Mainframe Solutions

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

The SecureAgent Virtual Tape Library (VTL) connects to the mainframe by FICON and to open systems and IBMi by FC/SCSI. In a mainframe environment the VTL emulates common mainframe control units and tape drives (3480, 3490, 3590 etc.) and can be configured in ATL mode and Non ATL mode (MTL mode).

ATL Mode – The SecureAgent VTL is the only non-IBM VTL that can natively and seamlessly integrate with a customer’s current investment in IBM System Managed Storage (SMS) support. When configured in ATL mode the SecureAgent VTL helps organizations take advantage of the entire range of benefits relating to using SMS to manage mainframe tape storage subsystems including:

• Improved use of storage media

• Centralized control and management of tape jobs

• Task automation

• Interactive batch controls

• Reduction in man hours

These benefits not only make storage manager’s jobs easier, they put the focus back on using data as opposed to managing devices. Better use of data needs to be the focus in competitive environments. Hardware needs to be an after-thought… or no thought at all.

Given all that, why wouldn’t every mainframe shop utilize SMS instead of various less efficient and more resource-intensive third-party software methods? The answer is until now IBM SMS and IBM VTLs were tightly coupled together. To use one, a company was forced to use the other. Any company wanting to use a non-IBM tape product was forced to adopt a far less flexible and certainly less desirable third-party tape management method. Oracle has theirs, DELL EMC has theirs, etc. All propriety, all non-standard, and none as effective as IBM SMS.

Non-ATL Mode (MTL)

The SecureAgent VTL can be configured in Non-ATL mode for organizations and mainframe systems that do not take advantage of IBM System Managed Storage. These include z/VSE systems, z/VM systems, and any z/OS or z/TPF system that doesn’t utilize SMS. In these cases SecureAgent provides a Started Task that integrates with on-board tape catalogs including CA-1, RMM, TLMS, EPIC DynamT, etc. This integration with the on-board mainframe catalog provides a method to manage scratch tapes and the disposition of all tapes in catalog status.

SecureAgent VTLs operate in an integrated fashion across various locations and media types and can utilize stand-alone disk systems as well as combinations of disk and physical tape cartridges in ATLs.

All data sets stored on the SecureAgent VTL are compressed and encrypted and remain encrypted in both transport between locations and at rest on either tape or disk.

More information on ATL Mode

More information on Non-ATL Mode (MTL)