Configuring iFileshare for CICS Applications

iFileshare, either in single mode or working as a high availability group, can be configured to work with your CICS regions in two ways: you can configure your CICS regions to connect to a server on a separate Enterprise server region, or you can configure the iFileshare to be in the same region as your CICS application.

To configure access to an external iFileshare server

To configure your CICS application to use files located on an external iFileshare server, you must configure the following:

  • Specify the Fileshare server in the FCT details for each file you require to access this way:

    GUID-E0C08329-7F05-455A-AA55-2838EFB26590-low.png

    Tip: If Start Open is selected, you can use the files get option from iFSView after the file is open to show that the configuration is correct: when you click files get, the file configured in the FCT should appear.
  • Next, you must edit the SIT to specify a valid CICS user, and ensure that the Integrated field is unchecked (this is used when iFileshare is part of the CICS region).

    GUID-03A3ABB6-EC9C-4FEC-9AFF-83E3A14C723C-low.png

If the iFileshare server is already configured correctly, you should only have to start this region to complete the configuration.

To configure access to an iFileshare server that is part of the CICS region

To configure your CICS application to use files located on a iFileshare server that is also part of the same CICS region, you must ensure that the following details are set:

  • In the FCT details for each file you plan to use via iFileshare, ensure that one or both of the Backward Recovery or Forward Recovery options are selected.

    GUID-EB7DDE7C-8D94-4AD4-829F-E17B00D16853-low.png

  • Configure the ES_HA_VSAM environment variable in the normal manner; for example:

    GUID-9E725D5E-289E-4A6B-B603-203D3CD36D2B-low.png

Important: If you have configured a high availability group, the CICS configuration for each server in the group must be identical, so that in the event of a failover, CICS processing can continue.