Channel-to-channel adapter

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In IBM mainframe technology, a channel-to-channel adapter (CTCA) [1] [2] [3] is a device that connects two input/output channels on (usually) two separate computer systems. [4]

The adapter allows one computer system to be treated as an input/output device by another. It is used "to link the processing units in a loosely coupled multiprocessing system. [5]

Virtual channel-to-channel adapters (VCTCA) are often used to communicate between two virtual machines in the z/VM operating system. The Virtual Machine Communication Facility (VMCF), and later Inter User Communication Vehicle (IUCV) are now often used in place of VCTCAs because they provide a simpler interface and improved performance. [6]

On IBM Z processors, the functionality of a CTCA is implemented by connecting two ESCON channels or two FICON channels either point-to-point or via a director. [7]

References

  1. ↑ IBM System/370 Special Feature Description: Channel-to-Channel Adapter (PDF) (First ed.). IBM. March 1972. GA22.6983·Q.
  2. ↑ Enterprise Systems Architecture/390 Channel-to-Channel Adapter for the System/360 and System/370 I/O Interface (2nd ed.). International Business Machines Corporation. October 1991. SA22-7091-01.
  3. ↑ Enterprise Systems Architecture/390 ESCON Channel-to-Channel Adapter (1st ed.). International Business Machines Corporation. October 1990. SA22-7203-00.
  4. ↑ IBM Corporation (1968). IBM System/360 Model 65 Functional Characteristics (PDF). p. 10. A22-6884-3.
  5. ↑ IBM Corporation (23 January 2003). "System/370 Model 158". IBM Archives. Archived from the original on March 11, 2005. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  6. ↑ Jensen, R.M. (1979). "A formal approach for communication between logically isolated virtual machines". IBM Systems Journal. 18 (1): 71–92. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.91.1907 . doi:10.1147/sj.181.0071.
  7. ↑ ESCON and FICON Channel-to-Channel Reference (PDF). System z. IBM. 2011. SB10-7034-05. Retrieved May 30, 2025.


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