In IBM "crit sit" has a specific meaning. This presentation applies to a general 'IT crisis', not just an IBM crit sit. The presentation reviews various hints and tips about how to live through a crisis or maybe even avoid it. While many of the stories will be z/VM related and there will be some specifics for collecting data in a z/VM environment, a lot of the information and discussion will apply to IT crit sits in general.

It sounds like an old real estate joke, but the three most important things to understand about Live Guest Relocation: Domains, Domains, Domains. Live Guest Relocation was introduced in z/VM 6.2 and many customers have grown to love it and depend on it. One of the key concepts associated with LGR is relocation domains. If you've ever wanted to really understand this part of the whole relocation construct, then come to this session. We'll describe what relocation domains are and how they affect LGR. You'll leave being able to understand how virtual architectures are influenced by relocation domains. In other words, you'll leave being able to amaze your friends and coworkers.

This 12-minute video will give you a brief overview of z/VM 7.1 from the April 10, 2018 preview announcement along with a description of the new continuous delivery strategy for z/VM. z/VM 7.1 will be the first of a cadence of z/VM releases. There is also a PDF of charts with speaker notes.

This presentation will take a high level view of the new z/VM 6.4 release that became Generally Available on November 11, 2016. It was a release born from customer feedback and with that, each customer should find some significant value in the release. We'll discuss items such as HyperPAV for z/VM ECKD paging, 2TB real memory support, improved SCSI management, a new CMS Pipelines library, and much more.

z/VM 6.4 was generally available on November 11, 2016 and brought a lot of new capability to the z/VM environment. This presentation reviews some of the key changes in the release. First we'll look at your existing system and discuss what will be different when you go to z/VM 6.4. Next we'll look at what you should change prior to IPLing z/VM 6.4, things like expanded storage or changes for HyperPAV paging. We'll wrap things up with a discussion of how you exploit some of the new features after you are running z/VM 6.4.

This short document/presentation is meant to help justify why customers should move to the most current z/VM Release. It is a set of questions describing potential problems or challenges, and maps those questions to solutions or enhancements in z/VM 6.4 that address them.

With z/VM 6.3's ability to use up to 1 TB of real memory, it is time to revisit the question "What type of disk should I use for z/VM Paging?" This session will give some background on z/VM paging, a review of devices options, and then look at real data from some work in this areas. Included will be discussion of how paging characteristics change under different workloads and circumstances.

Support was added to z/VM 6.3 for a new capability known as CPU Pooling. What are these new pools? Does it mean no running or splashing? No, but CPU Pooling along with other enhancements to z/VM 6.3 allow greater control over processor resource usage and potentially the effect on software license charges. This session will explain how to set up CPU Pooling and how it works.

Capacity Planning can be a challenge in a stand alone environment, but how in the world do you do it in a virtualized environment such as z/VM? This session will describe the top focus areas along with key performance metrics that one should track when doing z/VM capacity planning. Additionally, we'll discuss at a high level some models for planning: natively on z/VM through home grown tools, through tools on z/OS, or in conjunction with other products. The companion document is a list of the top performance metrics to track.

IBM Z provides cryptographic features to protect the data in your Systems of Engagement and Systems of Record. Intrigued by the possibilities inherent in IBM Z cryptographic features? Uncertain as to what all these acronyms mean? Confused about which features operate when running under z/VM? Wondering about the basics of guest crypto configuration? Scared by the word 'cryptography'? This presentation aims to alleviate fear and uncertainty by explaining the IBM Z cryptographic "stack": what the features do, how they help, how z/VM virtualizes them, and how a guest can capitalize upon them ... with as few security-related acronyms as possible.

Linux on IBM Z provides unprecedented value by allowing the consolidation of [hundreds / thousands] of Linux guests onto a single mainframe. However, just because you can't see the virtual machine doesn't mean you can't (or shouldn't) secure it. This talk enumerates the threats against virtualized environments ... and then explains how Linux on z Systems defeats each of those threats. Topics will include security from z at its most real (the hardware) up through Linux guest security and how to lock a LinuxONE providing cloud services.

The z/VM TLS Server plays a key role in IBM Z virtualization security. Whether you're securing voluminous amounts of web traffic or just need to secure your hypervisor Telnet sessions, the TLS server is involved. This session will discuss the configuration and management of the server, as well as delve into the intricacies of protocol selection and certificate management.

We look at what happens when z/VM starts, and how your set up points the system down various paths. How does it know which configuration files to use? Which CP to load? What UserIDs are defined, and which should be the operator? Whether and where to leave the operator connected? What to automatically start? We walk through a z/VM system set up by a standard install, pointing out key configuration selections, their effects, and how to change them.

The z/VM operating system's hypervising prowess makes it an ideal platform for self-awareness. We describe setting up a model of a running system, running as a guest on that system. With such a model, it is possible to allow the operating system to consider in advance the effects of certain actions, or choose to back out of situations apparently developing from recent actions. This is more the awareness level of "Ouch!" than "Cogito ergo sum!", but it is something you can do on your z/VM system today.

This session could also be easily called "Don't be THAT z/VM System Programmer". It will cover various topics that every system programmer should know. These are drawn from the experience of z/VM Level 2 support helping customers out of problems. So if you want to avoid talking to Level 2 through a Problem Record, especially off hours, come hear this session explain the value and benefit of some common System Programmer tasks for z/VM that are often overlooked.