BARR/CHANNEL OFFLOAD Tape (3490) Emulation

BARR/CHANNEL Offload provides high-speed mainframe file transfer for companies using MVS/JES2 or VSE/POWER. It is a combination of software and hardware that allows you to physically connect your Windows-based computer to your mainframe channel via ESCON or Bus & Tag. It emulates multiple 3490 tape drives and provides a method for the mainframe spool offload facility to move SYSOUT from MVS/JES2 or VSE/POWER to your Windows network. Full headers and trailers are received to provide complete information for jobs and data sets. Offload job selection can be based on multiple job selection criteria, such as Class, Jobname, and Destination.

BARR/CHANNEL Offload offers two options:

ESCON Input – The computer connects to the mainframe through the Barr channel adapter. A thin, flexible fiber-optic cable connects the adapter to the mainframe. You can also connect the cable to an ESCON director, which is connected to the mainframe. With an ESCON director, you can attach multiple adapters to the mainframe.

Bus & Tag Input – The computer connects to the mainframe through the Barr channel adapter. Bus & Tag cables connect the adapter to the mainframe and to any other downstream channel-attached devices.

Features & Benefits

• Allows SYSOUT data to be moved from JES2 to BEPS using the mainframe channel

• Receives full headers and trailers for jobs and data sets

• Is like Print Channel Service, but without the need for banner recognition and extraction

• 3490 emulations has higher throughput than 3211 emulation

• Has an easy host configuration - one command to configure the offload process, one command to configure the SYSOUT transmitter

• Permits up to 8 offload processes per JES2 system

• Allows job selection based on multiple criteria, such as Class, Jobname, Destination, etc.

• Lets the offload process be started and drained like a printer with $S and $P commands