Statement of General Direction
The IBM zEnterprise 196 and IBM zEnterprise 114 are the last System z servers to support ESCON channels.
IBM plans to not offer ESCON channels as an orderable feature on System z servers that follow the z196 (machine type 2817) and z114 (machine type 2818). In addition, ESCON channels cannot be carried forward on an upgrade to such follow-on servers. This plan applies to channel path identifier (CHPID) types CNC, CTC, CVC, and CBY and to feature #2323 and #2324.
System z customers should continue to eliminate ESCON channels from the mainframe wherever possible. Alternate solutions are available for connectivity to ESCON devices. IBM Global Technology Services offers an ESCON to FICON Migration solution, Offering ID #6948-97D, to help facilitate migration from ESCON to FICON. This offering is designed to help you to simplify and manage a single physical and operational environment – FICON channels on the mainframe with continued connectivity to ESCON devices.
System z customers should continue to eliminate ESCON channels from the mainframe wherever possible. Alternate solutions are available for connectivity to ESCON devices. IBM Global Technology Services offers an ESCON to FICON Migration solution, Offering ID #6948-97D, to help facilitate migration from ESCON to FICON. This offering is designed to help you to simplify and manage a single physical and operational environment – FICON channels on the mainframe with continued connectivity to ESCON devices.
The complete announcement can be found here.
