Mainframes and web services

DataDirect has enhanced its Shadow RTETM mainframe integration suite for optimising web services security, testing and development across a range of mainframe databases, business logic and screen-based applications.

The focus is on meeting the needs of enterprises wanting their mainframe-based applications to participate more fully in Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA). Originally designed to support individual sign-on, mainframe security protocols such as RACF from IBM are now required to process thousands of Web services logins per hour, creating an authentication bottleneck that slows performance and consumes expensive mainframe CPU cycles needed to support the security manager.

To address this problem, DataDirect’s Shadow Security Optimization and Management (SOM) feature provides security authentication for processes such as a Web service or SQL call. The Shadow SOM feature works in conjunction with the established client and host security protocols to eliminate redundant authentication requests by caching security credentials, and maintains the integrity of the security infrastructure by subscribing to updates in the security manager database. It supports all the major enterprise security protocols, including RACF and CA’s ACF2 and Top-Secret.