The BSA CI (Communication Integrator) enables cross-platform communication between different systems. For example, the BSA CI enables Web applications running under Windows or Unix to provide online access to systems running under z/OS.
The BSA CI is a concurrent server. This means that it can serve more than one client at a time by performing tasks at interleaved intervals. It can be used in common by all Beta Systems products and their add-ons, for example, Web Enabler.
Before you start using the BSA CI, please refer to the relevant Beta Systems product documentation to make sure that the product concerned can use the BSA CI.
The BSA CI consists of a request router, the concurrent BSA CI itself, and its own server client.
The BSA CI operates as a separate started task without a special subsystem ID.
The BSA CI can process requests from multiple Beta Systems products on multiple ports. Application ports can only be used by one product application. Global ports can be shared by different applications of the same product.
BSA CI supports the following core functions:
The complete client authentication process (user logon) to the z/OS system is initiated by BSA CI and implemented by the BSA Service Manager in the product STC.
Communication between BSA CI and the product takes place via the BSA Cross Memory (CM) method or a BSA XCF connection, depending on the system definitions. All requests are sent directly to the product, without being routed via the BSA TCP/IP server.
BSA CI provides SSL communication, including components of a PKI (Public Key Infrastructure), between the product add-ons (applications) and the product server. It exchanges the relevant certificates while checking their authorization, and sends the verified requests to the appropriate Beta systems product for further processing. It then returns the results to the requestor.
SSL communication is generally based on System SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) components of the IBM z/OS operating system.
BSA CI supports service port functions that are initiated by the product server and sent to the product client application via SSL communication. In this case, internal communication between the product server and BSA CI takes place via TCP/IP.
BSA CI can be installed on different CPUs. For details see the chapter on XCF and on the Beta X-System Router (Beta 02).