z/OS

General Information

Technologies must be operated and maintained in accordance with Federal and Department security and privacy policies and guidelines. More information on the proper use of the TRM can be found on the TRM Proper Use Tab/Section.

Website:	Go to site
Description:	z/OS is a 64-bit operating system for International Business Machines (IBM) mainframes. z/OS supports stable mainframe systems and standards such as Customer Information Control System (CICS), Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL), Information Management System (IMS), Database 2 (Db2), Resource Access Control Facility (RACF), Systems Network Architecture (SNA), record-oriented data access methods, Restructured Extended Executor (REXX), Command List (CLIST), System Modification Program/Extended (SMP/E), Job Control Language (JCL), Time Sharing Option/ Extensions (TSO/E), Resource Management Facility (RMF) and Interactive System Productivity Facility (ISPF). However, z/OS also supports 64-bit Java, C, C++, and UNIX (Single UNIX Specification) application programming interfaces and applications through UNIX System Services. The TRM decisions in this entry only apply to technologies and versions owned, operated, managed, patched, and version-controlled by VA. This includes technologies deployed as software installations on VMs within VA-controlled cloud environments (e.g., VA Enterprise Cloud (VAEC)). Cloud services provided by the VAEC, which are listed in the VAEC Service Catalog, and those controlled and managed by an external Cloud Service Provider (i.e., SaaS) are not in the purview of the TRM. For more information on the use of cloud services and cloud-based products within VA, including VA private clouds, please see the Enterprise Cloud Solutions Office (ECSO) Portal at: https://dvagov.sharepoint.com/sites/OITECSO
Technology/Standard Usage Requirements:	Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.
Section 508 Information:	This technology has not been assessed by the Section 508 Office. The Implementer of this technology has the responsibility to ensure the version deployed is 508-compliant. Section 508 compliance may be reviewed by the Section 508 Office and appropriate remedial action required if necessary. For additional information or assistance regarding Section 508, please contact the Section 508 Office at Section508@va.gov.
Decision:	View Decisions

Decision Source:	TRM Mgmt Group
Decision Process:	One-VA TRM v24.5
Decision Date:	05/13/2024 at 16:17:10 UTC
Aliases:	IBM Z Systems; mainframe
Introduced By:	CDCO Supported Architecture Components
Vendor Name:	International Business Machines (IBM)

Vendor Release Information

The Vendor Release table provides the known releases for the TRM Technology, obtained from the vendor (or from the release source).

Version	Release Date	Vendor End of Life Date	Vendor Desupport Date
1.11	09/25/2009		09/25/2009
1.12	09/25/2010		09/24/2010
1.13	09/25/2011		09/30/2011
2.1	09/30/2013		09/30/2018
2.2.x	09/30/2015	09/30/2020
2.3.x	09/29/2017	09/30/2022
2.4.x	09/30/2019
2.5.x	04/05/2022
3.1.x	08/24/2023

Current Decision Matrix (05/08/2024)

Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.

The VA Decision Matrix displays the current and future VA IT position regarding different releases of a TRM entry. These decisions are based upon the best information available as of the most current date. The consumer of this information has the responsibility to consult the organizations responsible for the desktop, testing, and/or production environments to ensure that the target version of the technology will be supported. Any major.minor version that is not listed in the VA Decision Matrix is considered unapproved for use.

Legend:

White	Approved: The technology/standard has been approved for use.
Yellow	Approved w/Constraints: The technology/standard can be used within the specified constraints located below the decision matrix in the footnote[1] and on the General tab.
Gray	Unapproved: This technology or standard can be used only if a POA&M review is conducted and signed by the Authorizing Official Designated Representative (AODR) as designated by the Authorizing Official (AO) or designee and based upon a recommendation from the POA&M Compliance Enforcement, has been granted to the project team or organization that wishes to use the technology.
Orange	Divest: VA has decided to divest itself on the use of the technology/standard. As a result, all projects currently utilizing the technology/standard must plan to eliminate their use of the technology/standard. Additional information on when the entry is projected to become unapproved may be found on the Decision tab for the specific entry.
Black	Prohibited: The technology/standard is not (currently) permitted to be used under any circumstances.
Blue	Planning/Evaluation Constraint:The period of time this technology is currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population. If a customer would like to use this technology, please work with your local or Regional OI&T office and contact the appropriate evaluation office displayed in the notes below the decision matrix. The Local or Regional OI&T office should submit an inquiry to the TRM if they require further assistance or if the evaluating office is not listed in the notes below.

Release/Version Information:

VA decisions for specific versions may include a ‘.x’ wildcard, which denotes a decision that pertains to a range of multiple versions.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 7.x would cover any version of 7.(Anything) - 7.(Anything). However, a 7.4.x decision would cover any version of 7.4.(Anything), but would not cover any version of 7.5.x or 7.6.x on the TRM.

VA decisions for specific versions may include ‘+’ symbols; which denotes that the decision for the version specified also includes versions greater than what is specified but is not to exceed or affect previous decimal places.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 12.6.4+ would cover any version that is greater than 12.6.4, but would not exceed the .6 decimal ie: 12.6.401 is ok, 12.6.5 is ok, 12.6.9 is ok, however 12.7.0 or 13.0 is not.

<Past

CY2026

CY2027

CY2028

Future>

Release

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

1.11

Unapproved

1.12

Unapproved

1.13

Unapproved

2.1

Unapproved

2.2.x

Unapproved

2.3.x

Unapproved

2.4.x

Unapproved

2.5.x

Approved w/Constraints
[16, 17, 18, 19]

3.1.x

Approved w/Constraints
[16, 17, 18, 19]

Decision Constraints


[1]	Projects that have been deployed to a production environment may continue to use this technology. New projects must utilize a One-VA TRM approved operating system.

[2]	As of April 23, 2015, per the Deputy CIO of Architecture, Strategy and Design (ASD), all technologies in use by the VA require an assessment by the VA Section 508 office. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 is a federal law that sets the guidelines for technology accessibility. A VA Section 508 assessment of this technology has not been completed at the time of publication. Therefore, as of April 23, 2015 only users of this technology who have deployed the technology to the production environment, or have project design and implementation plans approved, may continue to operate this technology. In the case of a project that has implemented, or been approved for a specific site or number of users, and that project needs to expand operations to other sites or to an increased user base, it may do so as long as the project stays on the existing version of the technology that was approved or implemented as of April 22, 2015. Use of this technology in all other cases is prohibited.

[3]	Configuration baseline and deployment standards for this technology that are maintained by Infrastructure Operations in ITOPS must be followed and adhered to unless an appropriate waiver is granted. See the reference section for more information.

[4]	Due to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) identified security vulnerabilities, extra vigilance should be applied to ensure the versions remain properly patched to mitigate known and future vulnerabilities. The local ISO can provide assistance in reviewing the NIST vulnerabilities.

[5]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[6]	Configuration baseline and deployment standards for this technology that are maintained by Infrastructure Operations in Information Technology Operations and Services (ITOPS) must be followed and adhered to unless an appropriate waiver is granted. See the reference section for more information.

[7]	Due to potential information security risks, cloud based technologies may not be used without the approval of the Enterprise Cloud Solution Office (ECSO). This body is in part responsible for ensuring organizational information, Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI), and VA sensitive data are not compromised. (Ref: VA Directive 6004, VA Directive 6517, VA Directive 6513 and VA Directive 6102).

[8]	Due to potential information security risks for cloud-based technologies, users should coordinate closely with their facility ISSO for guidance and assistance on cloud products. If further guidance is needed contact the Enterprise Cloud Solution Office (ECSO), which is the body responsible for new software development in and migration of existing systems to the VA Enterprise Cloud (VAEC) and ensuring organizational information, Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI), and VA sensitive data are not compromised within the VAEC. For information about Software as a Service (SaaS) products or to submit a SaaS product request with the Project Special Forces (SPF) team, please use their online form. (Ref: VA Directive 6004, VA Directive 6517, VA Directive 6513 and VA Directive 6102).

[9]	Due to potential information security risks for cloud-based technologies, users should coordinate closely with their facility ISSO for guidance and assistance on cloud products. If further guidance is needed contact the Enterprise Cloud Solution Office (ECSO), which is the body responsible for new software development in and migration of existing systems to the VA Enterprise Cloud (VAEC) and ensuring organizational information, Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI), and VA sensitive data are not compromised within the VAEC. For information about Software as a Service (SaaS) products or to submit a SaaS product request with the Project Special Forces (SPF) team, please use their online form. (Ref: VA Directive 6004, VA Directive 6517, VA Directive 6513 and VA Directive 6102).

[10]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[11]	Due to potential information security risks for cloud-based technologies, users should coordinate closely with their facility ISSO for guidance and assistance on cloud products. If further guidance is needed contact the Enterprise Cloud Solution Office (ECSO), which is the body responsible for new software development in and migration of existing systems to the VA Enterprise Cloud (VAEC) and ensuring organizational information, Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI), and VA sensitive data are not compromised within the VAEC. For information about Software as a Service (SaaS) products or to submit a SaaS product request with the Project Special Forces (PSF) team, please use their online form. (Ref: VA Directive 6004, VA Directive 6517, VA Directive 6513 and VA Directive 6102).

[12]	Due to potential information security risks for cloud-based technologies, users should coordinate closely with their facility ISSO for guidance and assistance on cloud products. If further guidance is needed contact the Enterprise Cloud Solution Office (ECSO), which is the body responsible for new software development in and migration of existing systems to the VA Enterprise Cloud (VAEC) and ensuring organizational information, Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI), and VA sensitive data are not compromised within the VAEC. For information about Software as a Service (SaaS) products or to submit a SaaS product request with the VA OIT Product Engineering team, please use their online form. (Ref: VA Directive 6004, VA Directive 6517, VA Directive 6513 and VA Directive 6102).

[13]	This technology has received one or more VA security bulletins that provide specific guidance on vulnerability patching and mitigation. It is the responsibility of VA system owners to ensure that the appropriate mitigations are taken to address all known and future discovered vulnerabilities with this product. See the Reference tab for more information on security bulletins related to this product.

[14]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISSO (Information System Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[15]	The Federal Information Processing standards (FIPS) 140-2 certification status of this technology was not able to be verified. This technology will require a 3rd party FIPS 140-2 or 140-3 certified solution for any data containing PHI/PII or VA sensitive information, where applicable. More information regarding the Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP) can be found on the NIST website.

[16]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISSO (Information System Security Officer) to ensure compliance with both VA Handbook 6500 and VA Directive 6500.

[17]	Users must ensure that z/OS is implemented with VA-approved baselines. (Refer to the ‘Category’ tab under ‘Runtime Dependencies’)

[18]	Due to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) identified security vulnerabilities, extra vigilance should be applied to ensure the versions remain properly patched to mitigate known and future vulnerabilities. The local ISSO (Information System Security Officer) can provide assistance in reviewing the NIST vulnerabilities.

[19]	Due to potential information security risks for cloud-based technologies, users should coordinate closely with their facility ISSO for guidance and assistance on cloud products. If further guidance is needed contact the Enterprise Cloud Solution Office (ECSO), which is the body responsible for new software development in and migration of existing systems to the VA Enterprise Cloud (VAEC) and ensuring organizational information, Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI), and VA sensitive data are not compromised within the VAEC. For information about Software as a Service (SaaS) products or to submit a SaaS product request, visit the Product Marketplace. (Ref: VA Directive 6004, VA Directive 6517, VA Directive 6513 and VA Directive 6102).

Note:

At the time of writing, version 3.1.0 is the most current version, released 08/24/2023. A baseline configuration of this technology was developed by the BCM team. At the time of writing, the baseline versions are 2.5.0 & 3.1.0.

References

The following reference(s) are associated with this entry:
Type	Name	Source	Description
*NOTE: Vendor provided information is subject to the accuracy of the manufacturer.

Technology Components

Note: This list may not be complete. No component, listed or unlisted, may be used outside of the technology in which it is released. The usage decision for a component is found in the Decision and Decision Constraints.
Name	Description
Data Facility Sort (DFSORT)	Data Facility Sort (DFSORT) is a sort, merge, copy, analysis and reporting program. The Sort/Merge utility is a z/OS mainframe program to sort records in a file into a specified order, merge pre-sorted files into a sorted file, or copy selected records.
Data Facility Storage Management System (DFSMS)	Data Facility Storage Management System (DFSMS), is a software suite designed to provide comprehensive storage management capabilities for organizations using the Internal Business Machine (IBM) mainframe platform.
Depth-First Search Memory Manager (DFSMSrmm)	Depth-First Search Memory Manager (DFSMSrmm) is a component of z/OS that calls the Advanced Coding Specialist (ACS) routines to request the assignment of storage group and management class names for non-system-managed tape data sets
IBM z/OS Communication Server	IBM z/OS Communications Server, is an enterprise transaction and data server that provides common applications, such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP), and Telnet, remote execution of applications. It provides a secure platform for developing and sharing mainframe workloads.
IBM z/OS Environmental Record Editing and Printing Program (EREP)	IBM z/OS Communications Server, is an enterprise transaction and data server that provides common applications, such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP), and Telnet, remote execution of applications. It provides a secure platform for developing and sharing mainframe workloads.
IBM z/OS High Level Assembler (HLASM)	High Level Assembler integrates almost all functions of past assemblers. HLASM helps to maximize the productivity of application programmers by relieving them of tasks that can now be done by the assembler itself and helps organizations avoid the necessity for converting existing -- and working -- applications from Assembler Language to other languages.
IBM z/OS Integrated Cryptographic Service Facility (ICSF) Performance Workload	The z/OS Integrated Cryptographic Service Facility (ICSF) Performance Workload consists of a series of Test Case driver programs, written in S/390 Assembler Language. These driver programs are combined in various ways to create the desired workload for a specific measurement.
IBM z/OS System Modification Program/Extended (SMP/E)	SMP/E is the basic tool for installing and maintaining software in OS/390 or z/OS systems and subsystems.
IBM z/OS System REXX	System REXX is a z/OS component that allows REXX execs to be executed outside of conventional TSO/E and batch environments. REXX is a programming language developed by IBM that is packaged as an exec.
IBM z/OS Time Sharing Option/Extensions (TSO/E)	TSO/E allows users to create an interactive session with the z/OS system.
IBM z/OS Unix System Services	z/OS UNIX System services is a base element of z/OS. It allows UNIX applications from other platforms to run on IBM System z / OS mainframe architecture.
Open Systems Adapter Support Facility (OSA/SF)	This component provides a user-friendly interface for monitoring and managing the installed Open Systems Adapters (OSAs). OSA/SF includes software that runs on a personal computer communicating with the server.

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Domain Area	Category	Customer Guidance	Category Locked By ELT Date
Platforms and Storage Operating Systems	OS - Mainframe

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

This entry is an operating system.

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

No runtime dependencies have been identified.

Comparable Technologies:

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

This is a well-documented technology.
This operating system may provide greater computation capacity for transaction and batch processing.
This technology is Federal Information Processing (FIPS) 140-2 compliant.
The vendor of this technology is an industry leader in the subject matter.

Adoption Risks

There are known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) associated with this technology. Please see https://nvd.NIST.gov/vuln/search for more details.
The potential of vendor lock exists when utilizing proprietary vendor technology.
Due to the rapid release schedule of this technology, the VA may be unable to update to the most recent patch and may require a deployment model requiring the use of specific versions.
The potential exists to store Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI) and/or VA Sensitive data and proper security standards must be followed in these cases.

Architectural Benefits

This technology is compatible with virtual machines, therefore consistent with the enterprise Server Virtualize First Policy (VAIQ 7266972 08-27-2012).
This technology has a secure configuration baseline.
This technology is compatible with multiple other Technical Reference Model (TRM) technologies and standards used by the organization.

Architectural Risks

This technology includes cloud-based functionality which has potential information security risks.

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