IBM Z and LinuxONE Community Blog

IBM Z and LinuxONE Community - All Blog Entries

Put DFSMShsm To Work With Targeted UNIX File Processing

By Sam Meredith posted 7 hours ago
The introduction of DFSMShsm Java hbackup host ID support brings in a new opportunity to take advantage of your DFSMShsm resources. With this support, you can now direct UNIX file backup requests to specific DFSMShsm hosts within a Multiple Address Space HSM (MASH) environment. This makes it possible to put any and all of the DFSMShsm hosts on your system to work for UNIX file backup which was, at best, a tiring and cumbersome task to tackle in the past. Incorporating this support into your environments will enable you to better balance your heavy UNIX file workloads, and in a way that is flexible and easy to manage. Simply apply the PTFs for OA65319, available ...

Meet all our Scaleups, IBM Z ScaleUp Program

By Tucker Wilson posted 9 hours ago
For 5+ years, the IBM Z ScaleUp Program has enabled cutting-edge scaleups in industries like healthtech, fintech, digital assets, and AI. We're proud to have over 100 scaleups in our previous cohorts from around the globe, with diverse leaders and visions. You can see all our past scaleups in the list below. Or, if you'd like to meet our current cohort, check them out here! Note the name change! Our program used to be called the "IBM Hyper Protect Accelerator" (IBM HPA) and has been broadened to include more of IBM Z for scaleups - thus the new name of the "IBM Z ScaleUp Program" (IBM ZSUP). Of course, we still work heavily with IBM Hyper Protect which is ...

How to Join the IBM Z ScaleUp Program

By Tucker Wilson posted 9 hours ago
Our application for the 2024-2025 cohort of the IBM Z ScaleUp Program is opening soon. Follow this page for up-to-date information on program requirements, benefits, and application process. If you'd like to learn more about the benefits you receive as part of IBM ZSP, check out our Program Benefits page here!

Cloud Pak For Integration (CP4I) verfügbar auf Container Extensions (zCX) nativ im z/OS - GA-ed: Juni 2024

By Achim Hoffmann posted 10 hours ago
Wir sehen einen stetig wachsenden Bedarf Systeme colocated zu betreiben. Mit der Version 16.1.0 des CP4I erweitern wir den bisherigen Plattform-Support i m Z-Bereich(zLinux) auf z/OS mit einem spezifischen Container Environment (zCX). Es stehen die gleichen Industrie-Standard-Technologien und Tools wie auf anderen Plattformen zur Verfügung: Standardisierung Standards sorgen für Konsistenz beim Packaging und deployen von containerisierten Applikationen Portabilität Container müssen mit dem s390x Flag für die Z-Architektur gebildet werden und sind dann untereinander auf diesen Environments portabel, d.h. man kann gleiche Images für die Development- ...

IBM Z IntelliMagic Vision for z/OS brings the business and performance close together

By Jean-Marc van der Kolk posted 12 hours ago
I am happy to share that a new version of IBM Z IntelliMagic Vision for z/OS is available, following the 4-weekly delivery schedule for this product. Some releases are bigger than others, and this release is packed with new functionality! Please check out the release video that can be found here : https://intellimagic-1.wistia.com/medias/v4uozbb3l2 The new release is available through the usual IBM channel ( Fix central ). Below you will find a short summary of the most important changes that are included in IBM Z IntelliMagic Vision for z/OS 1.1.0.4-ZIM-2024.7.0 : IntelliMagic Vision 1.1.0.4 provides extensive support to manage ...

z/OS Connect 3.0.83 now available

By Kate Bittles posted 14 hours ago
z/OS Connect 3.0.83 is now available with enhancements to the documentation for configuring and securing connections to Db2 and IMS systems and how to obtain access tokens from an authentication server for API requester in addition to a maintenance fix for z/OS Connect OpenAPI2. For more information, see PH61907: z/OS Connect V3.0.83 . If you’re new to IBM z/OS Connect, find out more here. Enhancements The documentation that describes how to obtain a JWT from an authentication server for API requester has been updated to show that access tokens that are not JWTs can also be obtained by using the zosconnect_authToken configuration. ...

Installing Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 cluster with LPAR as a node on IBM Z and IBM LinuxONE

By Gerald Hosch posted 15 hours ago
Authors: K SHIVA SAI (shiva.sai.k1@ibm.com), Sanidhya (sanidhya.sanidhya@ibm.com) With the availability of Red Hat® OpenShift® 4.15, users have the possibility to deploy Red Hat OpenShift nodes directly onto LPARs on IBM Z® and IBM® LinuxONE, in addition to the options using the hypervisors IBM z/VM® or Red Hat Enterprise Linux KVM. The LPAR option provides efficiency, helping to optimize performance of Red Hat OpenShift on the IBM Z and LinuxONE platforms. Booting LPARs with Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS and seamlessly attaching them to the Red Hat OpenShift cluster streamlines operations, improves the potential of the IBM Z and LinuxONE infrastructure ...

How to (not) customize your Thread History settings in OMEGAMON for Db2 (by Egle Barusauskiene and Monika Spetylaite)

By Egle Barusauskiene posted 18 hours ago
With the release of the IBM Z Monitoring Configuration Manager Q2 2024 Enhancement PTF UJ95574 (APAR OA66051 ), we added significant updates on the customization of Thread Histories (Classic and e3270UI) in OMEGAMON for Db2 Performance Expert on z/OS 5.5.0. If you use the OMEGAMON for Db2 agent, you know that to configure Classic Near-Term History VSAM data set allocation attributes, you modify the following parameters: KD2_PFnn_HIS_LOG_NUM to specify the number of classic thread history VSAM data sets to allocate KD2_PFnn_HIS_VSAM_VOLUME to specify which volume is used to store all thread history data sets KD2_PFnn_HIS_VSAM_SCLAS to specify ...

ISV AMA: New /proc File System and C Language APIs for z/OS UNIX

By Lee Sullivan posted yesterday
Don't miss August's ISV AMA. This exclusive event is brought to you by the ISV Ecosystem User Group. New /proc File System and C Language APIs for z/OS UNIX Date: Wednesday, August 21 Time: 1 p.m. Eastern / 10 a.m. Pacific Register here Big things are happening in UNIX on z/OS. A new /proc file system and C language APIs are available that make porting applications to z/OS easier, and more effective. Got questions? We’ve got answers. Join Kershaw Mehta from the z/OS Unix team as he explains how ISVs application developers can use these changes. The /proc file system is a virtual filesystem in UNIX-like operating systems ...

Creating an Instance of IBM Hyper Protect Crypto Services

By Tucker Wilson posted yesterday
Hyper Protect Crypto Services Demo Setting up Hyper Protect Crypto Services requires an understanding of the tools’ security features. However, with an understanding of a few key concepts, the actual setup process is straightforward. Broadly, the process is as follows: ovision the Crypto Units that power HPCS on IBM Cloud. ialize those Crypto Units by creating a master key through the IBM Cloud Command Line Interface. ect to your HPCS instance on the cloud to manage vaults, keystores, and keys. Part 1: Provisioning the Crypto Service You can find the offering page for Hyper Protect Crypto Services here: https://cloud.ibm.com/catalog/services/hyper-protect-crypto-services ...

Easily calling HLASM from Python

By Steven Pitman posted yesterday
Many functionalities on z/OS are exposed through High Level Assembly (HLASM) macros, and you may want to be able to take advantage of these when using IBM Open Enterprise SDK for Python . In this blog, we’re going to cover how you can create a call some HLASM from Python, both when it’s being inlined into C and as straight assembly. Using Inline ASM The way that we’re going to run some HLASM is by creating a package in C using setuptools , which can then call our HLASM. Setuptools is the standard way of creating an installable Python package that can be distributed. For this example, we’re going to be running the WTL macro , which writes a ...

ISV Knowledge Exchange: Revolutionizing the Mainframe Experience with IBM watsonx Assistant for Z

By Lee Sullivan posted 2 days ago
AI is the future. "And the future is now," insists Khadija Souissi, Principal Product Manager of AI for IBM Z. On July 24, she and Catherine Wu, Program Director of Db2 for z/OS Development and QA, provided ISVs with a view of how automation underpinned with IBM Z can accomplish tasks more efficiently. During our latest Knowledge Exchange webinar, Revolutionizing the Mainframe Experience with IBM watsonx Assistant for Z , ISVs explored how generative AI and intelligent automation can help mainframe talents reduce their learning curve while increasing efficiency to execute tasks with confidence and speed. Don't miss this lively session. Recording ...

z/TPF real-time insights dashboard starter kit improvements (PJ47253)

By Susan Pavlakis posted 2 days ago
The z/TPF real-time insights dashboard starter kit for runtime metrics collection is enhanced to improve security and provide a better user experience. This support provides the following improvements: Various open source dependencies such as Grafana are updated to use new versions. When you are configuring the starter kit, you can set the Grafana organization ID for use in enterprise Grafana installations. The dashboard refresh behavior is improved on Grafana version 9 or later. You can write Kafka logs in the specified time zone in Linux® on IBM Z installations. Kafka logs in Linux on IBM Z installations are written to a volume directory. Name-value ...

Frequently entered program support for special linkage libraries (PJ48028)

By Dennis Fallon posted 2 days ago
PJ45315 introduced streamlined E-type loader linkage for frequently entered programs. With PJ45315, you can designate frequently entered programs in the program configuration file (usrconfig.csv). When you subsequently activate loadsets that contain frequently entered programs, the instruction path overhead associated with E-type loader linkage is reduced. However, the special linkage libraries CISO, CTAL, CTIS, CTAD, and CTDF could not be designated as frequently entered programs. While the special linkage libraries are not frequently present in active loadsets, they are frequently entered. With PJ48028, the special linkage libraries (CISO, CTAL, CTIS, CTAD, ...

#132【z/OS V2R5変更点】 SDSF 「OD」パネル（Qアクション文字）のサポート終了

By Shigeki Kimura posted 2 days ago
従来、 SDSF DA 、 H 、 I 、 O 、 ST 、 JDS パネルから「 Q 」アクション文字を実行することで、 OD パネル（ Output Descriptors ）を表示することが可能です。 ※ OD パネルでは、「 Output Descriptors 」（出力記述子）を表示 ※ O/H パネルから OD パネルへのアクセス時に限り、カラムの上書き可能 ■ H パネルで「 Q 」アクション文字実行時の OD パネル表示例 また、 OD パネルで表示されるカラムの一部は、 JDS パネル（ JOB DATA SET ）からも確認できます。 ※ O/H パネルから JDS パネルへのアクセス時に限り、カラムの上書き可能 【 z/OS V2R5 の変更点】 ■ z/OS V2R5 SDSF では OD パネルが廃止され、それに伴い、 OD パネルを呼び出す「 Q 」アクション文字も利用不可となりました。 ※ SDSF H パネルでの「 SET ACTION 」コマンド実行結果 ・・・ z/OS V2R5 では、「 Q 」アクション文字の表示なし ■ z/OS V2R5 以降では、 SDSF DA 、 H 、 I 、 O 、 ST 、 JDS パネルから「 Q 」アクション文字を実行した際、「 INVALID COMMAND ...

Cutting Edge Updates in IBM Z Performance and Capacity Analytics (IZPCA) 3.1

By Joshua Stiles posted 3 days ago
Revolutionizing Performance Monitoring by introducing Key Performance Metrics for MQ IBM Z Performance and Capacity Analytics (IZPCA) has long been a cornerstone for IT professionals managing mainframe environments. With the latest updates in July 2024, IZPCA is set to transform how you monitor and optimize your IBM MQ subsystems. The newly introduced Key Performance Metrics (KPM) for MQ component is a game-changer, offering 26 additional reports designed with insights from IBM’s Washington Systems Center experts. (Ref - PH30326) This enhancement allows you to: Monitor Buffer Pools, Message Manager, and Page Sets Trends : Stay ahead of performance ...

A Game Changing Series Part 5 – Cloud Data Access (CDA)

By Andrew Wilt posted 3 days ago
If you haven’t seen A Game Changing Series Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , & Part 4 go check them out to get a high-level explanation of CDA and the other enhancements! CDA just keeps getting better The DFSMSdfp CDA team has another piece of exciting news to share with you as we have enhanced CDA to support S3 Signed Payloads on z/OS V2R5 and above! CDA already requires all communications be over SSL (Secure Socket Layer), using HTTPS communication, so data is encrypted as it flows over the network. Signing the payload adds additional security by enabling the S3 server to check that the data that arrived is ...

Release of Db2 13 for z/OS FL505

By Bernd Kohler posted 3 days ago
SAP has successfully finished the certification of Db2 13 for z/OS Function Level 505 . For more details refer to SAP Notes 81737 and 3152911 .

Protecting workloads via a Proxy with Hyper Protect Virtual Server

By Tucker Wilson posted 4 days ago
Rationale IBM Hyper Protect Virtual Server creates a hardware-secure enclave, running on IBM Z LinuxONE, to protect any workload or data stored within. The secure contract ensures that the workload inside an HPVS is never altered from its original purpose. But what about a microservice application that may need frequent updates, or an application like a database that could get queried thousands of times or more during business hours? In some cases, a user might want the best-in-class security of IBM Hyper Protect, but require more flexibility and speed than the base functionality of the server. Our solution: to run IBM Hyper Protect Virtual Server as-a-proxy, ...

What is the Flow of Processes for Building a Generative AI Application?

By Philip D'Souza posted 4 days ago
A clearly defined structure and process is essential if you are looking to develop a Generative AI (GenAI) application. Obviously, it’s a complex undertaking with many considerations and decisions. To help you get started, here is a brief overview that highlights the five essential steps to incorporate into your process: 1. Choose your foundation model Foundation models are large-scale AI models trained on vast unlabeled datasets and designed to be adapted to various tasks. There are numerous options, including proprietary models, such as GPT-4, Anthropic Claude, Cohere, IBM Granite, as well as open-source models that you can use for free like ...

Embark on your application modernization journey with IBM Application Discovery and Delivery Intelligence (IBM ADDI)

By Annalisa Cesa posted 4 days ago
As you embark on your application modernization journey, IBM Application Discovery and Delivery Intelligence (IBM ADDI) could be your essential companion, providing deep insights and a clear map of your software landscape and taking the guesswork out of understanding your applications. Today, we are excited to unveil the latest innovations that are designed to streamline your application modernization journey. Read this blog to learn about the new features and enhancements that are made available in IBM ADDI 6.1.3. Enhanced IBM Application Discovery Configuration Admin dashboard with automation and improvements on security and authentication. Added the ...

IMSユーザー・グループ 2024 を開催しました

By MIKAKO OKUKAWA posted 4 days ago
毎年大変好評いただいているIMSユーザーグループを、今年は装いを新たに虎の門ヒルズに移設オープンしたIBM Innovation Studioで開催しました。 IMSユーザー・グループは、世界各地で開催されている、IMSユーザー様とIMS開発部門とを結ぶ少人数の双方向型交流会議です。IMSやツールの開発担当者が最新情報を直接お客様にお伝えしてお客様の声をお聞きすること、また、お客様同士で情報交換していただくことを目的としています。日本では2013年から毎年開催し、昨年から会場とオンラインのハイブリッドで開催しております。 当日はお暑い中、遠方のお客様にもご来場いただき、会場・オンライン合わせて26社、62名の方にご参加いただきました。 今回は米国のシリコンバレー研究所からIMS開発部門メンバーが3名来日し、IMS最新動向や今年6月にGAになったIMS V15.5の最新情報、IMS管理ACBの最新情報と海外事例をご紹介しました(同時通訳付)。また、会場でご参加いただいたお客様同士の意見交換の時間も設けました。 アジェンダ： IMS最新動向 (同時通訳付) IMS 15.5 最新情報 (同時通訳付) IMS管理ACB 最新情報と海外事例 (同時通訳付) 意見交換 (会場参加者のみ) 意見交換の時間では、①IMSモダナイゼーションへの取り組み、②IMS管理ACBへの移行、③IMSの教育やスキル向上の方法の3テーマに分かれて、IMSご担当の年数に関わらず活発な意見交換が行われました。発表タイムでは、意見交換で出されたご意見を代表者の方に発表いただきました。会場参加者様から多くのご質問やご要望をいただき、開発部門と有意義な意見交換が行われました。 ...

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

By Elizabeth K. Joseph posted 7 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 June 2024, the team worked to also validate the latest versions of the following: Ansible Apache Camel Apache Hbase Apache Solr Apache Tomcat Beats Boringssl CockroachDB Consul ...

Making application modernization easy with IBM ADDI 6.1.3

By Fiona Wang posted 7 days ago
As you embark on your application modernization journey, IBM Application Discovery and Delivery Intelligence (IBM ADDI) could be your essential companion, providing deep insights and a clear map of your software landscape and taking the guesswork out of understanding your applications. Today, we are excited to unveil the latest innovations that are designed to streamline your application modernization journey. Read this blog to learn about the new features and enhancements that are made available in IBM ADDI 6.1.3. Enhanced IBM Application Discovery Configuration Admin dashboard with automation and improvements on security and authentication. Added the ...

The Data Supply Chain: A Phase Change in Cybersecurity

By James Regenor posted 8 days ago
In 2017, The Economist proclaimed data as the world's most valuable resource, surpassing oil. This declaration signifies a profound transformation in the global economy, where data has emerged as the cornerstone of innovation, decision-making, and competitive advantage. As organizations increasingly depend on data to inform their strategies, understanding and securing the data supply chain has become paramount. Conceptualizing the Bill of Data (BOD) To navigate this new landscape, we introduce the Bill of Data (BOD) concept. Analogous to the Bill of Materials (BOM) utilized in manufacturing, the BOD delineates the datasets, data sources, and data transformations ...

Statement of direction: IMS support in IntelliMagic Vision for z/OS

By Domenico D'ALTERIO posted 9 days ago
I am really excited to share this Statement of Direction about adding support for IMS transaction metrics to enhance performance management in IBM Z IntelliMagic Vision for z/OS . Back in April, we announced IBM Z IntelliMagic Vision for z/OS, the first release as IBM of this modern mainframe performance management tool. It is easy to consume, even more so thanks to the cloud-hosted offering, easy to learn - I have experienced this first-hand as I am learning how to use it to deliver proper demos of the product - full of rich, built-in expertise that augments the team expertise. If you missed it, you can read the first release here . Since then, ...

Extended capabilities with Red Hat OpenShift 4.16 on IBM Z and IBM LinuxONE

By Gerald Hosch posted 9 days ago
Author: Jerry (Gerald) Hosch, hosch@de.ibm.com Red Hat® OpenShift® Container Platform 4.16 on IBM Z® and IBM® LinuxONE adds improvements and new capabilities to Red Hat OpenShift components and concepts. The notable enhancements of the 4.16 release are the support for the following features on IBM Z and IBM® LinuxONE: Agent-based Installer ISO boot for Red Hat Enterprise Linux KVM Assisted Installer discovers LPAR environments Ingress Node Firewall Operator Secure boot for IBM z/VM® and LPAR Compliance Operator enables PCI profile The new capabilities help to improve security, ease the installation, and ease the ...

Exclusive Offer for New to Z: Join us at SHARE Kansas City

By Shari Chiara posted 10 days ago
SHARE Kansas City is happening August 4-8. SHARE Kansas City combines renowned industry leaders, user-driven technical sessions, insights from colleagues, and hardware and software product highlights over the course of a week-long program. SHARE Kansas City attendance guarantees you access to the latest enterprise IT news, prominent industry leaders, and product highlights on emerging technologies, bringing priceless value to your daily work. I am excited that SHARE is offering professionals in the first 10 years of their mainframe career the opportunity to attend SHARE Kansas City at the discounted registration rate of $1,500 — a savings ...

NSF - Active funding opportunity

By Paul Newton posted 10 days ago
Hi, Something just came to my attention that I know would be of interest to University faculty (educators, Dept. Heads, Deans, etc.) that are looking for the next thing for their funded research focus. Opportunity for a University to team up with technology partners (hardware and software) to make this happen. Partners and proposers must be in the U.S. and meet certain other requirements. https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/privacy-preserving-data-sharing-practice-pdasp/nsf24-585/solicitation Paul

#131【z/OS V2R5/3.1変更点】 HFSファイル・システムのサポート終了に伴う考慮事項

By Shigeki Kimura posted 10 days ago
z/OS V2R4 は、 HFS （ Hierarchical File System ）ファイル・システムをサポートする最終リリースとなり、 z/OS V2R5 や 3.1 への切り替え前に、 HFS から zFS （ z/OS File System ）ファイル・システムへの移行が必要です。 https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/zos/2.4.0?topic=SSLTBW_2.4.0/com.ibm.zos.v2r4.e0zm100/Export_zOS_V2R2_to_V2R4_Upgrade_Workflow.htm zOS V2R4 Upgrade Workflow from zOS V2R2 Step 4.28.1.1 : z/OS UNIX: Migrate from HFS file systems to zFS file systems 【 z/OS V2R5 の変更点】 ■ HFS ファイル・システムをサポートしない z/OS V2R5 、 3.1 では、「 DSNTYPE=HFS 」パラメータ指定によるデータセット新規作成は可能なものの、既存、新規を問わず、 HFS ファイル・システムのマウントはできません。 ■ z/OS 3.1 におけるマウント不可の状況（ z/OS V2R5 も同様） ① PARMLIB(BPXPRMxx) メンバー指定の場合 ...