IBM Z and LinuxONE Community Blog

IBM Z and LinuxONE Community - All Blog Entries

Collaboration is Needed to Build Quantum Resilience: Infrastructure and Quantum-Proofing Data

By James Regenor posted yesterday
In the rapidly evolving field of quantum computing, the importance of building quantum resilience and quantum-proofing data cannot be overstated. As quantum computers advance, the risk of traditional encryption methods being rendered obsolete grows. This blog post delves into quantum resilience infrastructure and quantum-proofing data, exploring why they are crucial and how organizations can implement them. Quantum computers have the potential to solve complex problems much faster than classical computers. While this promises breakthroughs in fields like drug discovery, material science, and optimization, it also poses a significant threat to current cryptographic ...

Hey, wake up Dev! New IBM Developer for z/OS 16.0.5 just dropped!

By Andrew Tram posted 2 days ago
I don't know about you, but my goose is getting cooked with the summer heat really turning up now that it's in full swing (if you're in the Northern Hemisphere). But it's okay, we're here to keep you cool and productive with IBM Developer for z/OS 16.0.5. So, kick back and enjoy a jumbo margarita as we dive into this exciting new release! 😎 IBM Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition (IDzEE) 16.0.5 As always, let's kick things off with what's new in IBM Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition 16.0.5, a crucial component of the IBM Application Delivery Foundation for z/OS (ADFz). This release brings you a range of products and updates, including: ...

Announcing MLz v3.2: Enhanced Trust and Efficiency for transactional AI integrated into z/OS applications

By SHUANG YU posted 2 days ago
Today we are excited to announce that Machine Learning for IBM z/OS , MLz v3.2. is now generally available worldwide through IBM and certified IBM partners. This new version is packed with a significant array of enhancements, all designed to reinforce the data gravity and transaction gravity essential for transactional AI seamlessly integrated into applications running on z/OS. Below is a detailed summary of the key enhancements and new features introduced in this update. Multi-user model development environment leveraging JupyterHub. MLz v3.2 provides a model development environment designed for multiple users, enabling ...

IBM Service Management Unite 1.1.1.11 release enhancements

By Nan Nan Li posted 2 days ago
We are excited to announce the latest release of IBM Service Management Unite (SMU), version 1.1.11.1, which brings several enhancements designed to streamline your operations and improve efficiency. Here are some of the key features and improvements: Enhanced LPAR configuration management Starting with version 1.1.11.1, SMU introduces a new LPAR configuration dashboard. This intuitive dashboard provides a comprehensive list of LPARs along with their current configurations. You can now easily adjust the defined capacity and initial weight of any LPAR, offering greater control and flexibility in managing their mainframe resources. SMU leverages IBM Z ...

CICS Performance Analyzer for z/OS CICS Transaction Server 6.2 support and additional enhancements

By Adham Sidhom posted 2 days ago
IBM® CICS® Performance Analyzer for z/OS® is a powerful off-line reporting tool to help you tune and manage your CICS systems. System programmers, performance analysts and developers can use reports and plug-in views. These tools help to identify and eliminate the causes of online performance issues, tune CICS systems for optimal performance, and analyze trends for capacity planning and performance bottlenecks. IBM® CICS® Performance Analyzer for z/OS® (CICS PA) is constantly evolving. CICS PA 5.4 APAR PH60661 delivers enhancements to exploit Performance and Statistics changes introduced in IBM® CICS® Transaction Server (TS) for z/OS® Version 6 ...

CICS Performance Analyzer for z/OS CICS Transaction Server 6.2 support and additional enhancements

By Adham Sidhom posted 2 days ago
IBM® CICS® Performance Analyzer for z/OS® is a powerful off-line reporting tool to help you tune and manage your CICS systems. System programmers, performance analysts and developers can use reports and plug-in views. These tools help to identify and eliminate the causes of online performance issues, tune CICS systems for optimal performance, and analyze trends for capacity planning and performance bottlenecks. IBM® CICS® Performance Analyzer for z/OS® (CICS PA) is constantly evolving. CICS PA 5.4 APAR PH60661 delivers enhancements to exploit Performance and Statistics changes introduced in IBM® CICS® Transaction Server (TS) for z/OS® Version 6 ...

What's new in IMS 15.5

By Amanda Stephens posted 3 days ago
IMS 15.5 is generally available as of June 14, 2024. For full details about what's new in IMS 15.5, please reference Software Announcement AD24-0071. Be sure to register for our upcoming webinar to learn more about each of these enhancements. Overview of enhancements Capability Availability Method No dynamic attach of catalog PCBs APAR PH14717 IMS Catalog Utility support APAR PH54827 RACF PassTicket support for commands from IMS Connect to IMS OM IMS 15.1 and later through APAR PH51844. If you use an IMS Connect ...

VeriTX’s Fortis Quantum Solutions and IBM: Revolutionizing Data Assurance in a Cyber-Contested World

By James Regenor posted 3 days ago
In an era of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA), the need for robust data assurance solutions has never been more pressing. As adversaries continue to employ sophisticated tactics (such as the “steal now, decrypt later” strategy) to undermine national security – organizations must proactively fortify their digital infrastructure against evolving threats. Enter Fortis Quantum Solutions by VeriTX®, a trailblazer in data assurance, poised to revolutionize how we safeguard critical information. At the heart of Fortis Quantum Solutions lies a strong commitment to innovation and collaboration. By partnering with industry leader IBM, Fortis ...

IBM and SUSE - working together

By Adam Jollans posted 3 days ago
IBM and SUSE have been partnering for nearly 25 years through the delivery of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for IBM Z and IBM LinuxONE, and continue to work closely together to the benefit of our common clients and partners. In fact, SUSE Linux was the first Linux distribution to be made available commercially for the IBM Z architecture. With SUSECON 2024 set to begin this week in Berlin, we’ll highlight what IBM and SUSE have accomplished together. Scalability, performance, reliability, security, and low total cost of ownership are key enterprise Linux values which are shared by IBM and SUSE – and are critical for businesses and organizations. For example, ...

IBM Z Education and Skills - Status - Things you might want to know

By Paul Newton posted 4 days ago
Educator Community, A linkedin post featuring an interview of Professor Decker from Northern Illinois University prompted me to blog. Professor Decker is responsible for more than a decade worth of his graduated students securing careers involving IBM Z technology, a critical tool of commerce and governments. It is worth a few minutes of your time to watch and listen. https://www.linkedin.com/embed/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:7206440590362750976 Things you might want to know: A recent organization of a large collection of IBM Z skills learning content is available. The collection name is the IBM Z Global Skills Depot. The site is worth visiting ...

AIOps Corner: Ask an IBM Fellow Anything about Z AIOps

By Mary Gorczynski posted 4 days ago
As we discussed in my blog regarding the launch of the AIOps Corner podcast , the podcast series features Joe Winchester , IBM STSM, interviewing clients and subject matter experts on topics that are shaping AI in the world and decisions for AIOps at IBM. Since that blog we have been expanding the platforms where you can find the podcast, so be sure to see if you can find it on the platform you use! In honor of our expansion to new platforms, our first multi-platform episode features questions discussed at the AIOps Technical Council (AOTC) meeting in Durham, NC, in May, with Bala Rajamaran , IBM Fellow. The podcast episode is called “Ask Bala ...

Zweites Treffen EnergiZ@DACH in Köln 28. /29. Mai 2024

By Maximilian Rautland posted 4 days ago
English version below: Nachdem das erste EnergiZ@DACH Event im Februar in Frankfurt stattgefunden hat, haben wir uns am 28./29. Mai mit den neuen “Mainframern” in der IBM-Lokation in Köln getroffen. Wir starteten mit einem Austausch über die bisherigen Erfahrungen und Learnings; es war sehr spannend zu hören, in welchen Fachthemen die Nachwuchstalente unterwegs sind. Inhaltlich lag diesmal der Fokus auf der Einführung in die wichtigsten Subsysteme wie Db2, IMS, MQ, CICS und Websphere, sowie Compilern. Zudem gab es einen spannenden Vortrag über Java vs. COBOL. Neben dem Erfahrungsaustausch haben die Teilnehmenden aktiv die Chance ...

Now Tibero is available on IBM LinuxONE!

By jaesam kim posted 4 days ago
Now Tibero is available on IBM LinuxONE! Tibero is a high performance and robust Database Management System(DBMS) and now it supports IBM LinuxONE. This powerful synergy ensures optimal workload placement and environment flexibility, providing exceptional support across various operating systems in collaboration with leading Linux distributors. Together, we're pushing the boundaries of performance and sustainability in enterprise solutions.

Shopz ordering process for IBM Open Enterprise SDK for Apache Kafka

By Jun Qian Zhou posted 5 days ago
IBM Open Enterprise SDK for Apache Kafka is offered as a no-charge product in either SMP/E format or pax file format. The SMP/E format is available for order ing through IBM Shopz. The priced optional S&S for the SMP/E format is also available via Shopz. The pax file can be downloaded from the Open Enterprise SDK for Apache Kafka product page. To order the SMP/E format and optional S&S for Open Enterprise SDK for Apache Kafka on Shopz, refer to the following steps. Go to Shopz . Register for a Shopz account if you do not have one. After logging into Shopz, go to “My orders” and “Create new order”. Select the radio ...

IBM z/OS Academy presents… 2024 Enrichment Events

By Colin David Chen posted 6 days ago
Join us for free virtual events this June & July featuring z/OS subject matter experts! Over the next two months, the z/OS Academy will once again be hosting a series of weekly technical sessions geared towards an audience with 2-10 years of mainframe experience. New in 2024, we intend to provide live sessions for APAC viewers and ‘ Ask Me Anything ’ discussions on the System Z Enthusiast Discord. We invite you to register now for the 2024 Enrichment Events (Webex webinar registration: https://ibm.webex.com/webappng/sites/ibm/webinar/webinarSeries/register/eb2d3992b00840d78ae42cdf5ab2ec13 ). Our series begins June 19th with Andrew Wilt ...

IBM Z System Automation 4.3 Use Case: Automating Podman Containers

By Marco Anello posted 6 days ago
On March 15, IBM announced the IBM z/OS Container Platform , including “ Podman ” (see: Podman ) . As “ Podman ” is running on z/OS UNIX, it is also possible to automate containers using IBM Z System Automation. In this blog , we will give a short overview regarding “ Podman ” , create our first test container, and then automate it with IBM Z System Automation . What is Podman and how it relates to IBM Z System Automation? IBM z/OS Container Platform allows you to run containerized z/OS UNIX applications. Developers can build applications and consume resources in a self-service model, while in a secure and isolated environment ...

IBM Fusion Data Foundation on IBM Z and IBM LinuxONE

By Gerald Hosch posted 6 days ago
Author: Thomas Stober - TSTOBER@de.ibm.com IBM ® Fusion Data Foundation in a nutshell IBM Fusion Data Foundation is an underlying storage infrastructure of IBM Fusion. It provides physical storage to containerized workload using abstracted, easy-to-use persistence services for stateful containerized applications. There are 3 specific attributes of this software-defined storage infrastructure: Consistent user experience: By using well-known open-source components, you can take advantage of abundant skills in the market and easily install IBM Fusion Data Foundation using operators from the Red Hat ® OpenShift ® Container ...

IBM Champion Spotlight: Donna Hudi

By Namitha K posted 6 days ago
Meet Donna Hudi, a technology leader with extensive experience and an IBM Champion since 2024. As the Chief Marketing Officer at Phoenix Software International, Donna has been actively engaged in the mainframe community for over a decade. Her deep-rooted passion for the platform led her to become an IBM Champion, where she advocates for the mainframe community and its potential. Donna has more than 30 years of financial service, technology, marketing, and executive management experience spanning the asset management, software development, consulting, and non-profit industries. Prior to joining Phoenix Software, she served as the Executive Director and Chief ...

IBM Z IntelliMagic Vision for z/OS continuously improves

By Domenico D'ALTERIO posted 8 days ago
Back in February, IBM acquired IntelliMagic, a Netherlands-based company specialized in optimizing z/OS system performance using analytics to proactively manage z/OS environments and help mitigate disruptions, reduce costs and support reliability and availability, as announced by Skyla Loomis here . In few weeks, the first IBM branded release of the main offering, IBM Z IntelliMagic Vision for z/OS , was available on the market, you can read more about it here . Not a surprise that some of the users of the IntelliMagic products were a bit concerned about what was going to change as side effect of the IBM acquisition. They were used to a very friendly and ...

Semeru 17 Upgrade Experience

By Donna Hudi posted 9 days ago
Background Phoenix Software International is (primarily) a mainframe software development shop. Among other things, we develop products with Java components that can run standalone in a JVM under TSO/E or in batch, along with more complex products that run under the Apache Tomcat ® and/or Open Liberty ™ open source “pure Java” HTTP web servers. We also install and maintain our own on-premises z/OS systems, which include z/OSMF and other IBM-developed software products that use Java. The Semeru Mid-Term Upgrade “Scare” For reasons of practicality, Semeru’s lifecycle dates are aligned with the Red Hat OpenJDK rather than with z/OS. ...

Preview of IMS Explorer for Development Web UI

By Haley Fung posted 9 days ago
Since the introduction of the IMS Enterprise Suite Explorer for Development tool, it has bec o me a crucial tool for IMS developers to moderniz e applications to access IMS. IMS Explorer is a free and Eclipse-based graphical tool that simplifies common tasks that are related to IMS application development. IMS Explorer includes graphical editors that you can use to connect to the IMS c atalog to import, visualize, and edit all types of IMS database definitions, as well as the program view and schema definitions that application programs need to access IMS databases. You can also use IMS Explorer to access and manipulate the data that is stored ...

Fine-Tuning vs. Prompt Engineering: How To Customize Your AI LLM

By Philip D'Souza posted 9 days ago
Pre-trained AI large language models (LLMs) have been trained on huge volumes of general text data to understand, generate, and manipulate human language. Popular examples include GPT-4 (OpenAI), Llama (Meta), Gemini (Google) and Phi (Microsoft) as well as IBM’s Granite (which I covered in depth in my previous blog ). They are powerful and flexible and can be used for a variety of general use cases, from summarizing documents and information retrieval to chatbot deployments. While they have broad capabilities out-of-the-box, pre-trained LLMs often require customization if you want them to perform specialized tasks to an optimum level. For example, ...

APAR 9 is latest OMEGAMON Data Provider update - and it does require some configuration changes

By Jim Porell posted 9 days ago
The latest APAR OA66223/PTF UJ95209 was released on June 3rd. As a maintenance update, it was focused primarily on performance, reliability and usability improvements. Existing users of ODP will be required to make configuration updates as this maintenance introduced an improved protocol between ODP Data Broker and ODP Data Connect. Introduction of Forwarder Protocol Version 2 Prior to this update, the protocol between OMEGAMON Data Broker and OMEGAMON Data Connect sent a single record at a time. This prior version is now known as Version 1. This maintenance update now sends multiple records at a time between OMEGAMON Data Broker and OMEGAMON Data ...

Linux on IBM Z and LinuxONE Open Source Software Report: May 2024

By Elizabeth K. Joseph posted 9 days ago
Linux on IBM Z and IBM LinuxONE use the s390x hardware architecture, so for some applications a little work sometimes has to be done so they compile and run as expected. This work is often done as a collaboration between the open source projects themselves and a team at IBM that helps with validation that the software is working as expected. This effort is an on going collaboration with every release of the software needing to be validated. For the month of May 2024, the team worked to also validate the latest versions of the following: Ansible Apache ActiveMQ Apache Solr Apache Storm Apache Tomcat Consul Elasticsearch Envoy Erlang ...

z/Action! Podcast: Relieving Tool-Sprawl with Service, Orchestration, and Automation Platforms

By Lee Sullivan posted 10 days ago
Each month, z/Action! meets some of the world's most innovative companies as they share how they're expanding horizons and driving success with IBM Z. This month we welcome Stonebranch, a leader in workload automation for nearly 25 years. Joining us is Peter Baljet, Chief Technology Officer. He’s here to talk about advances in Service, Orchestration, and Automation Platforms (SOAP). Relieving Tool-Sprawl with Service, Orchestration, and Automation Platforms Tool-sprawl is a major headache. “When you look at the amount of automation tools out there, it's literally hundreds of different ones,” says Stonebranch CTO Peter Baljet. “You can't manage each ...

Getting started with IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Z

By Tami Deedrick posted 11 days ago
Many IBM® clients are excited about the new IBM watsonx™ Code Assistant for Z (WCA4Z) and the opportunity to accelerate mainframe application modernization with generative AI, but they may be facing challenges such as: Scarcity of mainframe skills (COBOL, CICS®, IMS, etc.) DevOps costs to modernize applications A lack of understanding of best practices to develop agile architectures Despite those challenges, taking steps to modernize with WCA4Z is likely a very good move for clients because of the many benefits it affords. Enhanced Developer Productivity – developers will see auto-refactoring of COBOL code, which can be very complex and error ...

ZMDES wildcard support enhancement (PJ48019)

By Dennis Fallon posted 11 days ago
The ZMDES wildcard support enhancement improves the ZMDES command with support for wildcard characters when you specify common deployment descriptor file names to display information about the descriptor files. Previously, the DISPLAY parameter on the ZMDES command could be used only to request information for a single file or for all files that match a file extension (‘*.evspec.xml’ for example), but no other wildcard option was supported. For example, there was no way to request a display of all common descriptor files with ‘Guest’ in the file name. With PJ48019, you can specify an asterisk (*) to match any number of characters and a question ...

Zweite IBM Z Resiliency Conference in Amsterdam

By Marcel Jäckel posted 11 days ago
Vom 15.-17. Mai 2024 fand im IBM Innovation Studio Amsterdam die zweite IBM Z Resiliency Conference statt. Die 2 1/2 Tage waren vollgepackt mit interessanten, aber vor allem wichtigen Themen, rund um das Thema Resiliency im Mainframe-Umfeld. Nach meinem Empfinden war sowohl die Agenda sehr gut gestaltet, aber nicht nur auf reine Präsentationen beschränkt. In Breakout Sessions wurde mit den IBM SME's diskutiert, Fragen gestellt und beantwortet, sowie auch Themen identifiziert, welche zurück in die Labore mitgenommen werden. Es war auf der einen Seite beeindruckend zu sehen, dass das Orga-Team wirklich DIE Experten aus den IBM Labs eingeladen haben und welche ...

z/OSMF Software Update enhancements

By Fiona King posted 12 days ago
Cross- post with Marna’s Musings blog . Please refer to this link for more information. Since its introduction to z/OSMF in October 2020 on z/OS V2.3 and higher, we've been collecting many customer suggestions for enhancements to z/OSMF Software Update . After delivering many of the high priority new functions in z/OSMF Software Management to help to install products, the attention has shifted to the backlog of ideas for installing service. The following list briefly outlines the long-awaited functions that have now been delivered: Ability to delete Software Update operations that have been completed or cancelled. Ability to install ...

Die Zukunft von künstlicher Intelligenz auf dem Mainframe: Rückblick auf das IBM AI Council in Mailand

By Maike Havemann posted 12 days ago
Please find English version below. Vom 14. bis 15. Mai 2024 fand in den IBM Studios in Mailand das zweite IBM AI Council statt. Diese exklusive Veranstaltung, organisiert von IBM, bringt Kund:innen zusammen, die Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) auf dem Mainframe implementieren und testen. Im Rahmen der Veranstaltung erhielten die Teilnehmenden Einblicke in die neuesten Funktionen von KI auf dem Mainframe sowie in die zukünftige Strategie von IBM. Der erste Tag begann mit spannenden Vorträgen und Diskussionen. Es wurden innovative Einsatzmöglichkeiten von KI in verschiedenen Branchen vorgestellt, die zeigten, wie Unternehmen mithilfe von KI ...