IBM Print Services Facility for z/os, V4.6 delivers enhancements to improve diagnostics, performance, and usability

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1 IBM United States Software Announcement , dated November 21, 2017 IBM Print Services Facility for z/os, V4.6 delivers enhancements to improve diagnostics, performance, and usability Table of contents 1 Overview 5 Technical information 2 Key prerequisites 6 Ordering information 2 Planned availability date 8 Terms and conditions 2 Description 9 Prices 4 Product positioning 10 Order now 5 Program number Overview IBM (R) Print Services Facility TM (PSF) for z/os, (R) V4.6 replaces PSF V4.5 for z/os. It is the latest release of the IBM flagship production print product for z/os. PSF running on z/os is designed to provide the advanced scalability, resiliency, security, workload management, and SMF data collection capabilities you need to help manage your enterprise printing. Version 4.6 delivers enhancements to the main PSF product and its optional features include: PSF V4.6 Support of Mixed Object Document Content Architecture (MO:DCA) AFP/ Archive (AFP/A), which is used for long term preservation and retrieval of Advanced Function Presentation (AFP) documents Support for new printer functions Ability to optimize performance for faster transition when printer jobs are queued Ability to improve error message information for quicker diagnostics AFP Conversion and Indexing Facility Performance improvements Support of MO:DCA AFP/A which is used for long term preservation and retrieval of AFP documents AFP Download Plus Support of MO:DCA AFP/A which is used for long term preservation and retrieval of AFP documents A broader access to the Download Plus message file to improve turnaround of error resolution A quicker response to JES cancel and restart commands to improve download turnaround times This new release also delivers: A set of core functions for host-based enterprise printing. Support for: Industry-standard AFP architecture Simple and record format line data XML line data IBM United States Software Announcement IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation 1

2 Printer standards, such as Intelligent Printer Data Stream (IPDS) and International Color Consortium (ICC) profiles Support for crease finishing, when it is supported by the printers to which output is directed. Any possible folding operation becomes a crease operation by simply specifying the correct finishing option. Enhancements in the areas of diagnostics, performance, and usability Key prerequisites Print Services Facility for z/os, V4.6 requires an IBM Z server that runs z/os V2.1 (5650-ZOS), or later. For specific requirements, see the Technical information section. Planned availability date December 15, 2017 Description PSF for z/os, V4.6 is designed to provide a number of new capabilities. For several of these functions, PSF provides infrastructure but in order to use many of the extensions described, you will need, depending on usage, additional software and hardware that support the described functions. Support of MO:DCA AFP/A and MO:DCA AFP/A, IS/3 PSF V4.6, AFP Download Plus 4.6, and ACIF 4.6 now support: MO:DCA AFP/A, which is an AFP document architecture interchange set and an ISO standard (ISO 18565), is used for long-term preservation and retrieval. This subset ensures page independence, eliminates images without clearly specified resolution, device default fonts, and external resources. MO:DCA AFP/A, IS/3, which is an AFP document architecture interchange set, complies with the rules and restrictions of both the AFP/A and Interchange Set 3. PSF V4.6 enhancements Enablement of printer functions PSF V4.6 is now designed to support crease finishing when it is supported by the printers to which output is directed. Any possible folding operation becomes a crease operation by simply specifying the correct finishing option. Diagnostic enhancements Currently, supported PSF releases issue message APS280I when the resolution of the raster font does not agree with the resolution of the printer. This message does not include the mismatched resolutions. PSF V4.6 provides the resolution of the raster font and the resolution of the printer in message APS280I to more easily determine the problem. In a fully composed AFP file, the inline resource group must be placed at the top of the file prior to the input document text. Presently, if an inline resource group is not placed prior to the document input in the data stream, the resource group is skipped and PSF issues a "resource not found" message (APS512I or APS532I) for each resource from the skipped inline resource group that is used within the document. PSF V4.6 also issues the additional message APS549I stating that an inline resource group was found out of sequence in the data set alerting the user that IBM United States Software Announcement IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation 2

3 moving the inline resource group prior to the document input may eliminate the "resource not found" error. PSF V4.6 accepts negative acknowledgement (NACK) responses from the printer that can occur when processing the Linear Gradient or Radial Gradient orders of graphic arts. Performance enhancements Currently, with supported PSF releases, the deletion of resources by PSF from a printer at the end of a data set can take a long time because PSF deletes each Inline and Userlib resource one at time. PSF V4.6 provides a new AFPPARMS value that allows PSF to delete each type of resource all at once thus expediting resource deletion so subsequent print jobs can start sooner. Usability enhancement Currently, with supported PSF releases, an installation coding PSF installation exit 07 can elect to receive control from PSF in a Beginning of Data Set Call. However, there is no corresponding End Data Set Call support where the exit can undo processing that may have been done at Begin Data Set time. PSF V4.6 provides an End Data Set Call so that the exit can undo processing from the Begin Data Set Call function. AFP Download Plus V4.6 enhancements Diagnostic enhancements Currently, with supported PSF releases, the AFP Download Plus feature restricts browsing of the UNIX (R) error message file to two sets of users. -- The userid that owns the directory /var/psf/userinfo/<userid> and its contents -- Members of the APSADMIN security group AFP Download Plus V4.6 provides a new AFPPARMS option that you can set to authorize any user to view the UNIX message file. Performance enhancements When using AFP Download Plus and data that is sent to the download receiver, the job cannot be canceled or restarted until all of the data is sent. For a large data set, this could take several minutes before the JES order is honored. With AFP Download Plus V4.6, these JES orders are honored while the data is sent to the download receiver. ACIF V4.6 enhancements Diagnostic In a fully composed AFP file, the inline resource group must be placed at the top of the file before the input document text. Presently, if an inline resource group is not placed before the document input in the data stream, the resource group is skipped and ACIF issues a resource-not-found message (APK532I) for each resource from that skipped inline resource group that is used within the document. ACIF V4.6 issues the additional message APK494I by stating that an inline resource group was found out of sequence in the data set and alerts the user that moving the inline resource group before the document input may eliminate the resource-not-found error. Performance ACIF V4.6 reduces the frequency that GETMAIN and FREEMAIN are called from once for every record of the input file to once for the input file. This change is designed to reduce processing time for jobs with many records IBM United States Software Announcement IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation 3

4 Usability ACIF V4.5 does not allow additional Tag Logical Element index structured fields (TLEs) to be added to a fully composed AFP file that already has TLEs embedded in it. ACIF issues an error message and stops processing. ACIF V4.6 delivers a new keyword in the ACIF parameter list to support this. ACIF V4.5 does not recognize the x'0c' form feed character as the start of a new page. The user must provide an ACIF user exit that removes the x'0c' form feed character and inserts an x'f1' ANSI carriage control at the beginning of each page. ACIF V4.6 recognizes the X'0C' form feed character as a new page indicator which removes the need for the special user exit. AFP Viewer plug-in runs on a Microsoft TM Windows TM workstation and displays documents that are in AFP format, such as documents downloaded from the z/ OS host or from web documents. The AFP Viewer plug-in can be obtained at no charge from the Ricoh website. AFP Printer Driver runs on a Windows workstation and creates output in AFP format to allow printing on any of the IBM AFP printers that are controlled by PSF for z/os. The AFP Printer Driver can be obtained at no charge from the Ricoh website. AFP Workbench runs on a Windows workstation. It contains a viewer application that you can use to display AFP files that are in MO:DCA-P format, which includes page segments and overlays. AFP Workbench can be obtained at no charge from the Ricoh website. Accessibility by people with disabilities A US Section 508 Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) containing details on accessibility compliance can be found on the IBM Accessibility website. Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act PSF for z/os, V4.6 is capable as of December 15, 2017, when used in accordance with associated IBM documentation, of satisfying the applicable requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, provided that any assistive technology used with the product properly interoperates with it. A US Section 508 Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) can be found on the IBM Accessibility website. Product positioning PSF is the strategic, mainframe-production print solution of IBM. PSF supports the print management of z/os AFP output on host-attached printers. PSF is sophisticated, and enables automated print processes with system management of: Print files and attributes Resources Page-level error recovery Accounting, extensive diagnostics Print process statistics PSF supports AFP Consortium-approved AFP architecture changes. The AFP Consortium, an open, industry-standards body, whose scope is the complete AFP architecture, which comprises the following data object architectures: Mixed Object Document Content (MO:DCA) Intelligent Printer Data Stream (IPDS) AFP Line Data Bar Code Object Content (BCOCA) IBM United States Software Announcement IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation 4

5 Color Management Object Content (CMOCA) Font Object Content (FOCA) Graphics Object Content (GOCA) Image Object Content (IOCA) Presentation Text Object Content (PTOCA) Hardware and software support services SmoothStart/installation services IBM Installation Services can be provided for PSF at an additional cost. Contact your IBM representative or IBM Business Partner for additional information. IBM SmoothStart and Installation Services from IBM Global Services are not provided for this product. Program number Program number VRM Program name 5655-M IBM Print Services Facility for z/os Business Partner information If you are a Direct Reseller - System Reseller acquiring products from IBM, you may link directly to BP Attachment for Announcement Letter for this announcement. A PartnerWorld ID and password are required (use IBMid). Technical information Specified operating environment Hardware requirements PSF for z/os, V4.6: Runs on processors that are supported by current levels of z/os Version 2 operating systems. Supports printers that adhere to the IPDS specifications. Not all functions of PSF are supported by all IPDS printers. A number of PSF for z/os, V4.6 functions require corresponding printer support. Contact your printer manufacturer to determine whether specific functions are available for a particular printer. Software requirements IBM PSF for z/os, V4.6 runs on z/os V2.1 (5650-ZOS), and later. If not using the z/os Font Collection, which is included with z/os, to use TrueType and OpenType fonts, you must have: A resource installer program, such as the Font Installer optional feature of Infoprint Fonts for Multiplatforms, or an equivalent resource installer program. A product that supplies TrueType and OpenType fonts, such as the WorldType Fonts for AFP Print Servers optional feature of Infoprint Fonts for Multiplatforms. IBM United States Software Announcement IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation 5

6 Compatibility PSF for z/os, V4.6 replaces PSF V4.5 for z/os. Performance considerations The performance of PSF and its attached printers is dependent upon availability and efficiency of memory, storage, DASD, and channel and network resources in the system configuration. It is also highly dependent upon the content of the print data streams being processed. In general, data-intensive applications, such as those containing images, require more resources than applications containing plain text. If performance degradation is experienced, normal system performance analysis and tuning should be conducted before contacting IBM Service. Planning information Customer responsibilities To use channel-attached printers with PSF, they must be defined to z/os and to the JES2 or JES3 subsystem. To use network-attached printers with PSF, they must be defined to TCP/IP or to VTAM. (R) Packaging PSF for z/os, V4.6 base program and optional features are shipped using the customized offerings, CBPDO and ServerPac. No fonts are included with the PSF base. A softcopy program directory is shipped with each PSF order. Effective December 15, 2017, PSF V4.6 publications will be available on z/os Knowledge Center. Security, auditability, and control PSF uses the security features and programs of the z/os operating systems. The customer is responsible for evaluation, selection, and implementation of security features, administrative procedures, and appropriate controls in application systems and communication facilities. Ordering information New licensees Orders for new licenses can be placed now. Registered customers can access IBMLink for ordering information and charges. Shipment will not occur before the planned availability date. Unless a later date is specified, orders entered before the planned availability date will be assigned a schedule date of one week following availability. Orders entered after the planned availability date will be assigned a schedule date for the week following order entry, unless a later date is specified. Shipment will begin on the planned availability date. New users of PSF for z/os, V4.6 should specify: Program description Type Model IBM Print Services Facility for z/os, V M32 IBM United States Software Announcement IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation 6

7 Basic license PSF for z/os, V4.6 is priced in Cumulative Block Tiers. The PSF Tier is determined based on the number of printers PSF will be driving, and the impressions-per-minute rated speed of those printers. Printer points are assigned to each printer based on its rated speed. Points for all printers except those in Category 1 are accumulated, and the total number of points indicates the appropriate PSF price tier. Printer speeds and associated PSF Category are shown in the PSF section on the IBM z Systems (R) Software Contracts website. How to order To order a basic license, specify program number 5655-M32. Specify the 3590 Supply IDs, MLC entitlement identifiers, and desired tiers (usage levels). PSF usage tier Printer point range MLC entitlement identifier 3590 orderable supply ID 1 Up to 5 points S01254B S01662H 2 Up to 9 points 3 Up to 14 points 4 Up to 20 points 5 Up to 30 points 6 Up to 46 points 7 Up to 66 points 8 Up to 86 points 9 Up to 151 points 10 Up to 301 points 11 Up to 601 points or more points To order optional priced features of PSF for z/os, V4.6, specify the 3590 supply ID and MLC entitlement identifier for each feature you want to order from the following table: Feature name MLC entitlement identifier AFP Download Plus S S01662J AFP Upload S01254S S01662G ACIF S S01662K Download for z/os S S01662L 3590 orderable supply ID Note: AFP Download Plus, AFP Upload, ACIF, and Download for z/os can only be ordered using Tier 1. Unlicensed documentation A memorandum and program directory are shipped with the base feature. The following publications are available on the internet in PDF format: Title Order number PSF for z/os: ACIF User's Guide S PSF for z/os: AFP Download Plus S PSF for z/os: Customization S PSF for z/os: Diagnosis G PSF for z/os: Download for z/os S PSF for z/os: Introduction G PSF for z/os: Licensed Program Specifications G PSF for z/os: Messages and Codes G PSF for z/os: Security Guide S PSF for z/os: User's Guide S IBM United States Software Announcement IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation 7

8 The publications are also available from the z/os Knowledge Center. The publication, Tiered Pricing Exhibit for IBM and Non-IBM AFP Printers, (Z ) is shipped in softcopy with the base feature. To access the latest PSF for z/os, V4.6 (5655-M32) information, see the z/os output management software website. To access the latest PSF for z/os, V4.6 tiered pricing exhibit, see the IBM z Systems (R) Software Contracts website. Subsequent updates (technical newsletters or revisions between releases) to the publications shipped with the product will be distributed to the user of record for as long as a license for this software remains in effect. A separate publication order or subscription is not needed. Customized Offerings Product deliverables are shipped only through CBPDO and ServerPac. These customized offerings are offered for internet delivery from Shopz. Internet delivery reduces software delivery time and allows you to install software without the need to handle tapes. For more details on internet delivery, go to the Help section on the Shopz website. You choose the delivery method when you order the software. IBM recommends internet delivery. In addition to internet and DVD, the supported tape delivery options include: Most products can be ordered in ServerPac the month following their availability in CBPDO. z/os can be ordered through CBPDO and ServerPac at general availability. Many products will also be orderable in a Product ServerPac without also having to order the z/os operating system or subsystem. Shopz and CFSW will determine the eligibility based on product requisite checking. For more details on the product ServerPac, go to the Help section on the Shopz website. For additional information on the Product ServerPac option, see Software Announcement , dated July 31, Production of software product orders will begin on the planned general availability date. CBPDO shipments will begin one week after general availability. ServerPac shipments will begin two weeks after general availability. Terms and conditions The terms for IBM PSF for z/os, V4.6, as previously announced in Software Announcement , dated July 12, 2011,licensed under the IBM Customer Agreementare unaffected by this announcement. Statement of good security practices IT system security involves protecting systems and information through prevention, detection, and response to improper access from within and outside your enterprise. Improper access can result in information being altered, destroyed, or IBM United States Software Announcement IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation 8

9 misappropriated or can result in misuse of your systems to attack others. Without a comprehensive approach to security, no IT system or product should be considered completely secure and no single product or security measure can be completely effective in preventing improper access. IBM systems and products are designed to be part of a lawful, comprehensive security approach, which will necessarily involve additional operational procedures, and may require other systems, products, or services to be most effective. Important: IBM does not warrant that any systems, products, or services are immune from, or will make your enterprise immune from, the malicious or illegal conduct of any party. Prices For additional information and current prices, contact your local IBM representative or IBM Business Partner. IBM PSF for z/os, V4.6 (5655-M32) Entitlement License option/ Identifier Description S01254B PSF for z/os, V4.6 License option/ Pricing metric Basic MLC Cumulative Block Tiers S S01254M S S01254Z AFP Download Plus AFP Upload ACIF Download for z/os Basic MLC Flat Charge Basic MLC Flat Charge Basic MLC Flat Charge Basic MLC Flat Charge Use level charge: Charges for this program are based on usage levels. When a customer upgrades to a higher level of usage, a usage upgrade charge will apply, equal to the difference between the charge for the current level of usage and the higher level of usage. For additional information on PSF for z/os, see Software Announcements: , dated April 1, , dated July 12, 2011 Variable charges The applicable processor based one-time charge will be based on the group of the designated machine on which the program is licensed for use. If the program is designated to a processor in a group for which no charge is listed, the charge of the next higher group listed applies. For movement to a machine in a higher group, an upgrade charge equal to the difference in the then-current charges between the two groups will apply. For movement to a machine in a lower group, there will be no adjustment or refund of charges paid. IBM Global Financing IBM Global Financing offers competitive financing to credit-qualified customers to assist them in acquiring IT solutions. Offerings include financing for IT acquisition, IBM United States Software Announcement IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation 9

10 including hardware, software, and services, from both IBM and other manufacturers or vendors. Offerings (for all customer segments: small, medium, and large enterprise), rates, terms, and availability can vary by country. Contact your local IBM Global Financing organization or go to the IBM Global Financing website for more information. IBM Global Financing offerings are provided through IBM Credit LLC in the United States, and other IBM subsidiaries and divisions worldwide to qualified commercial and government customers. Rates are based on a customer's credit rating, financing terms, offering type, equipment type, and options, and may vary by country. Other restrictions may apply. Rates and offerings are subject to change, extension, or withdrawal without notice. Order now To order, contact the IBM Digital Sales Center, your local IBM representative, or your IBM Business Partner. To identify your local IBM representative or IBM Business Partner, call 800-IBM-4YOU ( ). For more information, contact the IBM Digital Sales Center. Phone: 800-IBM-CALL ( ) Fax: 800-2IBM-FAX ( ) For IBM representative: askibm@ca.ibm.com For IBM Business Partner: pwcs@us.ibm.com IBM Digital Sales Offices 1177 S Belt Line Rd Coppell, TX , US The IBM Digital Sales Center, our national direct marketing organization, can add your name to the mailing list for catalogs of IBM products. Note: Shipments will begin after the planned availability date. Trademarks Print Services Facility is a trademark of IBM Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. IBM, z/os, VTAM and IBM z Systems are registered trademarks of IBM Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries. Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. Terms of use IBM products and services which are announced and available in your country can be ordered under the applicable standard agreements, terms, conditions, and prices in effect at the time. IBM reserves the right to modify or withdraw this announcement at any time without notice. This announcement is provided for your information only.additional terms of use are located at Terms of use For the most current information regarding IBM products, consult your IBM representative or reseller, or go to the IBM worldwide contacts page IBM United States IBM United States Software Announcement IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation 10