MVS means Multiple Virtual Storage. MVS is the operating system intended for big IBM computers (or compatible computers).
The most important companies must process huge quantities of data accessed by thousands and thousands of people.
MVS, the most complex of all operating systems, was built by IBM in the 70's
to address that need.
Note that the new name for MVS is OS/390, and that the new name for OS/390 is z/OS (zee O S)...
MVS and mainframes
(there is also a separate page for my own technical articles,
for some mainframe sites I recommend,
and for utilities):
MVS Systems Programmers... A Dying Breed?
A discussion that took place in the IBM mainframes newsgroup (hosted here).
Homework: Negative side of MVS?
Another discussion that took place in the IBM mainframes newsgroup on January 2000 (hosted here).
Learn from Other's Mistakes
Another discussion that took place in the IBM mainframes newsgroup on January 2001 (hosted here).
MVS... a long history. A history of IBM's most powerful
and reliable operating system. Updated 15 December 2002.
What's a mainframe, on
Mainframeforum.
Why Mainframes Rarely Crash (hosted here).
Comparing
Comparing MVS and UNIX Concepts and Terms (hosted here).
Is the mainframe just a high performance PC ? (hosted here).
Comparing the Intel architecture and the S/390 architecture (hosted here).
Guess why
Unix cannot rival MVS ?
Glossaries
The
IBM Dictionary of Computing is "an ever-evolving document that defines technical terms used
in the documentation for many IBM products".
Xephon had also an excellent mainframe-oriented
glossary, based
on their "Handbook of IBM Terminology", but it is not accessible any longer...
Software Diversified Services has a good
Glossary of Mainframe Industry.
Books or Courses
MVS
Systems Programming by David Elder-Vass (rev up your MVS skills!) gives in-depth information for specialists
(parts of a published book).
MVS: An Introduction,
from Bob DuCharme's Operating System Handbook
(Fake Your Way Through Minis and Mainframes) can give you an MVS overview.
MVS Performance Management, OS/390 Edition, by Stephen L. Samson.
Available as a zip file on Jim Keohane's site.
Or you may buy the more recent
z/OS Edition.
ABCs of OS/390 System Programming, 5 excellent volumes,
available on www.redbooks.ibm.com.
Search criteria: sg245597, sg245652, sg245653, sg245654, sg245655.
File size from 5 to 10 MBytes.
Introduction to OS/390, by the University of Tubingen.
You may telnet to some mainframe (OS/390 or VM) sites !
Mainframe site of the
Library of Congress.
Mainframe site of the
University of Utah ACS.
Mainframe site of the
Yale University Library.
Mainframe site of the
Louisiana Online State University.
Mainframe site of the
Fort Hays State University.
Mainframe site of the
Harvard University.
IBM SSL test site (only SSL !).
(en français) Mainframe site of the
Ecole Polytechnique.
Other resources
Dave Alcock's Green Card Collection is a big jump in the past
of IBM mainframes.
Mainframes are cool, big iron computers are not dead.
A Datamation article on IBM's site.
Reports of the mainframe's extinction have been greatly exaggerated.
What is MVS on
Wikipedia.
What is a mainframe ?
Beginners can read
an introduction to JCL (job control language) and
an introduction to TSO/SPF.
Google web directory :
Computers > Software > Operating Systems > Mainframe > IBM
Mainframe OS
and
mainframe hardware
at dmoz.
The "Tell Me
about Tapes" page, with a table of existing tape devices.
No kidding ! You have now
Linux for S/390 !
An interesting paper about VM history :
VM
and the VM Community: Past, Present, and Future, by Melinda Varian.
Definition of the mainframe :
an obsolete device still used by thousands of obsolete companies serving
billions of obsolete customers and making huge obsolete profits for their obsolete
shareholders.
And this year's run twice as fast as last year's.
(Thanks to Isham Research's
Devil's IT Dictionary).
CICS, IMS, DB2...
MVS (renamed OS/390 in the 90's) is rarely used alone. CICS, IMS, DB2 and many other components
give it its strength.
A CICS Primer on Cuspy's page.
CICS - Concepts de base (French).
The Evolution of CICS, a good historical perspective.
Bob Yelavich's
web site has CICS links. Bob Yelavich is an ex-IBMer, who knows CICS history.
IMS history in
an IBM journal : "IMS celebrates thirty years as an IBM product".
Introduction to SNA.
Other systems
OS/2 Warp Frequently Asked Questions List. I used OS/2 when working on a P390...
Windows NT Faq (version
française de la FAQ Savilltech). The Windows NT FAQ site is
www.ntfaq.com.
La FAQ Unix de
Marc Schaefer est instructive.
Windows95, definition : 32 bit extensions and a graphical shell for a 16 bit patch to an
8 bit operating system originally coded for a 4 bit microprocessor,
written by a 2 bit company that can't stand 1 bit of competition.
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