Getting started with CICS by using IBM Cloud Provisioning and Management for z/OS

This scenario takes a system programmer through the steps to provision a simple single CICS® container by using z/OS® PT and IBM® Cloud Provisioning and Management for z/OS.

This scenario uses the same set of workflows and properties as the scenario Getting started with CICS by using z/OSMF workflows, but introduces the use of Cloud Provisioning. System programmers can use this scenario to become familiar with Cloud Provisioning before they use the capability to enable self-service for application developers. For more information about the capabilities of Cloud Provisioning, see What is z/OS Provisioning Toolkit? and Preparing to use Cloud Provisioning in the z/OSMF Configuration Guide.

Before you begin

Before you provision a container by using Cloud Provisioning, complete the following tasks:

About this task

In this task, you add a Cloud Provisioning template in z/OSMF from which a CICS region can be provisioned. The provisioning process runs under the system programmer's user ID.

The following diagram shows the flow of how a CICS container is provisioned by using Cloud Provisioning. This scenario uses a predefined CICS region APPLID, and the same CICS configuration as Getting started with CICS by using z/OSMF workflows.
Figure 1. Provision a CICS container by using Cloud Provisioning
This image shows how to provision a CICS container by using Cloud Provisioning, as described in the surrounding text.

Procedure

  1. Add the Cloud Provisioning template into z/OSMF.
    From a web browser, connect to the z/OSMF web interface.
    1. Click Cloud Provisioning > Software Services > Templates. Click Add Template > Standard.
      The Templates tab and the Add Template option in the z/OSMF web interface.
    2. In the Template Source file field in the Add Standard Template window, enter the full path of the manifest file for the CICS getting started template: zospt/templates/cics_getting_started/cics.mf.
      z/OSMF must be able to read from this directory tree.
    3. Click Load.
      The Workflow file, Actions file, and Workflow variables input file fields are populated automatically.
    4. Enter the name cics_getting_started in the Template Name field.

      Use this name for your template so that you can use it with the sample z/OS PT image that is provided.

      The Add Standard Template window in the z/OSMF web interface, with fields populated as described in the surrounding text.
    5. Click OK.
    The template is loaded into z/OSMF in Draft state.
  2. Associate the template with a tenant in the domain to determine the set of users that can run the template:
    1. Select the cics_getting_started template. From the Actions menu, select Associate Tenant.
      The Associate Tenant option on the Actions menu of the z/OSMF web interface.
    2. Select the tenant that your z/OSMF administrator specifies.
    3. Click OK.
    4. In the Add Template and Resource Pool for Tenant view, specify the following properties and values:
      Property Setting
      Software services instance name prefix Specify a general name prefix, for example, CGS (for CICS getting started).
      Maximum number of software services instances Specify 1 (one). The properties file for this template contains the CICS APPLID, so you can have one CICS region active at a time. (When you run a fuller configuration as described in Adding a CICS template by using IBM Cloud Provisioning and Management for z/OS, this option controls the maximum number of regions that are allowed).
      Maximum number of software services instances for a user Specify 1 (one). The properties file for this template contains the CICS APPLID, so you can have one CICS region active per user at a time. (When you run a fuller configuration as described in Adding a CICS template by using IBM Cloud Provisioning and Management for z/OS, this option controls the maximum number of regions that are allowed per person).
      Specify customized JOB statement JCL Select this option. If you need to, you can customize the JOB statement. The job statement is applied to all JES jobs submitted as part of the provisioning process.
      System selection for provisioning Choose the system in the sysplex into which you want to provision the CICS regions. The default is to provision into the same system that is running z/OSMF. For more information about configuring z/OSMF for provisioning across different systems, see z/OSMF product documentation.
      Note: To use this template with z/OS PT, do not select the Prompt user for system option.
      The Add Template and Resource Pool for Tenant view of the z/OSMF user interface, populated with fields as described in the surrounding text.
    5. Click OK.
    The template is now ready for use with z/OS PT. The template is in draft mode, which means that only the creator can run the template.
  3. Optional: If you are not using the default domain and tenant, you must set the following environment variables to set up the environment for z/OS PT:
    • export zospt_domain=domain_name
    • export zospt_tenant=tenant_name
  4. Run the template in draft mode to test the template before you publish it and allow other users to run it. To run the template in draft mode, issue the following command: 
    zospt run cics_getting_started_cloud --draft
    Example output is as follows: 
    
2018-04-24 15:08:16  IBM z/OS Provisioning Toolkit V1.1.1
2018-04-24 15:08:16  Running image cics_getting_started_cloud.
2018-04-24 15:08:16  The z/OSMF template used is cics_getting_started.
2018-04-24 15:08:16  The z/OSMF domain is default.
2018-04-24 15:08:16  The z/OSMF tenant is default.
2018-04-24 15:08:16  Connecting to z/OSMF on host localhost port 32000.
2018-04-24 15:08:17  The z/OSMF template cics_getting_started was created by USER01 at date:time. The template type is standard. It was last modified by USER01 at date:time.
2018-04-24 15:08:19  Creating container CICS_CGS00 with id 4fcfd7f6-f377-458a-922e-61ae3365ccf5 on system MV01.
2018-04-24 15:08:24  Validating allowed properties for CICS getting started workflows - Complete.
...
2018-04-24 15:09:39  Starting the CICS region - Complete.
2018-04-24 15:09:40  DFH_CICS_TYPE : Unmanaged
2018-04-24 15:09:40  DFH_REGION_APPLID : IYK2ZLVR
2018-04-24 15:09:41  Created container CICS_CGS00 with id 4fcfd7f6-f377-458a-922e-61ae3365ccf5 on system MV01.
    You can also run the following command to view your provisioned container:
    zospt ps
    Example output is as follows:
    
2018-04-26 13:57:29  IBM z/OS Provisioning Toolkit V1.1.1
2018-04-26 13:57:29  Connecting to z/OSMF on host localhost port 32000.
NAME      IMAGE                        OWNER    CREATED               STATE         TEMPLATE               SYSTEM   CONTAINER TYPE
USERTEST  cics_getting_started_cloud   user01   2018-04-26T12:56:03   provisioned   cics_getting_started   MV01     Standard

Results

You successfully added a Cloud Provisioning template in z/OSMF, associated the cics_getting_started template with a tenant in the domain, and ran the template.

What to do next

  1. Deprovision your CICS container by using the command zospt rm -f containerName.
  2. Build your z/OS PT knowledge by moving on to the next section of the documentation, Security planning for z/OS PT with IBM Cloud Provisioning and Management for z/OS, and continuing through the following sections.
  3. When you are ready, try a full, dynamic scenario Adding a CICS template by using IBM Cloud Provisioning and Management for z/OS, which uses the provided sample template cics_55.