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SupportConnect - Unicenter Mainframe Network Management Newsletter, Version 07.08

NOTE: E-News technical information is dynamic and links in archived copies of these technical newsletters may eventually become invalid as the products evolve. Please check the support web page for your product to get the latest technical information.

CA Mainframe Network Management Newsletter
Version 07.08
December 12, 2007

In This Newsletter

Product News

	>	GA Announcement - CA TCPaccess™ X.25 Server r7.0
	>	GA Announcement - CA Mainframe Network Management Suite r11.5 SP1
	>	Beta Notification - NetMaster® r11.6 Beta Program
	>	Drop Support Notifications > Existing End-of-Life Notification > Existing Stabilization Notifications > Existing Drop Support Dates

General Information

	>	Become a Network Management Superstar With the CA NetMaster® for TCP/IP Handbook
	>	Managing Connections With NetMaster® Network Management for TCP/IP
	>	Connection Event History - The When, What, and How of Connections
	>	Survey

Special Events

	>	Webcast - Best Practices: Learn How to Map Mainframe Network Activity to Business Applications Using CA NetMaster® Network Management for TCP/IP
	>	Webcast - Best Practices: Learn How to Intercept and Manage Mainframe Network Events Using CA NetMaster® Network Management for TCP/IP
	>	Webcast - CA TCPaccess™ X.25 Server r7.0 Training

GA Announcement - CA TCPaccess™ X.25 Server r7.0
As of December 05, 2007, we are pleased to announce the general availability of CA TCPaccess X.25 Server r7.

CA TCPaccess X.25 server is a mainframe-resident, native implementation of the X.25 protocol stack, including plug-compatible support for the protocol converter for non-SNA equipment (PCNE), general access to X.25 transport extension (gate), gate fast connect, dedicated access to X.25 transport extension (date), integrated packet assembly/disassembly (pad), and transparent pad NPSI interfaces. It lets you eliminate costly front-end processors (FEPs) without requiring users to change NCP packet switching interface (NPSI) applications.

What's new in r7:

Pass Data on the CINIT Call. A new parameter, CINIT, has been added to the X25.PCNE and X25.DIR commands. If CINIT=DATA is specified, the first inbound data is passed as user data on the CINIT call.
Stack Recognition and Recovery. When a stack is shut down and recycled, CA TCPaccess X.25 Server now recognizes this and recovers gracefully and automatically, without the need to cycle the Server.
Outbound Call Routing. Map outbound calls for GATE and GATE Fast Connect applications to different routers and different pools based on target Network User Address (NUA) and Call User Data (CUD).
Alternative Outbound DIALNO and Line Selection. Use ALTDTE parameter to specify alternate callout parameters on the X.25.DTE command.
Specify Calling NUA at Application Level. Provide the calling NUA at the application level using a new parameter, SNUA, on the X.25 GATE, X.25 DATE, and X.25 DTE commands.
XOT Listen Port. Specify the port you want to use for XOT traffic on the new LPORT parameter in the X.25 NET command, which lets you use the port for non-Cisco routers.
XRM Router Port. Specify the Telnet port used by XRM to connect to the router with the new XRMPORT parameter in the X.25 NET command.
Call User ID Null Support. If CUD='NULL' is specified on the X.25 DIR command, the inbound call matches this selection criterion only if there is no call user data present in the call packet.
MBITCHN Support. Allows chained data to pass to its destination when the maximum packet size is received, supporting better utilization for extra large packets.
MBITLEN Support. Specify nonstandard, maximum X.25 packet sizes using MBITLEN on the X.25 PARM command.
Alternative Dial Number. ALTDIAL is no longer supported for the X.25 DTE command. Use ALTDTE instead.

We also encourage you to visit the CA TCPaccess X.25 Server product information page at SupportConnect^SM.

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GA Announcement - CA Mainframe Network Management Suite r11.5 SP1
CA Mainframe Network Management Suite r11.5 SP1 - Generally Available (GA)

We are pleased to announce the availability of CA Mainframe Network Management Suite r11.5 SP1. This Service Pack includes all maintenance published before this update for the following products:

CA NetMaster® Network Management for TCP/IP r11.5
CA NetMaster® Network Management for SNA r11.5
CA NetMaster® Network Automation r11.5
CA NetMaster® File Transfer Management r11.5
CA NetSpy™ Network Performance r11.5
CA SOLVE:FTS r11.5

For those of you running CA NetSpy Network Performance and considering or implementing an IPv6 network, this service pack additionally provides relevant support for IPv6 management, and we therefore suggest that you apply it before you migrate. IPv6 support for all
CA NetMaster products will be delivered in r11.6.

To obtain your copy of CA Mainframe Network Management Suite r11.5 SP1 in North America, call 1-800-841-8743, or contact your local account representative. If you are outside of North America, please call your local account representative or the local CA office. You may also download this product online through ca.com/supportconnect.

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Beta Notification - NetMaster® r11.6 Beta Program
We are currently looking for customers interested in participating in our upcoming beta program for CA NetMaster r11.6. The beta program is scheduled for March/April/May 2008.

As part of the program, we want to run "assisted" betas. We will try to provide CA resources to assist with the beta exercise, which will give you the chance to gain valuable product insights from interacting with a CA product specialist. In addition, it will help reduce the amount of effort involved in your participation.

You can register through SupportConnect^SM. This website also details the new features and enhancements that are being delivered in this release.

We appreciate your consideration and encourage your participation. If you require any clarification or additional information, please do not hesitate to contact Warren Jones, Product Manager.

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Drop Support Notifications
Existing End-of-Life Notifications:
The following products will no longer be supported as of 1 September, 2008:
CA NetMaster® File Transfer Management Agent-IBM AIX
CA NetMaster® File Transfer Management Agent-HP-UX
CA NetMaster® File Transfer Management Agent-Sun Solaris
CA NetMaster® File Transfer Management Agent-OS/400

Existing Stabilization Notifications:
The following products have been stabilized, effective immediately. There will be no new releases or enhancements implemented for these products, but they will continue to be supported for existing maintenance contracts:
CA NetSpy™ Network Performance for z/VM
CA NetMaster® Socket Management for CICS
CA NetMaster® Network Management for SNA (MSP)
CA SOLVE:Access® Session Management (MSP)
CA SOLVE:Access® Session Management (VOS3)

Existing Drop Support Dates:
March 31, 2008:
CA NetMaster® Network Management for TCP/IP r11 (z/OS)
CA NetSpy™ Network Performance r11 (z/OS)
CA NetMaster® Network Operations for TCP/IP r11 (z/OS)
CA NetMaster® Network Management for SNA r11 (z/OS)
CA NetMaster® Network Automation r11 (z/OS)
CA NetMaster® File Transfer Management r11 (z/OS)
CA SOLVE:FTS r11 (z/OS)

For more information, visit ca.com/supportconnect.

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Become a Network Management Superstar With the CA NetMaster®
for TCP/IP Handbook
No time to read manuals cover to cover? Need a quick-start guide to power through your network management challenges? Wondering what more you could do to meet your network SLAs?

Written by the same people who wrote the software, the newly released CA NetMaster for TCP/IP Handbook is designed for novices and experienced network administrators, so anyone with network challenges can very quickly find the command or tool they need. The chapters are organized by use case and business challenge. For example, Chapter 12 is titled "Best Practices for IP Node Monitoring." Chapter 24 is titled "Can't Connect to An Application." This is a powerful tool you will get value from every day.

The first section, "Who should use this handbook and how," gets you going. Experienced users will start with the table of contents, but you will probably find that NetMaster has features and capabilities you need, which you hadn't realized were available. This isn't a replacement for your product manuals and guides; it is more of a quick-reference tool designed to help you manage your network efficiently and effectively.

To get your copy, contact John Klonaris, Product Line Manager.

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Managing Connections With NetMaster® Network Management for TCP/IP
Network management can be a lot easier when you have the right tools. When a better tool comes along, it may be time to leave the old one behind. Connection Lists are the logical "better tool" to replace netstat; this facility streamlines problem resolution, helping improve network availability. Learn how to begin exploring all the great features with this article.

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Connection Event History - The When, What, and How of Connections
Easy-to-access historical information is critical for proactive network management. While real-time information is always required, analysis of history can often more quickly pinpoint problems, especially those that have not yet caused an impact but are likely to do so. History also helps you plan exercises, manage security, and comply with audits.
CA NetMaster® Network Management for TCP/IP provides a rich historical base of connection events and the tools you need to mine this important data.

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Survey
We have created a survey to help us better understand how you use the product, what direction your business is headed, and what your future business requirements are. Please take the time to complete the survey, which is available on SupportConnect^SM.

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Webcast - Best Practices: Learn How to Map Mainframe Network Activity to Business Applications Using CA NetMaster® Network Management for TCP/IP
Join us for this informative webcast on February 05, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. EST.

This webcast will cover these and other related topics:

Choosing meaningful names for your Business Applications
Differences between Business Applications, Address Spaces, Socket Applications and Telnet Applications
Business Applications for FTP and Telnet
Real-time performance data for Business Applications
Performance history data for Business Applications
Performance threshold alerts for Business Applications

To register for this upcoming webcast, please click here.

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Webcast - Best Practices: Learn How to Intercept and Manage Mainframe Network Events Using CA NetMaster® Network Management for TCP/IP
Following are details of this recent webcast, which was held on October 23, 2007, at
10:00 a.m. EDT.

CA NetMaster for TCP/IP has access to events from the IP network, the TCP applications, the MVS console and more. This webcast will cover the process of intercepting events - including performance exceptions - and what actions CA NetMaster can take when they occur.

This webcast will cover these and other related topics:

Using Event Detectors to report on FTP Failures, ICMP conditions, and MVS console messages
Writing your own NCL procedures to listen for NetMaster events, and taking your own custom actions
Customizing sample NCL procedure to receive SNMP events from other managers
Specifying Performance Attribute Alerts and alert actions
Storing SMF server and client TCP/IP Connection Events
Browsing and searching Connection Events

To register for this webcast, please click here.

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Webcast - CA TCPaccess™ X.25 Server r7.0 Training
We are excited to make available the recording of the recent three-hour in-depth training on the new features of CA TCPaccess X.25 Server r7.0, which took place on October 03, 2007.

This course gives you an overview of OpenMax and the X.25 Server. You also learn what's new in r7 and how to handle diagnostics. The presenter is Rene Sauve.

To view the recording of this webcast, please click here.

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