TCP/IP Diagnostic and Problem Determination Techniques for the z/OS Environment

Course: ZOSNET

Duration: 3 Days

Level: II

Course Summary

This course is for seasoned System Programmers and Analysts and unashamedly designed to challenge them. They leave the class competent and confident to analyze, diagnose and resolve TCP/IP problems in z/OS networks.

Others taking the course, with appropriate levels of aptitude and open minds, may also benefit, but should not be expected to reach the same standard.

The class is divided into three broad segments. The first reviews the material in lower-level classes about the concepts, principles and terminology behind TCP/ IP and its implementation under z/OS. To this is appended a detailed discussion of TCP/IP message formats.

The second segment presents the operator commands and procedures used for monitoring and controlling network conditions and for gathering diagnostic information. For in-house classes, this part can be customized to include the specific management applications the client uses.

The last segment of the course covers the tools and procedures for problem resolution. Wherever possible the instructor will make reference to the client's current and anticipated hardware and software configurations.

The key to the success of this class is the assisted practice with diagnostic captures of actual cases.

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Topics Covered In This Course

Review of TCP/IP Concepts and Principles

Provenance of the TCP/IP architecture
Evolution of IBM mainframe networking ??? convergence onto IP
Basic elements of TCP/IP ??? networks, hosts & routers
The 4 core protocols ??? TCP, UDP, IP, ICMP
Routing & routing tables
IP addressing ??? IPv4 and IPv6
Mapping addresses onto the physical network ??? ARP, RARP, BootP, DHCP
Virtual LANs
TCP/IP layers & message units
Name resolution in TCP/IP ??? DNS & local hosts files

TCP/IP Formats in detail

IP packet layout
TCP segment layout
UDP datagram layout
ICMP formats

Review of TCP/IP implementation under z/OS

z/OS TCP/IP structure
Reliance on VTAM and OSA cards
Virtual IP Addresses (VIPAs)
Shared and exclusive DLC (I/O driver) types
- XCF
- QDIO
- iQDIO (Hipersockets)
- Samehost
Customization
- Outline of system requirements
- The TCP/IP profile
- The TCPIP.DATA dataset
- VTAM TRL definitions
- /etc/services file
- The TCPIP catalogued procedure
SNA continuity ??? Enterprise Extender & TN3270E

Operating & ControllingTCP/IP under z/OS

General descriptions and particulars of diagnostic uses:
- START Command
- STOP Command
- DISPLAY Command
- MODIFY Command
- VARY Command
- TSO Command options
- UNIX Command options
Trace capture and formatting procedures
- IPCS
- Wireshark
- OEM products

Tools and Procedures for Problem Resolution

Classifications of problem and action checklists
General TCP/IP network diagnostic tools ??? ping & traceroute
Interpreting logs
- z/OS syslog
- TCPIP joblog
- syslogd
- application logs
An approach to problem analysis
Ad hoc demonstrations of clients??? actual tooling
Practice, practice, practice

Diagnostic Exercises

Sockets programming and socket states
FTP
Enterprise Extender (with IPCS & Wireshark)
SSL/TLS failures
TCP/IP log walkthrough
Protocol errors, retransmissions, duplicate acknowledgements
Others, ad hoc

What You Can Expect

At the end of this course, delegates will be able to:

List the questions to be asked to determine the bounds of a problem
Outline an appropriate course of action for tackling a problem, including specifications of the diagnostic data to be collected
Be able to capture logs and traces
Analyze logs and traces of TCP/IP network problems to:
- Determine the failing component
- Present evidence of the nature of the failure
Demonstrate familiarity with sources of further information and reference material

Who Should Take This Course

This course is for z/OS Communications Systems Programmers and Analysts who will diagnose problems in a z/OS Communication Server TCP/IP network.

Recommended Prerequisites

Ideally, attendees will have experience in traditional System Programming skills, but more important still are enjoyment of problem-solving and a determination to succeed.

To do the standard class as designed, each attendee will need access to a workstation with a current version of Wireshark installed

Training Style

The class is led by an instructor in person or by webcast from a coursebook that delegates receive in advance. The coursebook incorporates paper exercises and examples. Additionally, machine-readable files are distributed for the practical exercises*.

Significantly better value is achievable, however, if delegates can be coached through custom tasks hands-on in their own estates, using the real-life tooling.

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Related Courses

Code	Course Title	Duration	Level
TCPZOS	TCP/IP Implementation on z/OS	3 Days	II	Details
MFIPV6	IPv6 - Protocols, Implementation and Migration	2 Days	II	Details
HPREE	APPN/HPR and Enterprise Extender Workshop	3 Days	II	Details
NETJS	IBM Mainframe Networking Communications Server	5 Days	II	Details

Every student attending a Verhoef Training class will receive a certificate good for $100 toward their next public class taken within a year.

You can also buy "Verhoef Vouchers" to get a discounted rate for a single student in any of our public or web-based classes. Contact your account manager or our sales office for details.

Schedule For This Course
There are currently no public sessions scheduled for this course. We can schedule a private class for your organization just a couple of weeks from now. Or we can let you know the next time we do schedule a public session.

Notify me the next time this course is confirmed!

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