Running multiple instances

There are times that you want multiple instances of z/OS® Explorer active on the same system, for example, when testing an upgrade. However, some resources such as TCP/IP ports cannot be shared, so the defaults are not always applicable. Use the information in this section to plan the coexistence of the different instances of z/OS Explorer, after which you can use this configuration guide to customize them.

Although it is possible to share certain parts of z/OS Explorer between two (or more) instances, it is advised NOT to do so, unless their software levels are identical and the only changes are in configuration members. z/OS Explorer leaves enough customization room to make multiple instances that do not overlap and we strongly advise you to use these features.

Note:
  • FEK and /usr/lpp/IBM/zexpl are the high-level qualifier and path used during the installation of the product. FEK.#CUST, /etc/zexpl and /var/zexpl are the default locations used during the customization of the product (see "Customization setup" in the Host Configuration Guide (SC27-8437) for more information).
  • You should install z/OS Explorer in a private file system (HFS or zFS) to ease deploying the z/OS UNIX parts of the product.
  • If you can not use a private file system, you should use an archiving tool such as the z/OS UNIX tar command to transport the z/OS UNIX directories from system to system. This to preserve the attributes (such as program control) for the z/OS Explorer files and directories.
    Refer to UNIX System Services Command Reference (SA22-7802) for more information on the following sample commands to archive and restore the z/OS Explorer installation directory.
    • Archive: cd /SYS1/usr/lpp/IBM/zexpl; tar -cSf /u/userid/zexpl.tar
    • Restore: cd /SYS2/usr/lpp/IBM/zexpl; tar -xSpf /u/userid/zexpl.tar