SHARE Dallas 2022: A Return to In-Person Events. Good for the Mind – Great for the Soul!

To say the last two years have been hard on most everyone may be the understatement of the year, so it is with much anticipation that DTS returns to live conferences at SHARE this week in Dallas (March 27-30).

By name and nature, SHARE is an opportunity for industry leaders and enterprise IT professionals to gather (in person) for user-driven technical sessions, insights from colleagues, and hardware and software product exhibits. Equally as important, this year especially, is that it is a chance to reconnect with so many in the industry. And reconnect we are. It feels great to be back!

Mainframers have been described as “natural social distancers,” but the opportunity to gather with some of the best mainframers in North America (and around the globe for that matter) is invaluable. The connections, the conversations, the ideas born from impromptu interactions simply can’t be duplicated in an online environment. DTS is thrilled to be a part of it.

Education at the Core of SHARE
While companies battle for market share and the next big deal, mainframers are a part of a community that interacts, supports, and relies on one another. Events like SHARE serve as an incubator for new ideas and fresh ways of looking at old ideas. They are also key in the transfer of knowledge that is taking place as the current workforce ages out and younger programmers enter the field.

DTS is proud to play a part in supporting the mainframe ecosystem with events like our monthly educational webinar series (complementary) and our sponsorship of two educational presentations at SHARE presented by our CTO and Lead Developer Steve Pryor.

Session 1: DFSMS
On Monday, March 28, Pryor presented: Class Struggle? The DFSMS Data Class and Your Datasets. At its inception in 1989, the DFSMS Data Class construct consisted of a simple list of attributes that could be used to describe the physical characteristics of a dataset. Now, more than three decades later, the Data Class includes more than 50 different values that can interact in complex ways with other SMS constructs such as Storage Class and with JCL and IDCAMS control statements.

Some user SMS configurations are home to dozens or even more overlapping or conflicting data classes. In this session, Pryor provided an understanding of what the important (and unimportant) data class values are, their history, purpose, and their relationship to z/OS dataset allocation and use. Armed with this understanding, programmers can simplify your SMS environment, eliminate redundancies, and take advantage of new SMS features.

Click here to download a copy of the presentation slides.

Session 2: Pervasive Encryption and z/OS
On Tuesday, March 29, Pryor presents: The z/OS Storage Administrator’s View of Pervasive Encryption. IBM’s Pervasive Encryption initiative aims to encrypt all the data, all the time. The Security Administrator controls access. The End User employs the data, but it’s the Storage Administrator who’s responsible for where, when, and how data is created, placed, backed up, and restored. In this session, Pryor will take a practical look at just how z/OS dataset-level encryption is implemented, its impact on storage administration, the interactions between DFSMS and RACF, and the interlocking roles of Storage Administration, Security, and the End User in providing data protection.

Click here to download a copy of the presentation slides.

Thank you again to all this year’s SHARE Dallas participants. We’ll see you at the next SHARE event in Columbus, Ohio August 21-26. Be sure to catch the next installment of our monthly educational webinar series: Understanding z/OS Tape Management Systems, April 26th at 11:00 am ET.