Planning installation

Before you can install CICS Transaction Server for z/OS, there are some preparation steps to do.

Choose the edition of CICS

CICS® Transaction Server for z/OS® is available in different editions to give you flexibility to try before you buy or to take advantage of different price options. These editions are CICS TS (the base edition), Developer Trial, and Value Unit Edition (VUE). The product documentation applies equally to all three editions, unless specifically stated. Where you read CICS TS, you can assume that it refers also to Developer Trial and Value Unit Edition.

Developer Trial is a no-charge, evaluation edition, offering a full set of features but with restricted performance and a limited operational life-span.

Value Unit Edition (Value Unit Edition) provides a one-time-charge (OTC) price model, aimed at eligible workloads that include Java™ applications deployed in qualifying IBM Z® New Application License Charge (zNALC) logical partitions (LPARs).

You can upgrade CICS regions from Developer Trial to a full edition of CICS as the MLC base edition of CICS TS, subject to your purchased entitlement, without having to reinstall.

Find out more about Developer Trial:
What are the restrictions on the use of the Developer Trial edition?
When you use Developer Trial with this version of CICS TS, the following restrictions apply:
Maximum number of tasks
The maximum number of user tasks that can exist in a Developer Trial system at the same time is 30. There is no need to change the MXT system initialization parameter for the region; the restriction is handled by Developer Trial. No messages are issued to indicate that the lesser value is used.
Product duration
Developer Trial has a fixed expiration date to allow at least 90 days usage from the date that it is ordered. On system initialization, the console message DFHTI0200 informs you that you are using Developer Trial and shows the expiration date. After initialization, the console message is issued daily at midnight. After the expiration date is passed, you can no longer use your version of CICS TS Developer Trial. Your system terminates and, if you try to initialize CICS TS Developer Trial, the console message DFHTI0201 is issued.

If you want to use CICS TS Developer Trial after the expiration date, you must order a new release of the CICS TS Developer Trial. The license package is the only part that you must re-install. When you replace the old licence with the new licence, you can use Developer Trial for at least 90 days from the date when you ordered the new release.

Usage restrictions
Developer Trial is for non-production use only. It may only be used as part of your internal development and test environment for internal non-production activities, such as (but not limited to) testing, performance tuning, fault diagnosis, internal benchmarking, staging, quality assurance activities, and/or developing internally used additions or extensions to CICS TS. You are not authorized to use any part of Developer Trial for any production workloads.
What Support and Service do I get?

Existing CICS clients can raise Service Requests for the CICS TS Developer Trial. Since the CICS TS Developer Trial is a non-production version of CICS Transaction Server, Service Requests should be raised as Severity 3 (some business impact) or Severity 4 (minimal business impact) through IBM® CICS Support. If a program fix is required, it will be delivered into the base CICS TS product and incorporated into future versions of the CICS TS Developer Trial.

Can Developer Trial systems act as CICSPlex® SM components?

Developer Trial systems can be a CICSPlex SM address space (CMAS), a CICSPlex SM web user interface (WUI), or a region that is managed by CICSPlex SM (MAS). A Developer Trial system that is a CMAS must be started with the CMAS option on the CPSMCONN system initialization parameter for the region.

How do I install and configure Developer Trial?
The installation and configuration of Developer Trial requires the same tasks as those used to install and configure the base edition of CICS TS. During the installation process you must install the activation module specific to Developer Trial.

For detailed instructions, see Installing CICS TS Developer Trial and Configuring.

Find out more about Value Unit Edition:
Can I mix Value Unit Edition and non-VUE CICS regions?
Yes. A Value Unit Edition system can be connected to Value Unit Edition CICS regions or a non-Value Unit Edition CICS region.
How do I install and configure CICS TS Value Unit Edition?
The installation and configuration of CICS TS Value Unit Edition requires the same tasks as those used to install and configure the base edition of CICS TS. Whether you are installing CICS TS VUE on its own or whether you are moving from the CICS TS base edition to Value Unit Edition, you must download Value Unit Edition from Shopz. During the installation process, you must install the activation module specific to Value Unit Edition.

For detailed instructions, see Installing CICS TS VUEand Configuring.

Choose the distribution package

The packages for installing CICS TS are either a system-replace method called ServerPac or the Custom-Built Product Delivery Option (CBPDO). The ServerPac can also be delivered in z/OSMF Software Management portable instance (PSI) format. For more information, see ServerPac Installation using z/OSMF.

Figure 1. Contents of the ServerPac and CBPDO
The figure shows the components of a ServerPac tape as (in order) Integration-tested code and PTFs, Hipers, PE fixes, PTFs required for new products, Other IBM products you might have ordered, and PTFs not integrated and available for preventive maintenance. (All but the last of these are marked “Integrated into libraries”.) Also illustrated are the contents of a CBPDOpackage, they are (in order) Integration-tested code in RELFILE format, Integration-tested PTFs, Hipers, PE fixes, and Uninstalled PTFs based on your customer profile. (All but the last of these is marked “IBM recommends you install this code”.) The figure ends with the observation “All service in both deliverables is current to inside a week of order.”

CBPDO (Custom-Built Product Delivery Option) is an entitled software delivery package that consists of uninstalled products and unintegrated service. There is no dialog program to help you install it, as there is with ServerPac. You must use SMP/E to install.

If you order CBPDO, you can download one logically stacked SMP/E RELFILE package that contains all the base elements. Depending on your customer profile, you receive uninstalled service. You also receive the following items:
  • Sample jobs to help you install CICS TS and service.
  • The CBPDO Memo to Users Extension and program materials that describe your CBPDO order.

Find the Program Directories

The Program Directory is a document provided with the installable package of CICS Transaction Server. It contains information about the materials and procedures for installing each component of CICS TS.

To install any of the editions of CICS Transaction Server for z/OS, you need the Program Directory for both components.

beta Find the program directories on CICS TS open beta website. For details, see Preparing your environment to install CICS TS beta.

Table 1. Program Directories required for installation. Program Directories required for installation
Edition Program Directories required
CICS Transaction Server for z/OS - base
CICS Transaction Server for z/OS - Developer Trial
CICS Transaction Server for z/OS - Value Unit Edition

Check system requirements

Whether you choose the CBPDO or the ServerPac distribution, the hardware requirement is the same but the software requirements can vary.

For the latest and most complete information about the hardware and software requirements (required and optional) and the service that you must apply to install CICS TS, see Detailed system requirements and the supplied Program Directories.

Find CICS Explorer

CICS Explorer® is a system management tool that you can use to manage one or more CICS systems. It is based on an Eclipse platform and provides a view of some CICSPlex SM functions in a CICS Transaction Server, and a platform for the integration of CICS tools. See Downloading and installing CICS Explorer in the CICS Explorer product documentation.