The following information is reproduced from the IBM WSC Flash document number 9718.
TITLE: WSC FLASH 9718: OSA-2 ENHANCEMENTS AVAILABLE
DOCUMENT ID G023691 UNCLASSIFIED
Open Systems Adapter 2 (OSA-2) Systems Network Architecture (SNA)
enhancements are being made available earlier than previously announced.
The enhancements are:
o SNA/APPN enhancements for OS/390, MVS/ESA, VM/ESA, and VSE/ESA
- Enhanced availability: load balancing, redundancy, and overflow
- Enhanced connectivity: increased Physical Unit (PU) support
(from 255 PUs per port to 2047 PUs per port).
o Support for ACF/VTAM for VSE/ESA networks
NOTE: These enhancements do not pertain to OSA-1.
LOAD BALANCING, REDUNDANCY, AND OVERFLOW ________________________________________ LOAD BALANCING: A single Medium Access Control (MAC) address can now be defined for attached OSA-2 SNA/APPN Physical Units (PUs), even though connections may be via multiple physical ports. This support is offered for source-route bridged environments only (Token-Ring and FDDI). The number of sessions established through a port is monitored, and user session loads are evenly distributed across the equally configured ports. REDUNDANCY: A secondary path between the LAN workstation and the host system can now be configured. If the primary path becomes unavailable, the secondary path will receive the LAN traffic. This increases system availability and simplifies network management. OVERFLOW: User sessions flow through the primary OSA-2 port until the session capacity has been reached. Additional user sessions will automatically flow to the next OSA-2 port. Since all user workstations are identically configured, network administration is simplified and the network becomes more scalable. New users can be added non-disruptively. Load balancing, redundancy, and overflow support is provided by PTFs for OSA/SF as follows: o OS/390 and MVS - OW20205/UW34618 03/31/97 o VM/ESA - OW23952/UW37028 03/31/97 o VSE/ESA - Provided with VSE/ESA V2.2.1 04/29/97
INCREASED PHYSICAL UNIT (PU) SUPPORT (VIA OSA/SF):
__________________________________________________
The architecture has been changed to allow up to a maximum of 2047 PUs per
physical port to be defined for OSA-2 Ethernet, Token-Ring and FDDI features
instead of the current 255 PUs per port. This enhancement is available for
currently installed features, as well as new installations. Actual
connectivity may vary based upon user workloads.
Increased Physical Unit (PU) Support is provided by PTFs for OSA/SF as
follows:
o OS/390 and MVS - OW23429/UW37210 03/31/97
o VM/ESA - OW24952/UW37028 03/31/97
o VSE/ESA - PQ03091/UQ04224 04/29/97
Increased Physical Unit (PU) Support is provided by PTFs for ACT/VTAM as
follows:
o ACF/VTAM for OS/390 and MVS
- VTAM 4.1 OW14043/UW24904
- VTAM 4.2 OW14043/UW24905
- VTAM 4.3 OW14043/UW24906
o ACF/VTAM VM/ESA
- VM60877/UV59834
o ACF/VTAM VSE/ESA
- DY44347/UD50254
VSE/ESA - SNA SUPPORT
_____________________
OSA-2 and OSA/SF support is delivered via VSE/ESA Version 2 Release 2.1. This
announcement of VSE/ESA support satisfies the Statement of General Direction
contained in Hardware Announcement 196-194, and Hardware Announcement
196-193, dated September 10, 1996.
The OSA-2 feature provides ACF/VTAM for VSE/ESA host applications with direct
access to Ethernet, Token-Ring, and FDDI LANs and Asynchronous Transfer Mode
(ATM) Forum-compliant LAN emulation networks.
OSA/SF is available:
o As a non-exclusive element of OS/390 Release 1 or above (5645-001)
o As a separate program product, S/390 Open Systems Adapter Support
Facility Version 1 Release 2 for MVS/ESA 4.3 or above (5655-104)
o As a facility of VM/ESA Version 2 Release 2.0 (5654-030)
o As a component of VSE Central Functions 6.1.1 in VSE/ESA Version 2
Release 2.1 (5690-VSE).
MORE INFORMATION
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Announcements 297-043, 297-040