How was zBNA improved to support the latest driver level for the z14 server (GA2 in October 2018)?

Question

Options

• Az/OS Coupling Facility Structure Encryption support
• BPCle Express Gen3 Coupling Express Long Reach support
• CzHyperLink write support
• DFICON Channel Aggregation

• A
  93% (50)
• B
  2% (1)
• C
  4% (2)
• D
  2% (1)

Explanation

z/OS Coupling Facility (CF) Structure Encryption was the key enhancement added to the z14 GA2 driver level in October 2018, and zBNA was updated specifically to monitor and report on this new security capability. CF structures hold shared data across sysplexes, and encrypting them required tooling like zBNA to recognize and account for the new encrypted structure types in its analysis.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• B (PCIe Gen3 Coupling Express Long Reach): This is a physical hardware connectivity improvement for coupling links, not a driver-level software feature that zBNA would need to be updated to support.
• C (zHyperLink write support): zHyperLink is a synchronous replication technology for storage; while significant, it was a separate z14 enhancement and not the driver-level change tied to this zBNA update.
• D (FICON Channel Aggregation): FICON aggregation relates to storage channel bandwidth, a different subsystem that doesn't connect to the CF structure monitoring that zBNA performs.

Memory tip: Think "zBNA + z14 GA2 = security" - CF Structure Encryption is the only option tied to data protection at rest inside the sysplex, which aligns with IBM's z14 generation-wide theme of "pervasive encryption." If you remember that z14 GA2 was IBM's big encryption push for coupling facilities, option A becomes the natural fit.

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