Creating a platform

You create a platform in CICS Explorer®. Create a CICS Platform project to define a platform bundle. The platform bundle is a type of management bundle that describes a platform. The platform bundle specifies the region types for the platform.

Before you begin

For an introduction to platforms, see How it works: platforms. This task assumes that you already:
  1. Decided how to structure your platforms. If not, see Designing a CICS platform.
  2. Set up the platform home directory in zFS. If not, see Preparing zFS for platforms.

If you want to deploy CICS bundles at the level of your platform, you can create them ready to add them when you create your CICS Platform project. For example, you can deploy a CICS bundle that contains a resource that is required in all the CICS regions in the platform, or a policy that applies to multiple applications deployed on the platform. If you do not yet have any applications, resources, or policies set up for your platform, you can add CICS bundles to the platform after you create it, or at any time after you deploy it. For instructions to create a CICS bundle, see Defining CICS bundles.

About this task

You create a platform in CICS Explorer. The following steps outline the procedure. For detailed steps, see Working with platforms and applications in the CICS Explorer product documentation.

Procedure

  1. Create a CICS Platform project. Enter a name for the project, and a name and description for the platform itself.
    The project location specifies where the CICS Platform project is saved in your local workspace.
  2. Add one or more region types for the platform. Name each region type, then specify whether it is a created region type with a new system group, or an adopted region type that uses an existing system group. For a created region type, enter a name for the CICS system group (CSYSGRP) that will be created for the region type.
    To add an existing CICS system group as an adopted region type, you must have a connection to CICSPlex® SM.
  3. Optional: Specify any CICS bundles that you want to deploy with the platform, then select the region types where they will be deployed.
    If you do not have any CICS bundles ready to deploy with the platform, skip this stage.
  4. Use the platform descriptor editor in the CICS Explorer to edit the CICS Platform project to check and complete your specifications for the platform bundle.
    The platform descriptor editor opens automatically after you create a platform project. To open the platform descriptor editor later, double-click any of the .xml files for the platform bundle, except the manifest.xml file.
    1. If you need to use a different directory instead of the default platform home directory, browse for the home directory that you set up and specify it as the platform home directory.
    2. Verify your region types, and add or remove created and adopted region types as required.
      After a platform is installed and active, you can add and remove individual CICS regions in region types. However, you cannot modify the region types in an installed platform, so finalize your region types before you install the platform.
    3. For each of the created region types in your platform, specify any settings that must apply in all the CICS regions in the region type.
      Only CICS regions that can accept the settings can be part of that region type. If your created region type has no special requirements for an attribute, do not specify any value for that attribute so that any setting is allowed in the CICS regions.
    4. For each of the created region types in your platform, add one or more CICS region definitions for CICS regions that will be part of the region type. A default CICS region definition is provided, which you must replace with a real definition for a CICS region in the created region type.
      Specify the basic properties for each CICS region, and the created region types where the region will be included.
    5. Verify any CICS bundles that are to be deployed with the platform. Add or remove bundles as required, and verify or change the region types where each CICS bundle is to be deployed.
      You can deploy further CICS bundles at the level of the platform after you install the platform, as you develop your applications and policies.

What to do next

Export the CICS Platform project to the platform home directory on zFS, set up CICS regions to match each CICS region definition that you created in a region type in your platform, and install the platform in the CICSplex to make it available. For instructions, see Deploying a platform.