Windows 2000 and Mainframe Integration

Although this book does not provide any details about writing code or using products to integrate the processes of a Windows 2000 system with a mainframe, it does furnish decent high-level descriptions. In the chapter on input/output devices, the book explains how OS/390 channels and Windows 2000 device adapters operate, supplying some history along the way that explains why the systems handle input and output differently.

In general, this volume provides clear text and diagrams, but an all-too-apparent rush during editing makes itself more than evident. Instances of these oversights, mostly careless misspellings, include "..vial leased lines" for "via leased lines" and ASII for ASCII.

While not a code-level how-to, this book provides a broad overview of both OS/390 and Windows 2000 that is useful for understanding both operating systems. --John Keogh

Topics covered: The following topics are covered for both Windows 2000 and OS/390 (except the topics that are inherently Windows 2000 specific): History of the operating systems; overview of the operating systems; system architecture; memory management; multitasking (multiprogramming); i/o device management; file system; how programs are loaded and managed by the OS; job and task management; Windows Scripting Host; catalogs and directories (including, briefly, Windows 2000 Active Directory Service); DNS; printer management; operator control of OS features; security; networking; transaction, database, and message processing; communicating with OS/390 using terminal emulation or an SNA server; SNA subdomains; overview of integrating Windows 2000 and mainframe applications; using Mainframe Express to create a mainframe development environment on a workstation; scalability; and availability. In general, these topics are covered briefly and at a high level.