Visara Master Console Center Installation - Manual (Page 34)

Visara Master Console Center
© Visara International 2007 34
Device Interface Preparation
Mainframe Coax
The first guideline when gen’ing consoles for use with the MCC is “don’t
do anything different than you do today when gen’ing for standard
operating system and/or VTAM consoles”. It is simplest to pretend you are
gen’ing for real (physical) 327x and NIP consoles. Thinking of the process
this way will simplify your understanding of the process of getting the
MCC up and running.
However, the instructions that follow (especially for the CONSOLxx
member of SYS1.PARMLIB for MVS systems) show certain parameters
that are required for proper operation. It is not necessarily possible just to
“clone” an existing CONSOLE definition statement from the existing
CONSOLxx member when making a console that will work properly with
the MCC.
The second guideline when determining the number of mainframe
operating consoles for use with the MCC is “1 per physical CPU”, plus “2
per MVS LPAR”, plus “1 per VM”, plus “1 per DOS”, plus “1 per VTAM
console”. The only exception occurs when multiple VTAM connections are
supported by Virtual Terminal products such as TPX and Super-Session.
In this case, the number of VTAM consoles required (if any) depends on
how many X-windows terminals will be in use simultaneously. For
example, using one coax port for VTAM 327x access when you have four
X-terminals attached to the MCC may be insufficient, as only one X-
Terminal user can use the coax connection at a time; they can all share it,
but serially.
To any mainframe operating system (once IPL’d), the MCC simply
appears to be one or more 327x type consoles For example, the MCC
SCON units are loaded at initialization time with firmware that can
emulate a 327x device protocol, a hardware console (e.g., 3090) protocol,
and so on. Each such emulation acts just like a dumb terminal or printer.
Therefore, configure the interfaces similarly to an operator’s OS console,
printer console, or VTAM terminal as appropriate (in other words, as a
327x). If the MCC is required to IPL, the MCC can appear as a “hardware
console”. The MCC hardware console support requires a separate
connection, as do all real (physical) hardware mainframe consoles,
regardless of the connection type. However, only one hardware console is
required per physical CPU, whereas a pair of consoles (one I/O console
and one printer console) is required for each MVS LPAR, or one
integrated I/O console for VM LPAR and/or DOS LPAR).