GT Software is shipping a new release in its Ivory Suite of products, providing SQL access to CA IDMS, a mainframe database. Ivory Data Hub v5.2.0 is designed to simplify SQL access to mainframe data, simplify problem diagnosis, and extend its integration into IBM’s Workload Manager (WLM).
“We have done a lot of research and development to include our ability to access CA IDMS via standard SQL access,” Eric Nelson, president of GT Software, told 5 Minute Briefing in an interview. The thing that makes it more special is that GT uses all of the newest methodologies that CA IDMS has so it is completely optimized to work within both the IBM environment and with the CA IDMS data space, he said. SQL access to CA IDMS enables customers to access their mainframe data via ODBC and JDBC. Meta-data definition mapping is performed with browser-based tooling, without the need to change data definitions in CA IDMS.
SQL access to CA IDMS is important for a number of reasons, Nelson states. One is the need to give users on distributed platforms easy access to IDMS data sources in order to create new and exciting mobile, web social applications. Mainframe systems can contain three to four decades of information, but often users are told by IT departments that it will take extensive time and money to provide them the information they need. “We provide those shops the ability to do it very easily,” says Nelson.
In addition he adds, GT has taken advantage of IBM’s Workload Management (WLM) System, optimizing its solution to work with what IBM has done. WLM extended integration allows the Sysplex Distributor to route inbound SQL and Advanced Communication Integration requests to the Ivory Data Hub server best suited to execute the SQL query.
Similarly, he adds, Ivory Data Hub v5.2.0, allows clients to selectively trace all activities and identify potential problems quickly in Ivory Data Hub by leveraging IBM’s System Logger. All log activity can be viewed in ISPF or from browser based tooling.
Another enhancement, the Advanced Communication Interface for Natural broker-based applications, allows distributed clients to communicate to existing Natural application programs via SQL requests from distributed systems.
For more information, visit www.gtsoftware.com.