Meet Grant Mericle from z/OS Communications Server
Grant Mericle
IBM Z Networking - System Test for CommServer and Lifeline
IBM
The GS UK Conference is a four-day event held each November where professionals and vendors connect to explore the latest in the world of mainframes. Held from November 3, 2025 to November 6, 2025 the event features a mix of technical deep dives, discussions, and networking sessions.
Interested in learning more about z/OS? Checkout the following technical sessions that Grant Mericle is leading this upcoming 2025 GS UK Conference:
Configuring Networking for z/OS Containers, Tuesday, Nov 4, 4:45 - 5:30 PM GMT:
Networking is a crucial component in the container ecosystem. It provides the ability for containers to connect to and communicate with each other, or to communicate with non-containerized workloads. In this session, you will learn how to configure z/OS Communications Server for z/OS Container Platform (zOSCP). You will see how zOSCP leverages dynamic VIPAs and Sysplex Distributor to provide communication for containers deployed on z/OS as well as enabling high availability for Kubernetes clusters. This session will also include a demonstration of how to manage and monitor the network communication used by zOSCP.
z/OS Communications Server Technical Update - Fall 2025 Edition, Wednesday, Nov 5 12:15 - 1:00 PM GMT:
In this session, Grant will explore the new features in z/OS Communications Server recently provided and coming soon. Features to be covered include: Networking support for z/OS containers, Network security enhancements, SMTP AUTH support for CSSMTP, and more!
All Aboard the Network Express, Wednesday, Nov 5, 3:15 - 4:00 PM GMT:
The IBM z17 has undergone a transformation with an entirely new System I/O hardware and architecture model for both storage and networking. The z17 offers I/O capability that is integrated directly within the Z processor complex. The new system design moves I/O operations closer to the system processor and memory. This new design approach transforms I/O operations allowing Z workloads to grow and scale to meet the growing needs of current and future IBM Hybrid Cloud Enterprise workloads. This presentation will focus on the networking I/O transformation by introducing you to the new IBM z17 Network Express feature. The Network Express feature introduces new system architecture called Enhanced QDIO (EQDIO). EQDIO allows the updated z/OS Communications Server software to interact with the Network Express hardware using new optimized I/O operations. The new design and optimizations are required to meet the demand of the continuously growing I/O rates. Network Express and EQDIO build the foundation for the introduction of advanced Ethernet and networking capabilities for the future of IBM Z Hybrid Cloud Enterprise users. The Network Express feature also combines the functionality of both the OSA-Express and RoCE Express features into a single feature or adapter. A single Network Express port supports both IP protocols and RDMA protocols. This allows each Network Express port to function as both a standard NIC for Ethernet and as an RDMA capable NIC (RNIC) for RoCE protocols. Converging both protocols to a single adapter reduces Z customers' cost for physical networking resources. With this change, IBM Z customers can now exploit Shared Memory Communications (SMC) leveraging RDMA (SMC-R) technology without incurring additional hardware costs. In this session, Grant will focus on how z/OS Communications Server has been updated to support the Network Express feature. An introduction to the new Enhanced QDIO Ethernet (EQENET) interface statement used to configure the new OSA is provided. EQDIO provides a variety of simplifications, such as no longer requiring VTAM user defined TRLEs, uses smarter defaults and removes outdated parameters. Grant will also cover migration considerations for Network Express. In addition, the operational aspects of managing and monitoring the new OSA and RoCE interfaces will be covered. Finally, he will also take you through the enhancements made to optimize both inbound and outbound network traffic. Come join Grant and learn more about how z/OS Communications Server is bringing you the future in network communications with the IBM z17 Network Express feature.
z/OS Communications Server Network Security Overview, Wednesday, Nov 5, 4:30 - 5:15 PM GMT:
z/OS Communications Server provides a wide variety of security features to protect z/OS from the network and to protect z/OS data as it traverses the network. In this session you will be introduced to many of those security features and how they contribute to self-protection of the local z/OS node. The topics covered are IP Security, AT-TLS, Intrusion Detection Services, zERT and SAF-based access controls for Communications Server.
Conference Duration: Monday, November 3 2025, to Thursday, November 6 2025
Location: Whittlebury Hall, Northamptonshire