As noted and as planned, you should be able to carry CICS Transaction Server Version 3.2 forward to z/OS 2.2 and have yet another IBM supported middleware-cum-OS release combination. In other words, there's no need to delay your z/OS 2.2 plans (even for particular LPARs and/or z/VM guests), and hopefully you're forging right ahead to pick up the new capabilities in z/OS 2.2 in timely fashion. We expect the support periods for CICS TS Version 3.2 and z/OS 2.2 will overlap slightly, so that should be a supported combination through December 31, 2015 (the end of CICS TS 3.2's support period).
Yes, we recommend you upgrade CICS TS from Version 3.2 as soon as possible, preferably to the current release. Since you have one application lagging, a terrific, popular, and effective approach to reduce your support risks is to upgrade everything around that application and keep that application segregated in its own dedicated backlevel CICS Application Owning Region(s) (AORs) for only as long as necessary. Hopefully you've already taken that approach. Said another way, don't let that one application hinder your CICS TS release upgrades. You can forge right ahead to the current release for all the rest of your CICS TS topology. In fact, to a significant extent even a backlevel CICS AOR can benefit from new capabilities available in current release CICS regions surrounding it -- WebSphere Liberty Profile, as one example. I'm not aware of any technical design limitations that would inhibit a dual release approach, at least through the current CICS TS release and perhaps beyond. In the possible but hopefully unlikely event there's an outstanding financial question about that dual CICS TS version approach, "Talk with your friendly IBM representative." Also ask IBM if there's a support extension available for CICS TS V3.2 and its pricing if you require support for 3.2 past December 31, 2015. I don't know if an extension offering is available, but it doesn't hurt to ask. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Timothy Sipples IT Architect Executive, Industry Solutions, IBM z Systems, AP/GCG/MEA E-Mail: sipp...@sg.ibm.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
