Mainframe leaders face a familiar tension: keep critical systems stable while proving measurable value to the business. The August 2026 edition of the EPV Technologies newsletter speaks directly to that challenge, with practical guidance on performance measurement, new hardware, and IBM MQ management.
Here's what you'll find in this month's edition:
Read on for a summary of the highlights and why they matter for your infrastructure strategy.
The XXIV EPV User Group returns as a virtual event, held on October 27th and repeated on October 29th. It remains a must-attend for performance analysts and the leaders who rely on their insight, and it's free of charge for EPV customers.
This year's preliminary agenda blends foundational education with forward-looking product previews. Two training sessions open the day for new performance analysts, followed by sessions on the metrics and tools that shape efficient mainframe operations.
Highlights on the agenda include:
So what does this mean for you? The agenda offers a clear window into the metrics and tools that drive cost visibility and smarter capacity decisions across your mainframe estate.
The newsletter also spotlights a new IBM Redbook covering the latest members of the IBM Z platform built on the IBM Telum processor: the IBM z17 ME2 and IBM z17 MER.
The guide details processor design, I/O innovations, security features, and supported operating systems. For teams evaluating a hardware refresh, this is essential background reading.
Understanding these advances early helps you plan upgrades with confidence and connect new hardware capabilities to your broader cost and performance goals.
This edition also tackles two practical questions from the field, both relevant to teams running IBM MQ in production.
Planning a move from MQ 9.3 to 9.4? EPV's technical support confirms that queue statistics can track rollbacks on a specific queue. From MQ 9.3.3, queue statistics (SMF 115-216) provide two useful variables: QQSTRBGT for rolled-back MQGETs and QQSTRBPT for rolled-back MQPUTs.
To capture this data, statistics trace class 5 must be active, and queue statistics must be enabled on the target queue. That level of visibility supports cleaner migrations and better ongoing monitoring.
The newsletter also explains how to handle a page set filling up, a situation that can block queue activity. Setting the EXPAND parameter enables dynamic expansion, with USER, SYSTEM, and NONE options each behaving differently.
The guidance is refreshingly candid: avoid dynamic expansion in production where possible, since expansion triggers a synchronous pause while new extents are formatted. Instead, format page sets to their maximum expected peak size during scheduled maintenance windows.
So what does this mean for you? These are the small operational decisions that protect availability and keep your teams focused on delivery rather than firefighting.
As an EPV partner, CPT Global helps Fortune 1000 enterprises turn these insights into results. Our vendor-independent expertise focuses on optimizing mainframe environments, improving cost visibility, and reducing operational spend without compromising stability.
Whether you're preparing for a z17 refresh, tightening MQ operations, or building a clearer picture of capacity and consumption, our team translates technical detail into actionable strategy. The result: measurable ROI and a modernization path you can trust.
To explore this month's highlights in full, review the complete EPV Technologies August 2026 newsletter, then talk to CPT Global about applying these insights to your environment.