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While Programmers Investment Corporation (PIC) is in the process of migrating from its mainframe to UNIX, the company must move critical data daily from the mainframe to UNIX and from UNIX back to the mainframe. Because this data is a mix of character and binary format, PIC is using FilePort to automate its mainframe-UNIX translation chores, eliminating the need for tedious and time-consuming custom programming.
As a leading supplier of direct marketing services, based in Des Plaines, Illinois, PIC must process its customers' data as efficiently as possible. To minimize costs, PIC has decided to migrate completely from its Amdahl mainframe, running MVS/ESA, to an HP9000 machine, running HP-UX.
"Moving all our applications simultaneously was out of the question," explains Al Rivera, project leader at PIC. "It would be too disruptive, especially since we couldn't accurately predict all the incompatibilities that might occur, regardless of how carefully we planned. Migrating in stages is allowing us to continue our business without interruption, while making sure that we are continually cutting costs."
"FilePort is making this gradual transition much easier because it solves our translation problems, which are complex. We are keeping the same mixed character and binary record formats across platforms, so that we can move our applications without rewriting them."
PIC began its migration by moving its most costly applications off the mainframe. "Although we do many different kinds of processing related to direct marketing, our most CPU-intensive applications are order entry and verification," says Rivera. "Originally, all orders were entered and edited through CICS on the mainframe, but now we use UniKix, the CICS-compatible transaction processor, to do the same tasks on an HP9000, with minimal programming changes."
PIC's order entry and editing has several components. "We used FilePort to translate our initial load of eight gigabytes of 'historical' data, which contains information like customer name and address, and this data is stored permanently on UNIX in VSAM files under UniKix," continues Rivera. "But every day we bring down a number of support files, which contain volatile order-related information, such as new or revised item numbers and prices. Since these support files are generated on the mainframe, we use FilePort to translate them effortlessly to UNIX format."
Since PIC's system is in transition, each day's order data, which is collected and verified on UNIX, must be sent up to the mainframe for further processing. "We send as many as 100,000 verified orders per day back to the mainframe, depending on the season," reports Rivera, "and FilePort handles the translation quickly and easily, regardless of the size of the load."
"We have done careful benchmarks," continues Rivera, "and we know that, with UniKix, SyncSort UNIX, and FilePort, we are getting the same performance on UNIX as we did on the mainframe with CICS and SyncSort MVS. But we are saving a considerable amount of money because we are not using expensive mainframe cycles for our most CPU-intensive processing."
Rivera appreciates the time and effort that FilePort is saving PIC. "To me, the best thing about FilePort is how easy it is to use. We don't have to do any custom programming at all, whether we are going from the mainframe to UNIX or from UNIX back to the mainframe. FilePort automates everything. For example, during the initial migration, FilePort read and processed the labels on our tapes with no problems. And we didn't have to input record layouts because FilePort read our COBOL copybooks and automatically extracted all the information it needed."
"FilePort is helping to make our migration to UNIX a great success," sums up Rivera. "And we expect to continue to use it extensively as we gradually move the rest of our processing from the mainframe to UNIX."
Additional information about FilePort is available online. Contact us to arrange a free trial.
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