It’s Time for ClearPath OS 2200 Release 17.0

ClearPath® OS 2200 Release 17.0 is set to go live in October. This major release of the operating environment for ClearPath Forward™ Dorado systems builds on its proven, business-critical leadership by delivering new advances in performance, scalability, availability, resilience, security, application agility, and integration.

To that end, OS 2200 17.0 includes 107 fully integrated, fully qualified software components that have been designed, developed, and tested as a whole to ensure they deliver the seamless operations your core business applications and databases demand.

The new features, updates, and enhancements we’ve added into ClearPath OS 2200 Release 17.0 work together to deliver considerable benefits across three important areas:

Application Modernization
Data Center Transformation
Security

Application Modernization

With the help of ClearPath OS 2200 Release 17.0, you can more effectively utilize widely available developer skills, make it easier to maintain and integrate your applications, and execute new initiatives that better align IT investments with business objectives:

ClearPath Forward ePortal for OS 2200: The ClearPath Forward ePortal for OS 2200 has been updated in OS 2200 17.0 with enhancements to ePortal Developer that help to reduce application complexity, so you can develop web service applications faster. In addition, ePortal now supports Apache Cordova™ 5.1.1 for multi-device application development.

Open TI: To enable application integration between .NET and OS 2200 transactions and services, Open TI now supports both 32-bit and 64-bit Microsoft® Windows® environments. The 64-bit capability includes support for .NET 4.6.1 or higher, enabling your developers to take advantage of the features in the latest Windows tools and technology.

CS2200: A new product that’s included in OS 2200 17.0, CS2200 provides a simple, socket-based program interface for .NET applications to access OS 2200 files and applications.

XML: OS 2200 17.0 includes the ability to generate XML from an OS 2200 COBOL data record. Developers can now export OS 2200 COBOL data records into XML and import that into their Java or .NET applications.

Data Center Transformation

With the enhancements included in ClearPath OS 2200 Release 17.0, you’ll be able to improve the ways you interact with and process data:

MCB: Significant performance and scaling improvements make it possible to increase OS 2200 application workloads without impacting performance or system limits. As a result, you can support higher transaction rates, increase the number of concurrently running transactions, and, in some cases, place more messages on the queue.

RDMS: Improved query performance will help you access your data faster, enabling you to better support business requirements that involve data warehousing and online analytical processing (OLAP). Understanding and viewing RDMS databases is simpler in OS 2200 17.0, as well. Apex now provides various views of the RDMS databases available to each application group, making it easier for your database administrators to understand the physical layout of OS 2200 databases and view their active configurations, as well as the database’s schema, storage area, and table objects.

Integrated Recovery Utility (IRU): New enhancements enable faster access to archived audit information, reduce I/O overhead, and improve database backup performance for Universal Data System (UDS) files.

WebSphere MQ for ClearPath OS 2200 (WMQ2200): OS 2200 17.0 includes support for IBM® WebSphere® MQ version 8. With this update, your OS 2200 applications can securely and reliably exchange messages with applications residing on a wide range of operating systems and platforms. In addition, new channel improvements help system administrators determine whether other systems should be upgraded and allow for more predictable latency when there is a mixture of large and small messages. And, new security features in WMQ2200 include Object Authority Manager (OAM) user-based permissions, updated cryptographic standards compliance, and more.

Operations Sentinel: The latest version of Operations Sentinel provides many features that help you monitor your infrastructure’s health from end to end. Specifically, it enables you to check ClearPath Forward ePortal for OS 2200 implementations, back up and restore configuration data, and forward Operations Sentinel alerts as SNMP traps to other SNMP listeners. Also, Operations Sentinel now supports Windows 10 and Microsoft Windows Server® 2016.

Enterprise Output Manager: Enterprise Output Manager includes the new Web Assistant RESTful service feature, which enables you to implement a heavily customized user interface. The mobile print feature is new, as well. With it, you can access files posted from the Web Assistant on a mobile app and send them to any printer configured in the Enterprise Output Manager Server. Additionally, seamless integration with enterprise content management (ECM) solutions helps you significantly improve business processes that rely heavily on high volumes of paper and electronic documents.

Security

ClearPath OS 2200 Release 17.0 builds on the proven security of the OS 2200 environment by adding over 30 new features to several key capabilities:

Single Sign On: OS 2200 has used Kerberos or NTLM protocols to support single sign on for several releases. However, each of those solutions required another Windows server in the domain to assist with authentication. The new TLS-secured single sign on feature in OS 2200 17.0 requires no additional server. You now have the ability to use your X.509 certificate from a smart card or elsewhere on your workstation to initiate TIP and Demand sessions with a terminal emulator that supports this new feature.

Apex: Originally introduced in ClearPath OS 2200 Release 15.0, Apex receives additional features – such as the ability to manage file security and quota sets and configure network authentication – that make it a comprehensive alternative to the Windows based Security Administration for OS 2200 Security Client application. You can also use the product’s new security auditing features to report on changes to Access Control Records (ACRs) based on the ACR change log entries introduced in this release.

Network Security: Enhancements in CPComm, CPCommOS, and CryptoLib make OS 2200 17.0 the most secure release ever from a network communications standpoint. This release enhances OS 2200 Secure Hashing Algorithm version 2 (SHA-2) support with SHA-2-based signature creation. This is particularly important, as many browser vendors are phasing out support for SHA-1 signatures. It also supports enhanced security for PKCS private keys. And for Intel® based Dorado systems, OS 2200 17.0 includes Domain Name Security Extensions (DNSSEC) and support for virtual LANs.

Learn More About ClearPath OS 2200 17.0

We plan to update the OS 2200 homepage with information about the new features and enhancements included in OS 2200 17.0 as the release date approaches. And be sure to look for the OS 2200 17.0 Software Release Announcement, Planning and Migration Overview, and Software Product Catalog for further information about the new products, software, and enhancements included in the release.

And please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you need any assistance upgrading to OS 2200 17.0 or implementing any of the release’s new features. We offer a portfolio of services that can help you quickly benefit from everything the new release has to offer. In addition, our services team can assist you in exploring opportunities and identifying and executing projects that will help you progress your application modernization, data center automation, and data center health monitoring initiatives. Please contact your Unisys sales representative for details.

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