Send SMTP Messages from MVS
Batch, TSO and CICS  Applications

Functional Overview

Many OV/MVS customers have mail-enabled line-of-business (LOB) applications that use the underlying e-mail network to distribute information such as reports and status notifications from MVS batch, TSO and/or CICS functions to end-users. OV/MVS traditionally uses a SNADS-based e-mail network, either IBM's DISOSS or Icom Solutions' (now Keane UK) OfficePath/SNADS.

Today even as OV/MVS customers migrate their e-mail users to LAN-based systems such as Lotus Notes/Domino and Microsoft Exchange their LOB applications continue to run on MVS. However, once all of their OV/MVS users have been migrated, the cost of maintaining a SNADS network just for this purpose becomes a significant cost issue.

While alternate solutions like file-transfer may at first seem attractive, they create new challenges of their own. For example, customers who use Icom Solutions' OfficePath/Batch-TSO and/or OfficePath/CICS (or their RAPID equivalents1) will need to identify all e-mail enabled LOB applications, then change them to use FTP instead of SNADS. Further, FTP only transfers the files to a LAN. The files still need to be addressed and distributed via traditional e-mail.

OfficePath/SMTP-SEND (OP/SS) solves these problems by replacing your SNADS e-mail network with industry-standard SMTP. Because it is designed to work with OfficePath or RAPID, no changes are required to your existing mail-enabled LOB applications. Simply replace OfficePath/SNADS or RAPID/Base with OP/SS and map SNADS addresses to SMTP mail addresses. OP/SS will establish a TCP/IP session with your existing SMTP mail network and send it all messages that used to go via SNADS.

Highlights

• replaces the SNADS Send services of DISOSS and OfficePath/SNADS
• no changes required to existing e-mail enabled LOB applications
• connects to all SMTP-compliant e-mail systems including Lotus Notes/Domino, Microsoft Exchange, Netscape
• simple to install, configure and administer
• table and/or formula driven SNADS to SMTP address mapping
• central log of all distributions

Benefits

• preserves your investment in OfficePath/Batch, TSO, CICS and RAPID/Batch, TSO, CICS
• replaces SNADS mail infrastructure with industry-standard SMTP
• reduces overall cost of MVS-to-LAN e-mail connectivity through lower software licensing fees and administrative costs

Operating Environment

OS/390 (MVS) V1 R3 or OS/390 V2 or higher

IBM TCP/IP V3 R2 or OS/390 V2 eNetwork Communications Server

• must run SMTP Server

requires at least one of:

• OfficePath/Batch-TSO
• OfficePath/CICS
• RAPID/Batch-TSO
• RAPID/CICS

1 OP/SNADS replaces the distribution functions of DISOSS. RAPID/Base provides comparable functions to OfficePath, but is intended for use with DISOSS. RAPID/Batch-TSO is equivalent to OfficePath/Batch-TSO. RAPID/CICS is equivalent to OfficePath/CICS.