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Multipath INMC Links

INMC provides extended facilities for complex networks where multiple physical network paths are available between regions. These are known as multipath links.

A multipath link allows a link between two regions to comprise up to sixteen communication sessions (that is, each region opens up to eight sessions with the other region). Traffic is multiplexed across these sessions either equally or with some sessions having preference over others.

With multipath links you set up link definitions, which are stored in the VFS data set.

Note: If you start an INMC link that has no definition, a simple link is started.

Multipath links can provide the following significant advantages over standard INMC capabilities:

• Multiple sessions traverse different network paths.
• Multiple access methods can be used to provide a backup if there are network connectivity problems.
• High-volume INMC traffic (for example, file transmission operations) can be routed across specific network paths.
• The multipath link can use the combined bandwidth of all network paths to achieve high data transfer rates.
• Multipath links can often eliminate the need to provide additional network bandwidth between computer sites, by multiplexing heavy FTS traffic across existing network paths.
• Multipath links provide improved reliability, because the link remains active as long as one connection exists.