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z/OSMF - A New Framework to Manage Various Aspects of a z/OS System

  

What’s z/OSMF

IBM® z/OS® Management Facility (z/OSMF) provides system management functions in a task-oriented, web browser-based user interface with integrated user assistance, so that you can more easily manage the day-to-day operations and administration of your mainframe z/OS systems. By streamlining some traditional tasks and automating others, z/OSMF can help to simplify some areas of z/OS system management.

z/OSMF provides a framework for managing various aspects of a z/OS system through a web browser interface. More than just a graphical user interface, the z/OS Management Facility is intelligent, addressing the needs of a diversified skilled workforce and maximizing their productivity.

z/OSMF provides you with a single point of control for:

  • Viewing, defining, and updating policies that affect system behavior
  • Monitoring the performance of the systems in your enterprise
  • Managing software that runs on z/OS
  • Performing problem data management tasks
  • Consolidating your z/OS management tools.

z/OSMF allows you to communicate with the z/OS system through a web browser, so you can access and manage your z/OS system from anywhere. Multiple users can log into z/OSMF using different computers, different browsers, or multiple instances of the same browser.

Figure 1.1 is the welcome page of z/OSMF.

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Figure 1.1 The Welcome page of z/OSMF

z/OSMF architecture

As can be seen from the picture, B/S architecture was adopted in z/OSMF. z/OSMF neither requires a client workstation component nor does it provide one. All that is needed is a compatible web browser for accessing z/OSMF from your workstation.

The user can communicate with the z/OS system through a web browser. In the picture, they are z/OSMF client which is web browser, the z/OSMF server and the z/OS elements. Figure 2.1 shows a typical architecture and flow, starting with the user's browser session and continuing through z/OSMF, with information passed to various z/OS system components as needed.

The goal of this architecture is to provide simplified systems management function through a common, easy-to-use, graphical user interface.

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Figure 2.1 z/OSMF architecture

z/OSMF includes the following software:

  • z/OSMF server.
  • WebSphere® Liberty profile, which provides an application server runtime environment for z/OSMF.
  • Set of optional, system management functions or plug-ins, which you can enable when you configure z/OSMF.
  • Technologies for serving the web browser interface, such as JavaScript and Dojo.

z/OSMF uses various enabling technologies on z/OS, such as the following:

  • IBM® 64-bit SDK for z/OS, Java™ Technology Edition. This IBM software development kit (SDK) contains the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) and other tools that support Java applications.
  • Common Information Model (CIM) server on the host z/OS system. This component provides the z/OS data and administrative capability.
  • Common event adapter (CEA). This component enables CIM providers to identify, receive, and process the selected z/OS events.
  • System authorization facility (SAF). This component enables programs to use system authorization services to control access to resources, such as data sets and MVS™ commands. SAF either processes security authorization requests directly or works with RACF®, or other external security manager, to process them.
  • System REXX (SYSREXX). This component provides an infrastructure through which programs that are written in the REXX language can be run outside the normal TSO/E or batch environments, using a programming interface.

z/OSMF tasks at a glance

z/OSMF provides several tasks that you can use to manage different aspects of your z/OS® systems. Table 3.1 provides the name, description, and category for each z/OSMF task.

Table 3.1 z/OSMF tasks

Task

Description

Category

Application Linking Manager

Manage the event types that allow you to link or connect z/OSMF tasks and external applications (IBM® and vendor).

z/OSMF Administration

Capacity Provisioning

Manage domain configurations and provisioning policies and request reports of the status of the Capacity Provisioning Manager.

Performance

Configuration Assistant

Configure TCP/IP policy-based networking functions.

Configuration

Deployment

The functions previously provided in this task are now provided in the Software Management task.

FTP Servers

Provide the information required for an FTP client to log into an FTP server and download and upload files.

z/OSMF Settings

Import Manager

Import plug-ins, event types, event handlers, and links into z/OSMF.

z/OSMF Administration

Incident Log

Diagnose system problems and send diagnostic data to IBM or other vendors for further diagnostics.

Problem Determination

ISPF

Access traditional ISPF applications.

z/OS Classic Interfaces

Links

Add links to external resources that might be useful for managing your z/OS systems.

z/OSMF Administration

Notification Settings Define configuration values used for notifications from z/OSMF tasks and z/OS products.

Notifications

View and act on the z/OSMF notifications that have been assigned to you.

This task is not assigned to a category.

Resource Management

Define resources such as the domain of systems and the classes of users (tenants) that will participate in Cloud on z/OS.

Cloud Provisioning

Resource Monitoring

Monitor the performance of the z/OS, AIX®, Linux, and Windows systems in your enterprise.

Performance

Software Services

Provision z/OS software and manage the provisioned software, including deprovisioning.

Cloud Provisioning

Software Management

Manage your z/OS software inventory, deploy SMP/E packaged and installed software, and generate reports about your software.

Software

Sysplex Management

View sysplex topology as well as details of sysplex objects such as coupling facilities, coupling facility structures, and couple data sets.

Sysplex

System Status

Quickly assess the workload performance on the systems in your enterprise and define the systems to be monitored.

Performance

Systems

Provide the information required to access the z/OS systems in your installation.

z/OSMF Settings

Users and Roles

As of z/OSMF V2R1, z/OSMF user authorizations are always created and managed through a z/OS security management product, such as RACF®. In previous releases, you could optionally create and manage user authorizations through the Users task and Roles task. This earlier form of authorization, referred to as Repository Authorization Mode, is no longer a supported option in z/OSMF. Further, z/OSMF no longer supports the concept of authorization modes. SAF-based security, previously referred to as SAF Authorization Mode, is now the only supported means of creating and managing user authorizations in z/OSMF. Related to this change, the Users task and Roles task in the z/OSMF Administration category are no longer needed and are thus removed from the navigation area.

If your installation is migrating from an earlier release of z/OSMF that runs in Repository Authorization Mode, this release includes tools to help with converting your existing user authorizations to SAF profiles and groups. For more information, see IBM z/OS Management Facility Configuration Guide.

Usage statistics

A z/OSMF administrator can use this task to see which users are logged in to z/OSMF, perhaps as a precautionary check before making a critical update to z/OSMF.

z/OSMF Administration

Workflows

Perform a guided set of steps, for example, to configure components or products in your installation.

This task is not assigned to a category.

Workflow Editor

View, create, and modify workflow definitions.

This task is not assigned to a category.

Workload Management

Administer and operate WLM, and manage WLM service definitions and policies.

Performance

z/OS Operator Consoles

Work with z/OS consoles, view system messages and issue system commands, for systems that are defined with the Systems task of the z/OSMF Settings category.

Consoles

References:


1. z/OSMF Marketplace:
https://www.ibm.com/us-en/marketplace/zos-management-facility

2. z/OSMF Trial:
https://www.ibm.com/account/reg/us-en/signup?formid=urx-34578

3. z/OSMF One Stop Hub:
https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/blogs/e0c474f8-3aad-4f01-8bca-f2c12b576ac9/entry/z_OSMF_One_Stop_Hub?lang=en

4. z/OSMF Knowledge Center:
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/en/SSLTBW_2.3.0/com.ibm.zos.v2r3.izu/izu.htm