***The next no-charge Performance Workshop
will be in Richmand VA on June 9, 2026 (one day)
prior to the
VM Workshop***
This section is meant to gather pertinent information for system administrators. Often there is little time for learning and it must be done in small chunks. The list and links below are meant to 1) Have an inventory of what skills a systems administrator should know (although, not all system admins need to know all of this information) and 2) Links to resources that can assist in gleaning this knowledge. This section will grow as educational material is produced.
IBM has created an abundance of education material that is referenced below. Combining IBM provided material, Velocity provided material and the Velocity Demo system availability, this is an excellent place to begin a self-study journey.
Self Study Education
Getting Started:
- Access the Velocity Software cloud: demo.velocitysoftware.com/zpro/.
- Enter this User ID and password: (demozpro) and password (demodemo)
- Use this information to create your study environment: Connecting to the zPRO Demo System
Study Agenda:
Suggested Step by Step Curriculum for z/VM System Education:
- Basic Mainframe Concepts:
- What is a Mainframe? - Mainframe Definition
- What is z/VM? - IBM Session 100 - What is z/VM
- What is Virtualization? - IBM Session 101 - z/VM Virtualization Basics
- z/VM Basics:
- Logging onto a z/VM System: Connecting to the zPRO Demo System (as seen above)
- Navigating on the z/VM System: Working with Basic CMS and CP Commands
- z/VM Basics: IBM Using CP and CMS (Crash Course)
- CP Overview:
- z/VM Installation - IBM Session 200 - z/VM Install Overview
- Main IBM z/VM System Components (CPLOAD, Directory, Config, etc)
- Overview of components and their roles
- Where systems files live
- Commands used with compoents (DISKMAP, DIREXTXA, etc)
- Additional z/VM System Components (RACF, DIRMAINT, etc)
- RACF - IBM Session 107 - Introduction to RACF on z/VM
- DIRMAINT - IBM Session 206 - Introduction to Directory Maintenance
- The z/VM System IPL - IBM Session 211 - Startup and Shutdown Best Practices
- Page and Spool
- Backup/Restore
- SFS
- System Security (Directory, RACF, VM:Secure, SFS, Network, etc)
- Third Party Products and "Home-grown" Software)
- Hardware:
- z17 -
IBM z17 Technical Guide
IBM z17 Demo - CEC/LPARs
- CPUs
- DASD
- Network - OSA, Routers, etc
- Tape
- Network and Connectivity:
- Introduction to Networking - IBM Session 108 - z/VM Networking Basics
- Consoles
- TCPIP/TCPMAINT
- vSWITCH, vLAN, etc
- FTP
- RSCS
- Creating/Customizing/Servicing a z/VM System:
- CP and CMS Customization - IBM Session 102 - CP and CMS Customization
- Ordering from IBM - How to use GETSHOPZ
- z/VM System Logo - How to Customize Your Logon Screen
- Working with SES
- Guest Systems:
- Second Level z/VM Systems
- Guest Linux Systems
- Other Guest Systems - z/OS, VSE, zTPF
- SSI -
- SSI Basics - IBM Session 103 - z/VM SSI Overview
- SSI Introduction - IBM Session 207 - Introduction to Single System Image (SSI)
- SSI Live Guest Relocation (LGR) - IBM Session 208 - Understanding LGR & Relocation Domains
- SSI Usage Scenarios - IBM Session 209 - Single System Image Usage Scenarios
- Programming:
Performance Concepts:
- 1-1 Basic Analysis (2024)
- 1-2 Introduction to Performance (2024)
- 1-3 Introduction to zVPS (2024)
- 2-1 CPU Configuration Analysis (2024)
- 2-2 MFC for z/VM (2024)
- 2-3 Capture Ratios (2024)
- 2-4 SMT for z/VM (2024)
- 2-5 Schedule and Dispatch (2024)
- 3-1 z/VM Storage Analysis and Tuning (2024)
- 4-1 DASD Performance (2024)
- 5-1 Linux on z/VM Performance Analysis (2024)
- 5-2 Configuring and Measuring Linux on z/VM (2024)
- 6-1 Performance Analysis Flowchart (2024)
- Introduction to Performance and Configuration Guidelines (2024)
Links to other helpful information:
