WebSphere Application Server is installed on z/OS with IBM Installation Manager, and the parts ("repositories") that Installation Manager uses can come from a variety of places:
- a Web-based "live repository" (assuming you have direct access to the internet from z/OS)
- downloaded zip file repositories from product media and IBM Fix Central
- an SMP/E-wrapped repository containing the base product repository and a single current fix pack repository
This third option, which first came out with Version 8.0 (as FMID HBBO800), is more than a bit unwieldy: at any given time, it only contains the parts of the initial product level and one current maintenance level or "fix pack." There is a lot of SMP/E work to be done before you can even start running IBM Installation Manager.
And there is a LOT of overhead: distribution libraries, target libraries, and PTF storage.
A CBPDO (Customer-Build Product Delivery Option) download for Version 8.5 (FMID HBBO850) can require upwards of 80 gigabytes of disk space to install a single 2 gigabyte runtime.
The
latest announcement for WebSphere Application Server on z/OS streamlines Version 8.5, reducing disk space requirements by more than 80% for a CBPDO, and incorporates improvements we made previously in Version 9.0.
What is the "Simplified SMP/E install" for WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5?
Alongside FMIDs HBBO850 (base Version 8.5) and HBJA700 (Java 7, which reaches end of service in July 2022), you can now order a superceding FMID HBBO855. This deliverable delivers sample jobs to install the WebSphere Application Server for z/OS Version 8.5.5.14 or above using either the live repository, or downloaded zip files. These sample jobs are well-commented, and provide all you need to know to install the WebSphere Application Server and Liberty runtimes.
When you order a CBPDO with the new simplified install, it is
quite small (on the order of 20 megabytes) and sets up quickly. You can then install the WebSphere or Liberty runtimes in as little as a few hours by following the instructions in the sample jobs.
If you order a ServerPac with the new simplified install, your ServerPac will consist of the sample jobs library (SBBOJCL) and a loadable filesystem with the base product repository and a current set of fix pack repositories; just run the sample jobs to complete product installation.
To order the simplified install, select Version 8.5.5 instead of Version 8.5.0:
Applying and accepting FMID HBBO855 will delete any copy of HBBO850 in the same target and distribution zones. (It will also delete HBJA700, the Java 7 repository, which reaches final end-of-service in July.) Existing Installation Manager installs will not be affected. Once the accept is complete, you can delete the empty repository target and distribution data sets (several hundred thousand tracks of 3390 disk space). Future PTFs for HBBO855 will update only the sample jobs, and be published as needed.
Fix Pack 8.5.5.22 will be the last WebSphere Application Server for z/OS fix pack to be published using PTFs for the SMP/E-managed repository. Future PTFs for HBBO855 will update only the sample jobs, and be published as needed. The old HBBO850 and HBJA700 FMIDs will remain available at least through the end of 2022.
We believe that the new simplified delivery method for WebSphere Application Server Version 8.5 will save customers quite a bit of disk space, time, and toil, and we encourage you to try it out! If you have questions about the new install, you are welcome to add a comment below, or contact me at jmierze@us.ibm.com.
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