Data Education Center: Proxy Coupling

What is Proxy Coupling?

Proxy coupling technology, patented by Proximal Systems Corporation, enables a task to be offloaded from one system to another by means of a proxy task. The offloaded task on the target system (the proxy task) has the same interface as the original task. 

More importantly, proxy coupling delegates the majority of the internal CPU processing of the original system’s task (the offload task) to the target system. This delegation is done by an offload agent on another system.  

Proxy Coupling in Mainframe Sort Task Offloading

Proxy Coupling plays a significant role in modernizing mainframe sorting operations. As mainframes are often tasked with handling vast amounts of data, optimizing sorting operations is crucial for maintaining efficiency and performance. Proxy Coupling helps in offloading these operations to more cost-effective and scalable environments.

Benefits in Mainframe Sorting

1. Cost Efficiency:

   • Mainframe operations are notoriously expensive due to the specialized hardware and software required. By using Proxy Coupling, sorting operations can be offloaded to less expensive hardware, significantly reducing operational costs.

   • This approach allows organizations to leverage cloud or on-premises server infrastructure for sorting, which is generally more affordable than mainframe resources.

   • Additionally, by reducing the load on mainframe systems, organizations can defer costly hardware upgrades and reduce licensing fees associated with mainframe software.

2. Scalability:

   • Proxy Coupling provides a scalable solution for sorting large datasets by distributing the workload across multiple systems. This is especially beneficial in industries like banking and finance, where data volumes are continually growing.

   • The proxy can dynamically allocate resources based on workload demands, ensuring optimal performance without manual intervention.

   • This scalability is crucial for handling peak loads, such as during end-of-quarter financial reporting or massive data migrations.

3. Flexibility and Modernization:

   • One of the key challenges in mainframe environments is the reliance on outdated technologies and languages. Proxy Coupling allows for the integration of modern technologies, enabling the use of contemporary data processing and analytics tools.

   • This modernization facilitates a smoother transition from legacy systems, providing a pathway to more advanced data management solutions.

   • It also enables the implementation of advanced features like real-time analytics and data visualization, which are challenging to achieve with traditional mainframe systems.

4. Enhanced Data Management:

   • With Proxy Coupling, data can be pre-processed before it reaches the mainframe, reducing the need for intensive data manipulation on the mainframe itself. This includes tasks like data cleansing, enrichment, and aggregation.

   • The proxy can also handle data format conversions, ensuring compatibility between different systems and simplifying data integration processes.

   • This approach not only improves data quality but also streamlines data flows, reducing the time required for data processing and reporting.

Challenges in Traditional Mainframe Sorting

Traditional mainframe sorting methods come with several challenges, primarily due to the aging infrastructure and the high cost of maintaining such systems. These challenges can hinder efficiency, scalability, and flexibility, making it difficult for organizations to meet modern data management needs:

1. High Operational Costs

   • Mainframes require specialized hardware and software, which are costly to maintain and upgrade. This includes high licensing fees for mainframe operating systems and database management software.

   • The operational costs are further exacerbated by the need for skilled personnel to manage and operate mainframes, as these skills are becoming increasingly rare and expensive.

   • Power and cooling costs for mainframes are also significantly higher than for modern server farms, adding to the total cost of ownership.

2. Limited Scalability

   • Traditional mainframes are not easily scalable. Adding more processing power or storage often requires expensive upgrades or even complete system replacements.

   • This lack of scalability can be a significant limitation in industries that experience rapid data growth, such as finance, retail, or healthcare.

   • The rigid architecture of mainframes makes it challenging to implement flexible scaling solutions like cloud computing, which can dynamically adjust resources based on demand.

3. Integration Challenges

   • Mainframes often use legacy systems and languages, making integration with modern applications and technologies challenging. This includes difficulties in integrating with cloud services, modern databases, and contemporary analytics tools.

   • The incompatibility between old and new systems can lead to data silos, where data is trapped within the mainframe and cannot be easily accessed or utilized by other systems.

   • This integration challenge also extends to data formats, as mainframes often use proprietary or outdated data formats that are not compatible with modern applications.

4. Performance Bottlenecks

   • As data volumes grow, traditional mainframe sorting operations can become bottlenecks, slowing down data processing and analysis. This is particularly problematic during peak processing times, such as end-of-month or end-of-quarter financial reporting.

   • The performance limitations of mainframes can delay critical business operations, affecting decision-making and operational efficiency.

   • Furthermore, the lack of real-time data processing capabilities on mainframes limits their usefulness in applications that require quick data insights and responses.

IRI and Proximal Systems' Proxy Coupling Solution

IRI and Proximal Systems have developed a comprehensive Proxy Coupling solution that enhances mainframe operations by offloading tasks to more cost-effective platforms. This collaboration brings together IRI data management expertise – and its CoSort sorting functionality in particular – with Proximal Systems' innovative offloading technology.

The Technology

• Proxy Coupling Facility (proxCF™): The proxCF™ component allows for the seamless offloading of tasks from mainframes to distributed systems or cloud platforms. This facility maintains consistent interfaces, making it easy to integrate without requiring changes to existing applications.

• PSCsort™ Integration: PSCsort™ is a specialized CoSort-driven component that provides advanced sorting capabilities, which can be offloaded to IFLs or distributed systems. This integration ensures that sorting tasks are handled efficiently, reducing the load on mainframe CPUs.

• Transparent Offloading: The solution offers transparent offloading, meaning that tasks are transferred to other systems without any visible changes to the end-user or application. This transparency is critical for ensuring smooth operation during the transition to the new system.

The Role of CoSort in the Solution

The IRI CoSort and PSCsort technologies are integral components of the Proxy Coupling solution offered by IRI and Proximal Systems. This solution enhances mainframe sorting operations by offloading tasks to more cost-effective platforms, thereby optimizing efficiency and reducing costs.

• Data Sorting and Transformation: CoSort has been a core component of data processing jobs off the mainframe since 1978. It provides robust features for sorting, joining, aggregating, and reformatting large datasets. In the Proxy Coupling context, CoSort enables the efficient offloading of these tasks from mainframe environments to more scalable and cost-effective systems like Linux, Unix, or Windows servers.

• SortCL Program: The CoSort package includes the Sort Control Language (SortCL) program, which is used to define and execute complex data transformations and sorting operations. This functionality is crucial for organizations dealing with large-scale data, as it helps streamline data processing workflows and improve performance.

• Integration with PSCsort: The integration of CoSort with PSCsort allows for seamless offloading of mainframe sorting tasks. PSCsort uses CoSort to handle sorting operations on Integrated Facilities for Linux (IFL) or distributed systems, thereby freeing up mainframe resources and reducing associated costs​.

Solution Advantages 

• Easy Deployment: The Proxy Coupling solution is designed for easy deployment, with minimal disruption to existing workflows. This simplicity makes it an appealing option for businesses looking to enhance their data processing capabilities without extensive reconfigurations.

• Cost Savings: By offloading sorting tasks from mainframes to less expensive and power-saving systems like Linux, Unix, or Windows servers, organizations can reduce their Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) by up to 80%. This offloading helps cut down on the high MIPS costs associated with mainframe hardware and software licenses. 

• Comprehensive Support: Proximal Systems offers extensive support to help organizations maximize the benefits of their Proxy Coupling solution. This support includes setup assistance, ongoing maintenance, and troubleshooting, ensuring that businesses can fully leverage the technology

• Flexible Scaling: The solution supports scalable resource allocation, enabling organizations to adjust processing power as needed. This is particularly useful for handling varying workloads, such as during peak processing periods or as data volumes grow.
   

• Flexible Environments: The Proxy Coupling technology can offload tasks to a range of environments, including Integrated Facilities for Linux (IFL), local distributed systems, and cloud platforms. This flexibility allows organizations to choose the most appropriate and cost-effective environment for their needs.
   

• Load Balancing: By distributing workloads across multiple systems, the solution prevents bottlenecks and ensures efficient data processing. This load balancing feature is crucial for maintaining high performance and avoiding delays in data processing​.

• Seamless Integration: The Proxy Coupling solution integrates smoothly with existing mainframe systems, requiring no changes to current applications or job setups. This ease of integration minimizes disruption and allows organizations to quickly benefit from the solution.

• Failover / Redundancy: The solution includes robust failover mechanisms, automatically reverting to mainframe processing if the offload systems are unavailable. This redundancy ensures uninterrupted operations and maintains the reliability standards expected from mainframe systems​.

• Functional Extensibility: Using CoSort in LUW environments not only replaces the mainframe sort functionality, it dramatically expands on it. The SortCL program in CoSort includes data filtering, conversion, remapping, cleansing, ETL, reporting, masking, and synthesis capabilities. 

• Real-Time Processing: The ability to offload and handle tasks in real-time ensures that data is processed promptly, which is crucial for time-sensitive applications like financial transactions or regulatory reporting.