Government and Infrastructure Customers are Looking to Modernize Their Crucial Mainframe Data on Highly Available, Scalable, and Secure Cloud Databases

by Joseph Brady, Director of Business Development / Cloud Alliance Leader at Treehouse Software, Inc.

Everyone has seen the recent headlines about how aging and outdated technology nearly crippled the airline industry. As a result, modernizing and securing information systems has taken center stage and top priority again. Even before the airline IT disaster, the COVID-19 crisis was a critical event that forced modernization to become a strategic imperative for government, supply chain, healthcare, utilities/energy, financial, and defense industries. All of these sectors have critical data residing on a variety of long-standing mainframe databases (often still updated by COBOL applications), including Db2, VSAM, IMS/DB, Adabas, IDMS, Datacom, and sequential files. Unlocking the value of this important data can be difficult, because the data is often utilized by numerous interlinked and dependent programs that have been in place for decades.

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“The Federal Aviation Administration’s 30-year-old hazard-notification system recently had its first crash ever to cause a nationwide grounding of flights. The incident is focusing a bright light on the outdated federal computer systems that, IT experts say, are increasingly vulnerable to failure and cyberattack.” – Source: Christian Science Monitor Daily

Read the entire article here: Bringing US up to code: How outdated software has become a safety issue

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As a result of this renewed push to modernize IT systems, Treehouse Software has been seeing a significant increase in requests from Cloud platform partners, government agencies, and other infrastructure customers to evaluate modernization solutions that replicate data, in real time, on highly available and secure Cloud-based databases, data warehouses, etc.. Fortunately, Treehouse has the deep mainframe expertise and software tools to help. 

Since 1983, Treehouse Software has been working with many of these enterprises with mainframes in the areas of data migration, security, control, auditing, performance enhancement, etc.. Treehouse has also expanded its capabilities to focus on new requirements for modernizing legacy mainframe databases on various Cloud and open systems platforms with the tcVISION mainframe data replication product.  tcVISION is the primary tool  in Treehouse Software’s “data-first” approach, whereby immediate data replication to the Cloud helps customers get on the fast track to meeting spikes in demand for vital information, especially in times of crisis.

Some examples of popular Cloud databases supported by tcVISION are Amazon RDS PostgreSQL, Google Cloud SQL for SQL Server, and Azure SQL-Database. A complete list of data sources and targets that are supported by tcVISION can be found here.

Replicating mainframe data on the Cloud can happen within days during a tcVISION Proof of Concept (POC)…

After setup and installation, a tcVISION POC is approximately 10 business days, with the customer providing a small subset of data and use case for the POC. A Treehouse Software technician will assist in downloading and installing tcVISION and conducting a limited-scope implementation of a tcVISION application. This application uses a small subset of customer data and executes on customer facilities, usually in a non-production environment. A document is provided beforehand for the customer to fill out their requirements, use cases, and agenda for the POC.

By the end of the 10-day POC, customers can replicate and test mainframe data on their Cloud target database.  It can happen that fast!

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Further Reading…

Treehouse Software and AWS published a blog about tcVISION’s Mainframe-to-AWS data replication capabilities:

https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/apn/real-time-mainframe-data-replication-to-aws-with-tcvision-from-treehouse-software/

Treehouse Software and Confluent recently co-authored a blog on modernizing on Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Environments:

https://www.confluent.io/blog/modern-data-management-for-hybrid-and-multi-cloud-architectures/

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Contact Treehouse Software for a tcVISION Demo Today…

Simply fill out our tcVISION Demonstration Request Form and a Treehouse representative will be contacting you to set up a time for your requested demonstration.

Some are calling mainframes “dinosaurs”, but many of us see that as a good comparison!

by Joseph Brady, Director of Business Development and Cloud Alliance Leader at Treehouse Software, Inc.

Since the dinosaur analogy has been used so much to describe mainframe computer systems in recent years, I would like to use this blog to take a look at the parallels of dinosaurs and mainframes as it relates to the current buzz about modernization on the Cloud.

Of course, dinosaurs and mainframes have been around for a long time and are extremely resilient and successful. I especially say “are” in relation to dinosaurs, because many are not extinct at all, and the fossil record shows that several types have adapted to the changing world by evolving into birds. Additionally, during the age of dinosaurs, they branched off into countless varieties during a span of about 165 million years – hardly a failed species. Also, like the dinosaurs, the mainframe has thrived and survived for over six decades and is continuing to adapt – albeit not nearly as long as the reign of the dinosaurs, but an impressive run, nonetheless.

And the mainframe isn’t finished yet! Mainframe systems are still very much in use, running major banking processes, healthcare systems, government IT services, and critical business operations of many Global 2000 companies. As a matter of fact, IBM has been reporting growth year after year, as the IBM Z platform continues to see important innovations, such as with Cloud-native development capabilities, as well as impressive improvements in processing power.

Looking up and moving forward…

As with the dinosaurs who did not fear looking to the clouds and taking wing to ensure survival, the new breed of mainframers envision bold and exciting possibilities in Cloud computing. Many see remarkable opportunities for business advantage by modernizing their mainframe environments. This modernization includes replicating mainframe data on Cloud platforms in order to quickly capitalize on the latest Cloud services, such as analytics, auto scaling, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), high availability, advanced security, etc., or to move data to a variety of newer Cloud databases, streaming services, container services, and much more. With the proper data replication technology and planning, all of this modernization can occur while keeping the legacy mainframe environment active as long as it is needed!

The IBM Z mainframe isn’t going anywhere, and with visionary and daring leadership, it can continue to evolve and adapt to whatever develops in the Cloud… and beyond.

Ready to move forward, adapt, and evolve? Treehouse Software is here to help!

Treehouse Software is your partner on your journey into future mainframe modernization plans. With our “data first” approach, we can help accelerate digital transformation and successfully leverage Cloud and Hybrid Cloud initiatives on the IBM Z platform, storing sensitive data on a private Cloud or local data center, and simultaneously leveraging leading technologies on a managed public Cloud.

Through an innovative changed data capture (CDC) technology, our tcVISION product tracks and captures changes occurring in any mainframe application data, and then publishes them to a variety of Cloud targets. The customer moves only the right data to the right place at the right time – as much, or as little as they want.

The tcVISION data replication solution has a modular design, which enables it to support mass data load from one source to one or more targets, as well as continuous data exchange processes in real-time via CDC. This modular architecture and the provided APIs gives customers unlimited future potential for continued evolution, and use of new and emerging technologies.

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Want to see tcVISION in action?

You can schedule a live, online demonstration that shows tcVISION replicating data from the mainframe to a Cloud target database. Just fill out the Treehouse Software tcVISION Demonstration Request Form and a Treehouse representative will contact you to set up a time for your tcVISION Mainframe-to-Cloud data replication demonstration.

Should You Stay, or Should You Go? You Can Do Both by Incrementally Replicating Your Mainframe Data on the Cloud While Keeping Both Sides Synchronized

by Joseph Brady, Director of Business Development and Cloud Alliance Leader at Treehouse Software, Inc.

Many of Treehouse Software’s enterprise customers are not close to considering the retirement of their mainframe systems, but instead have long-term data replication projects, or want to indefinitely have their legacy systems co-exist with a new Cloud platform. These organizations are looking for solutions that allow their legacy mainframe environment to continue while replicating data – in real time and bi-directionally – to take advantage of the latest Cloud services, such as analytics, auto scaling, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), high availability, advanced security, etc., or move data to a variety of newer Cloud databases, streaming services, container services, and more.

The Transition Doesn’t Have to be a Sudden Big Bang

Much of an enterprise’s mission critical mainframe data is stored in legacy mainframe databases, and the cost to maintain these databases is high.  An added complication is that the data is utilized by many interlinked and dependent programs that have been in place for many years, and sometimes decades. Unlocking the value of this legacy data is also difficult due to many very different types of mainframe databases (e.g., Db2, Adabas, CA Datacom, CA IDMS, etc.).

Immediate data replication on the Cloud is enabling government, healthcare, supply chain, financial, and a variety of public service organizations to meet spikes in demand for vital information, especially in times of crisis. The globalization of markets, increase of data volumes, 24×7 operations, changing business conditions, and high demand for up-to-date information also requires new data transfer and exchange solutions for heterogeneous IT architectures.

The Data-First Solution

Treehouse Software is here to help enterprise mainframe customers accelerate digital transformation and successfully leverage Hybrid Cloud initiatives on the IBM Z platform, storing sensitive data on a private Cloud or local data center and simultaneously leveraging leading technologies on a managed public Cloud. Our tcVISION replication solution focuses on changed data capture (CDC) when transferring information between mainframe data sources and modern databases and applications. Through an innovative technology, changes occurring in any mainframe application data are tracked and captured, and then published to a variety of targets. The customer moves only the right data to the right place at the right time – as much, or as little as they want.

The tcVISION replication solution has a modular design, which enables it to support mass data load from one source to one or more targets, as well as continuous data exchange processes in realtime via CDC. This modular architecture and the provided APIs gives customers unlimited potential for growth and use of new technologies.

tcVISION allows bi-directional, real-time data synchronization of changes on either platform to be reflected on the other platform (e.g., a change to a PostgreSQL table is reflected back on mainframe). The customer can then modernize their application on the cloud, open systems, etc. without disrupting the existing critical work on the legacy system.

In the following example high level architecture diagram, bi-directional data replication between Db2 z/OS and AWS using tcVISION is shown:

tcVISION utilizes a Windows-based GUI Control Board, which is ideal for non-mainframe programmers.  While mainframe experts are required in the design/architecture phase and occasionally during implementation, the requirement for their involvement is limited. The tcVISION Control Board acts as a single point of administration, data modeling and mapping, script generation, and monitoring. Comprehensive monitoring and logging of all data movements ensure transparency across all data exchange processes. In the following example, the mainframe can be seen communicating to an Amazon EC2-based tcVISION replication manager. The tcVISION Control Board shows the user a graphical representation of this replication:

Additionally, tcVISION supports complex data replication scenarios between multiple data sources and targets, as seen here:

With tcVISION, data replication projects can be implemented within a few of months, depending on the complexity of the project.  This includes the proof of concept and design/architecture stages.  After these stages are complete, the customer can start the first production implementation sprint, immediately providing business value.  We suggest successive agile sprints to allow for incremental deployment of additional file replication, sprint by sprint.

Supported Sources and Targets

tcVISION supports a vast array of integration scenarios throughout the enterprise, providing easy and fast data replication for Mainframe-to-Cloud and Open Systems application modernization projects.

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Contact Treehouse Software for a tcVISION Demo Today…

Just fill out the Treehouse Software tcVISION Demonstration Request Form and a Treehouse representative will contact you to set up a time for your tcVISION demonstration. This will be a live, on-line demonstration that shows tcVISION replicating data from the mainframe to a Cloud target database.

Video: Mainframe-to-Azure Data Replication with tcVISION from Treehouse Software

by Joseph Brady, Director of Business Development and Cloud Alliance Leader at Treehouse Software, Inc.

Treehouse Software was recently invited by Microsoft Azure Mainframe Modernization technical teams to do a presentation and demonstration of tcVISION, our innovative Mainframe-to-Cloud data replication software product.

In this video, we show an overview of the product, then demonstrate replication of mainframe data on Azure SQL:

Click Here to View the Video

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Contact Treehouse Software Today for a tcVISION Demonstration…

No matter where you want your mainframe data to go – the Cloud, Open Systems, or any LUW target – tcVISION from Treehouse Software is your answer.

For more information, please contact customer sales at +1.724.759.7070, email us at sales@treehouse.com, or fill out the Treehouse Software Product Demonstration Request Form and a Treehouse representative will contact you to set up a time for your online tcVISION demonstration.

Video: Mainframe-to-AWS Data Replication with tcVISION from Treehouse Software

by Joseph Brady, Director of Business Development and Cloud Alliance Leader at Treehouse Software, Inc.

Treehouse Software was recently invited by AWS mainframe modernization technical teams to do a presentation and demonstration of tcVISION, our innovative Mainframe-to-Cloud data replication software product.

In this video, Chris Rudolph, Treehouse Software’s tcVISION Product Manager shows an overview of the product, then demonstrates replication of mainframe data on AWS RDS for PostgreSQL:

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Contact Treehouse Software Today for a tcVISION Demonstration…

No matter where you want your mainframe data to go – the Cloud, Open Systems, or any LUW target – tcVISION from Treehouse Software is your answer.

If interested in more information, please contact customer sales at +1.724.759.7070, email us at sales@treehouse.com, or fill out the Treehouse Software Product Demonstration Request Form and a Treehouse representative will contact you to set up a time for your online tcVISION demonstration.

Mainframe VSAM Change Data Capture (CDC) to Cloud and Open Systems with tcVISION from Treehouse Software

by Joseph Brady, Director of Business Development and AWS and Cloud Alliance Leader at Treehouse Software, Inc.

Treehouse Software is the worldwide distributor of tcVISION, the innovative software product that allows immediate data replication between an impressive array of Mainframe sources and Cloud and Open Systems targets. This blog focuses on tcVISION‘s support of VSAM mainframe data sources (batch and CICS on z/OS, and CICS on z/OS and z/VSE).

tcVISION performs VSAM Change Data Capture (CDC) either via its own “DBMS-Extensions”, or via IBM’s CICS VR product. tcVISION has separate DBMS-Extensions to capture changes from CICS (using the CICS External Interface) and batch (via a JCL wrapper). All captured changes, regardless of whether they are performed by tcVISION or CICS VR are written to the z/OS Logstream on the mainframe. tcVISION then reads the Logstream and transfers the transactions to a tcVISION server running in the Cloud or on-prem, which is responsible for queueing, transforming, and applying the captured changes to the specified target.

Additionally, when planning VSAM CDC there are a number of operational items to consider, such as volume of batch transactions, data changes that occur during periods of time while the VSAM file is offline, etc.

In this instructional video, tcVISION is shown capturing changes from VSAM on z/OS and writing them to SQL Server on Windows:

 

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Contact Treehouse Software Today for a tcVISION Demonstration…

No matter where you want your mainframe data to go – the Cloud, Open Systems, or any LUW target – tcVISION from Treehouse Software is your answer.

Just fill out the Treehouse Software Product Demonstration Request Form and a Treehouse representative will contact you to set up a time for your online tcVISION demonstration.

Why is High Availability so Important for Mainframe Data Modernization on the Cloud?

by Joseph Brady, Director of Business Development and Cloud Alliance Leader at Treehouse Software, Inc.

Many customers embarking on Mainframe-to-Cloud data replication projects with Treehouse Software are looking at high availability (HA) as a key consideration in the planning process. All of the major Cloud platforms have robust HA infrastructures that keep businesses running without downtime or human intervention when a zone or instance becomes unavailable. HA basic principles are essentially the same across all Cloud platforms.

In this blog, our example shows how the AWS Global Infrastructure and HA is architected with Treehouse Software’s tcVISION real-time mainframe data replication product. A well planned HA architecture ensures that systems are always functioning and accessible, with deployments located in various Availability Zones (AZs) worldwide.

The following example describes tcVISION‘s HA Architecture on AWS. During tcVISION ’s Change Data Capture (CDC) processing for mainframe data replication on the Cloud, HA must be maintained. The Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), which contains the tcVISION Agent, is part of an Auto Scaling Group that is spread across AZs with Amazon EC2 instance(s).

tcVISION and AWS overall architecture…

Upon failure, the replacement Amazon EC2 instance tcVISION Agent is launched and communicates its IP address to the mainframe tcVISION Agent. The mainframe tcVISION Agent then starts communication with the replacement Amazon EC2 tcVISION Agent.

Once the Amazon EC2 tcVISION Agent is restarted, it continues processing at its next logical restart point, using a combination of the LUW and Restart files. LUW files contain committed data transactions not yet applied to the target database. Restart files contain a pointer to the last captured and committed transaction and queued uncommitted CDC data. Both file types are stored on a highly available data store, such as Amazon Elastic File System (EFS).

tcVISION and AWS HA architecture…

For production workloads, Treehouse Software recommends turning on Multi-AZ target and metadata databases.

To keep all the dynamic data in an HA architecture, tcVISION uses EFS, which provides a simple, scalable, fully managed elastic file system for use with AWS Cloud services and on-premises resources. It is built to scale on-demand to petabytes without disrupting applications, growing and shrinking automatically as you add and remove files, eliminating the need to provision and manage capacity to accommodate growth.

More information on AWS HA

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Treehouse Software helps enterprises immediately start synchronizing their mainframe data on the Cloud, Hybrid Cloud, and Open Systems to take advantage of the most advanced, scalable, secure, and highly available technologies in the world with tcVISION…

tcVISION supports a vast array of integration scenarios throughout the enterprise, providing easy and fast data replication for mainframe application modernization projects and enabling bi-directional data replication between mainframe, Cloud, Open Systems, Linux, Unix, and Windows platforms.

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Contact Treehouse Software for a Demo Today…

Just fill out the tcVISION Product Demonstration Request Form and a Treehouse representative will contact you to set up a time for your tcVISION demonstration. This will be a live, on-line demonstration that shows tcVISION replicating data from the mainframe to a Cloud target database.

Video Demo: Mainframe Data Replication on AWS with tcVISION from Treehouse Software

by Joseph Brady, Director of Business Development and Cloud Alliance Leader at Treehouse Software, Inc.

Whether your enterprise wants to take advantage of the latest AWS services, such as analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, scalable storage, security, high availability, etc., or move your data to a variety of newer databases, the transition doesn’t have to occur immediately. tcVISION allows real-time data synchronization of changes on either platform to be reflected on the other platform (e.g., a change to a PostgreSQL table is reflected back on the mainframe source database). The customer can then modernize their application on AWS without disrupting the existing critical work on the legacy system. 

tcVISION on AWS architecture overview:

tcVISION’s Control Board is a Windows Graphical User Interface (GUI) that allows users to configure the replication stream between the IBM mainframe and AWS. Using the Control Board and built-in wizards, users can define the metadata and mappings between the mainframe and AWS database target.

The following video shows the steps required to create the tcVISION metadata and scripts for replicating mainframe Db2 z/OS data to AWS PostgreSQL:

Where do you want to go?

With Treehouse Software’s tcVISION, mainframe data can be replicated between IBM Db2 z/OS, Db2 z/VSE, Adabas, VSAM, IMS/DB, CA IDMS, CA DATACOM, or sequential files, and many Cloud and Open Systems targets.

tcVISION is an innovative technology that offers comprehensive abilities to identify and capture changes occurring in mainframe and relational databases, then publish the required information to an impressive variety of targets, both on-premise and Cloud-based. A complete list of tcVISION supported environments for data replication can be seen here.

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Further Reading…

Treehouse Software is an AWS Technology Partner, and the AWS Partner Network published a blog about tcVISION, which shows a screen walk-through of tcVISION data replication from Db2 z/OS to Amazon Aurora:

https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/apn/real-time-mainframe-data-replication-to-aws-with-tcvision-from-treehouse-software/

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Moving the right data, to the right place, at the right time. Start your demo today…

Just fill out the Treehouse Software Product Demonstration Request Form and a Treehouse representative will contact you to set up a time for your tcVISION demonstration. This will be a live, on-line demonstration that shows tcVISION replicating data from the mainframe to a Cloud or Open Systems target.

Quickly Begin Replicating Mainframe Data on Cloud and Open Systems During a tcVISION Proof of Concept.

by Joseph Brady, Director of Business Development / Cloud Alliance Leader at Treehouse Software, Inc.

Customers can start moving mainframe data within days during a tcVISION POC…

An online tcVISION Proof of Concept (POC) is approximately 10 business days, with the customer providing a representative subset of data, use cases, and goals for the POC. A Treehouse Software consultant will assist in downloading and installing tcVISION, and conduct a limited-scope implementation of a tcVISION application. This application uses customer data and executes on customer facilities, in a non-production environment. A document is provided beforehand that outlines the requirements and agenda for the POC.

By the end of the POC, customers can begin replicating mainframe data to their Cloud or Open Systems target database.  It can happen that fast!.

About tcVISION

More Cloud, Open Systems, and Systems Integration partners are recommending tcVISION, Treehouse Software’s Mainframe-to-Cloud data replication product for modernization projects. tcVISION focuses on changed data capture (CDC) when transferring information between mainframe data sources and Cloud and Open System databases and applications. Through an innovative technology, changes occurring in any mainframe application data are tracked and captured, and then published to a variety of RDBMS and other targets.

Further reading…

Treehouse Software is an AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Technology Partner, and the AWS Partner Network published a blog about tcVISION, which describes how tcVISION allows legacy mainframe environments to continue, while replicating data on highly available and secure Cloud platforms.

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Contact Treehouse Software for a tcVISION Demo Today…

Simply fill out our Product Demonstration Request Form and a Treehouse representative will be contacting you to set up a time for your requested demonstration.

Treehouse Software White Paper: Mainframe-to-Hybrid Cloud – The “Data First” Approach

by Joseph Brady, Director of Business Development / Cloud Alliance Lead at Treehouse Software, Inc.

Data First Approach to Mainframe Modernization

This white paper serves as a guide for organizations planning to replicate their mainframe data on a Cloud platform. Much of an enterprise’s mission critical mainframe data is stored in legacy mainframe databases, and the cost to maintain these databases is high. An added complication is that the data is utilized by many interlinked and dependent programs that have been in place for many years, and sometimes, decades. Unlocking the value of this legacy data is difficult due to many very different types of mainframe databases.

Many organizations are now looking for modernization solutions that allow their legacy mainframe environments to continue, while replicating data in real time on highly available Cloud-based platforms. With a “data-first” approach, immediate data replication to the Cloud is enabling government, healthcare, supply chain, financial, and a variety of public service organizations to meet spikes in demand for vital information, especially in times of crisis.

Download the White Paper Here

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Contact Treehouse Software for a Demo Today…

Just fill out the Treehouse Software Product Demonstration Request Form and a Treehouse representative will contact you to set up a time for your tcVISION demonstration. This will be a live, on-line demonstration that shows tcVISION replicating data from the mainframe to a Cloud or Open Systems target.