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MCS!Lite
MCS!Lite is a
TP Monitor modelled to some extent on Unisys COMS, the standard MCP
mainframe Message Control System and is designed to replace COMS in an
open systems transaction processing environment.
MCSLite allows programs running under Linux, Unix or Windows to
send and receive messages from terminals, route messages internally from
program to program, control multiple copies of programs and report
transaction statistics and response times
MCSLite provides these facilities in a very simple,
straightforward and efficient manner.
The aim is to always out-perform proprietary TP Monitors which
have to support a huge variety of features to be able to appeal to a
mass market.
Routing and program control functions are provided by
MCSLite in a very efficient way.
MCSLite is written in C for speed and performs the routing of
transactions to the appropriate application module with the absolute
minimum overhead.
Transaction codes and routing information are held in
table files and give the primary routing to application programs. The
routing can be changed dynamically at any time.
Multiple copies of programs can be controlled by
MCSLite. Typically the
MCS is configured to run the correct number of
copies for the maximum workload and then, manually or through a
script, copies can be stopped if memory needs to be freed up for
other work.
This and other operational parameters are specified in a
configuration file which will be read at start-up. On command, the MCS will re-read the
configuration file on the fly to change parameters or reload trancode tables.
Copies of Cobol programs can be started and stopped by
the MCS. The MCS receives
control messages for this. A command line utility is supplied to
facilitate this or a customised mechanism can be created.
Statistics such as program response time, message
throughput etc., are available from the MCS, and stats packets can be
captured and made available to programs.
MCSLite maintains all necessary session and state
information to enable routing to the appropriate program and returning
the response to the correct end-user session.
MCSLite maintains messages queues to programs and waits
for programs to 'ask' for messages before sending. This ensures that
messages are distributed efficiently to multiple-copy programs and that
one long transaction does not impact others in the queue.
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