I think you are absolutely correct  There is a reason why VTAM adopted APPN, 
because it was impossible for VTAM to look and behave as if it were the entire 
center for every  communications need.   TCP/IP was inevitable given its large 
penetration into the home consumer market and the cost for enterprise 
implementation.    



-----Original Message-----
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> On Behalf Of 
Knutson, Samuel
Sent: Monday, January 13, 2020 8:40 AM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: What is a mainframe?

In my opinion IBM helped to save the mainframe when they included a built-in 
highly performant TCP/IP stack in the operating system.    Making the mainframe 
a more mainstream hardware server and more importantly a mainstream software 
server that communications, API implementations and development practices as 
any other makes it viable for another 50 years.  The alternative path was for 
it to become a truly niche isolated platform or for this core capability to be 
supplied by third party software.  We saw that same evolution on other 
platforms if anyone remembers "Trumpet Winsock"😊

The mainframe remains the most securable platform today.   z/OS in particular 
handles TCP/IP in a securable way allowing very granular controls of which 
application containers can connect to which ports.  IBM has a published 
integrity policy which is applicable to the entire OS including TCP/IP.   The 
most concerning security problems on the mainframe are not caused by TCP/IP but 
by Apathy, laziness, false confidence and ignorance.  OEM TCP/IP stacks would 
have provided this capability and already were when IBM introduced TCP/IP in 
z/OS.  You can make a reasoned argument that by incorporating TCP/IP as part of 
the operating system IBM has insured it has security and integrity equal to the 
balance of the operating system.

Best Regards,
Sam Knutson

-----Original Message-----
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> On Behalf Of 
z/OS scheduler
Sent: Saturday, January 11, 2020 3:52 PM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: What is a mainframe?

Welll, in my opinion the mainframe died when IBM allowed tcpip on their 
servers. From that point onwards it just became another server that could be 
hacked via TCPIP ports.

James O'Leary

Op vr 10 jan. 2020 om 21:05 schreef Steve Smith <sasd...@gmail.com>:

> Well, it is Friday:
> https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.
> youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dd0-pLcgq-2M&amp;data=02%7C01%7CSamuel.Knutso
> n%40COMPUWARE.COM%7C609bd2dd893148044b3a08d796d83cc4%7C893e9ba31b7844d
> 8aca9105fab957fed%7C0%7C0%7C637143727850910523&amp;sdata=qQqJNcO62gXdN
> DUZwk8U0IjSGLtPFgD4dlS2pJIQdY8%3D&amp;reserved=0
>
> It's also about a bank :-)
>
> --
> sas
>
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