as mainframes in a client-server environment, as stand-alone processors or as peer nodes with other systems, large or small. The other releases are LAN Resource Extension and Services, Lanres/MVS 1.3 and Lanres/VM 1.3; LAN File Services, LFS/ESA 1.1.2; and IBM Data Interfile Transfer, Testing and Operations Utility – DITTO/ESA 1.0. In VisualLift end users access the host through either OS/2 or Windows and point and click to invoke host applications. A 3270 panel can be transformed into a Windows-type screen without actually altering the host application. The operating system upgrades are MVS/ESA 5.2 with a system logger option designed to exploit the coupling facility and provide subsystems in a Parallel Sysplex mainframe; VM/ESA V.2 which provides access to application available on a Distributed Computing Environment and Posix and has a graphical user interface; VSE/ESA V.2 which has transparent access to host resources, back up and recovery of client resources. Not all these releases are available yet, but will be by April 1995.
