IBM Corp acquired open systems transaction processing company Transarc Corp way back in 1994, but only recently has it begun to make serious moves toward integrating Transarc’s Encina product line with its own venerable CICS transaction processing software. At the end of January, IBM quietly introduced TXSeries 4.2, an evolution of its TP server offerings that includes both Distributed CICS and Encina monitors in a single package, including application programming interfaces from both. IBM is using the name TXSeries to capitalize on the success of its MQSeries transaction messaging software, which significantly is also under the umbrella of former Transarc president Dr Alfred Spector’s Transaction Processing Systems Group at IBM. TXSeries middleware is intended to enable existing transaction applications to extend to the Web, and to provide an integrated system for developing and managing e-business and cross-enterprise transactional systems. It looks like the shape of things to come at IBM. TXSeries 4.2 includes CICS and Encina transaction monitors, object support for CICs and Encina, a limited MQSeries license, and gateways and servers to create and access Internet or intranet-enabled TXSeries-based applications: the DE-Light DCE gateway, CICS gateway for Java, CICS Internet gateway, and CICS gateways for Lotus Notes and the Domino GO Webserver. It currently runs on IBM’s own AIX Unix and Sun’s Solaris, but should be out for both HP-UX and Windows NT this quarter. Despite efforts to extend CICS from the mainframe to open systems with CICS/6000, the old Customer Information Control System remained of primary interest to System 390 customers, while the Encina product remains associated with Unix-based systems. They already share common object transaction services and some common base code. Now IBM has hopes of taking on BEA Inc’s Tuxedo system head to head in the distributed systems marketplace. Further integration work continues. TXSeries has limited availability now, general availability is in April.
