How to use IBM App Connect with IBM z/OS Connect

IBM z/OS Connect is software that is used to design and run OpenAPI conformant APIs to interact with z/OS applications and data.

Availability:

App Connect Enterprise as a Service connector
Local connector in containers (Long Term Support Cycle-3 release) 13.0.7.0-r1 or later
Local connector in containers (Continuous Delivery release) 13.0.2.2-r2 or later

Supported product and API versions

To find out which product and API versions this connector supports, see Detailed System Requirements on the IBM Support page.

Connecting to IBM z/OS Connect

Complete the connection fields that you see in the App Connect Designer Connect > Applications and APIs page or flow editor. If necessary, work with your IBM z/OS Connect administrator to obtain these values.

IBM z/OS Connect has the following connection fields.

Server URL is the URL for the API server that makes runtime calls.
Username is the username that is used to connect to IBM z/OS Connect.
Note: The username and password are required only if the server URL provided is protected by a password.
Password is the password that is used to connect to IBM z/OS Connect.
Override server URL is required if you want to connect to an endpoint in a private network by using the private network client, or to override the server URL. Specify an override value for the host and port for the connector in the format <http or https>://<host_name>:<port>. If you're not using the private network client or don't require an override, don't enter a value in this field.
Private network connection: Select the name of a private network connection that App Connect uses to connect to your private network. This list is populated with the names of private network connections that are created from the Private network connections page in the Designer instance. You see this field only if a switch server is configured for this Designer instance. For more information, see Connecting to a private network from App Connect Designer. (In App Connect Designer 12.0.10.0-r1 or earlier instances that include this field, the display name is shown as Agent name.)

To connect to a IBM z/OS Connect endpoint from the App Connect Designer Applications and APIs page for the first time, expand IBM z/OS Connect, then click Connect.

Tip:

Before you use the account that is created in App Connect in a flow, rename the account to something meaningful that helps you to identify it. To rename the account on the Applications and APIs page, select the account, open its options menu (⋮), then click Rename Account.

General Considerations

Before you use App Connect Designer with IBM z/OS Connect, take note of the following considerations:

You can see lists of the trigger events and actions that are available on the Applications and APIs page of the App Connect Designer.
For some applications, the events and actions depend on the environment and whether the connector supports configurable events and dynamic discovery of actions. If the application supports configurable events, you see a Show more configurable events link under the events list. If the application supports dynamic discovery of actions, you see a Show more link under the actions list.
If you are using multiple accounts for an application, the set of fields that is displayed when you select an action for that application can vary for different accounts. In the flow editor, some applications always provide a curated set of static fields for an action. Other applications use dynamic discovery to retrieve the set of fields that are configured on the instance that you are connected to. For example, if you have two accounts for two instances of an application, the first account might use settings that are ready for immediate use. However, the second account might be configured with extra custom fields.

Events and Actions

IBM z/OS Connect events

Note: Events are not available for changes in this application. You can trigger a flow in other ways, such as at a scheduled interval or at specific dates and times.

IBM z/OS Connect actions

Your flow completes these actions on this application.

Connect to IBM z/OS Connect to see a list of available actions.

Model Context Protocol (MCP) support

The IBM z/OS Connect connector supports MCP, and all IBM z/OS Connect actions for the listed objects can be added to an MCP server as tools. For more information on how to configure an MCP server, see Creating and managing MCP servers.