• UNISYS A Series Systems Functional Overview Release 3.9.0 September 1991 Printed in U S America Priced Item 8600 0353-000 • UNISYS A Series Systems Functional Overview Copyright © 1991 Unisys Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Unisys is a registered trademark of Unisys Corporation. Release 3.9.0 September 1991 Printed in U S America Priced Item 8600 0353-000 The names, places, and/or events used in this publication are not intended to correspond to any individual, group, or association existing, living, or otherwise. Any similarity or likeness of the ) names, places, and/or events with the names of any individual, living or otherwise, or that of any group or association is purely coincidental and unintentional. NO WARRANTIES OF ANY NATURE ARE EXTENDED BY THE DOCUMENT. Any product and related material disclosed herein are only furnished pursuant and subject to the terms and conditions of a duly executed Program Product License or Agreement to purchase or lease equipment. The only warranties made by Unisys, if any, with respect to the products described in this document are set forth in such License or Agreement. Unisys cannot accept any financial or other responsibility that may be the result of your use of the information in this document or software material, including direct, indirect, special or consequential damages. You should be very careful to ensure that the use of this information and/or software material complies with the laws, rules, and regulations of the jurisdictions with respect to which it is used. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Revisions may be issued to advise of such changes and/or additions. Correspondence regarding this publication may be forwarded using the Product Information card at the back of the manual, or may be addressed directly to Unisys, Product Information, 25725 Jeronimo Road, Mission Viejo, CA 92691. ,Page Status Page Issue iii -000 iv Blank v th rough xvi i -000 xviii Blank xix -000 xx Blank 1-1 through 1-8 -000 2-1 through 2-21 -000 2-22 Blank 3-1 through 3-22 -000 4-1 through 4-13 -000 4-14 Blank 5-1 through 5-24 -000 6-1 through 6-10 -000 7-1 through 7-26 -000 8-1 through 8-33 -000 8-34 Blank 9-1 through 9-20 -000 10-1 through 10-6 -000 11-1 through 11-4 -000 12-1 through 12-3 -000 12-4 Blank A-I th rough A-2 -000 B-1 th rough B-2 -000 Glossary-l through 24 -000 Bibliography-l through 14 -000 Index-l through 16 -000 Unisys uses an II-digit document numbering system. The suffix of the document number (1234 5678-xyz) indicates the document level. The first digit of the suffix (x) designates a revision level; the second digit (y) designates an update level. For example, the first release of a document has a suffix of -000. A suffix of -130 designates the third update to revision 1. The third digit (z) is used to indicate an errata for a particular level and, is not reflected in the page status summary. 86000353-000 iii iv 8600 0353-000 About This Overview Purpose The A Series Systems Functional Overview introduces the A Series line of computer systems and their associated system software and environmental software products. This overview is designed to answer the following types of questions: • "Should I buy an A Series system? Is it an effective solution for the types of business problems I face?" • "I've just received an A Series system and a large assortment of documentation. It's all new to me. What really is in an A Series system and what do all these products do?" • "I have an A Series system and there is a particular task I want to perform using this system. Which software product should I use to accomplish this task?" • "I've heard about a particular A Series software product, and it sounds like it might be relevant to my needs. What are the general capabilities of this software product?" Scope This overview presents a functionally organized description of all the system and environmental software products U nisys sells for use on A Series systems. This overview helps you to understand how each product is used, and some of the particular strengths of each product. Where two products serve a similar function, this overview helps you to choose between them. This overview is not a tutorial about how to administer or operate an A Series system. This overview refers you to other published Unisys docwnents for detailed information about how to operate the various products thB.t are introduced here. Audience If you are a new A Series system customer, are considering acquiring a system, or just want a general introduction to A Series systems, then you should read this manual. Prerequisites You do not need any prior knowledge ofUnisys systems to understand the information in this manual, but you should have a basic grasp of elementary computer concepts. 86000353-000 v About This Overview How to Use This Overview Part I of this overview, "Products," discusses A Series functions and the products that provide those functions. If you want an overview of A Series functions, or ifyou want to find out which product performs a particular function, you can use the table of contents. For example, suppose you are interested in database performance management. In the table of contents, you will find a section titled "Database Management." Within that section is a subsection on "Database Operations," which includes a smaller topic called "Database Performance Monitoring." Within each topic, the text introduces the product that provides the stated function (for example, the DMMONITOR utility). The text describes the function of the product in further detail, explaining four or five noteworthy capabilities of the product. The length of the presentation varies, depending on the complexity of the product being discussed. Mter reading the brief product descriptions given in this overview, you should be able to decide whether you want more details about any of the products. Each topic ends with a list of documents you can consult for further information about the product being discussed. If the online help text is available for the product, that is also mentioned. If you have heard the name of an A Series product, and you want information about that particular product, you should go to the index first. For example, if you are interested in InfoExec™, you will find that InfoExec appears in the index with references to the pages where various aspects of InfoExec are discussed. For information about A Series support services, migration policies, and documentation, refer to Part II of this overview, "Support." Throughout this overview, B 21, B 25, B 26, B 27, B 28, and B 38 systems are referred to as the BTOSTM workstations. Technical terms are defined and acronyms are spelled out in the text where they first appear. In addition, many of these terms and acronyms are defined in the glossary of this this overview. Unless otherwise noted, manuals referred to in this overview are for the A Series systems. Organization This overview contains the following parts, sections, and appendixes. In addition, a glossary, a bibliography, and an index appear at the end of this overview. Part 1. Products The sections in this part describe the products and features of A Series systems. InfoExec is a trademark of Unisys Corporation. STOS is a trademark of Unisys Corporation. vi 8600 0353-000 About Th is Overview Section 1. A Series Systems: A Design for Change This section provides a thumbnail sketch of the types of capabilities provided by A Series systems. These capabilities are explored in more detail in later sections of this overview. Section 2. A Series Architecture" This section introduces the basic hardware components and system software components of A Series systems. The presentation is brief and fairly nontechnical. Section 3. Database Management This section introduces the types of database architectures available on A Series systems. This section also introduces the utilities used for database creation, operations, and inquiry or updating. Section 4. Transaction Management This section introduces the A Series products that provide end users with easy online access to data, and the products that allow system administrators and programmers to effectively control online transactions. Section 5. Program Development This section introduces fourth-generation and third-generation programming languages and the associated utilities that increase programmer productivity. Section 6. Operational Interface This section discusses the products that system operators use to control the system. Section 7. Basic System Management This section describes the products and features used to manage processes, memory, files, disk units, printing, system configuration, and system reinitialization. Section 8. Data Communications Networks This section discusses the various types of networks that provide communication between terminals and the host system, or between two different host systems. Section 9. System Monitoring and Security This section introduces the tools used for monitoring system performance and reliability. This section also describes the products that provide flexible levels of security on the system, including features certified by the United States Department of Defense as providing the C2 controlled access protection level. 86000353-000 vii About This Overview Part 2. Support The sections in this part describe the support Unisys provides for users of A Series systems. Section 10. CUSTOMCARE@ Services This section describes hardware and software support services, customer education, and consulting services. Section 11. System Updates This section introduces the procedures used to distribute new firmware, system software, and environmental software to customers.