Decision 10: Which user interfaces to use
Most OMEGAMON® monitoring products support the available z/OS-based 3270 green screen
interfaces as well as the graphical interfaces. The interfaces differ in the information they offer, the infrastructure they require, and the security they provide. The capabilities of each interface, as well as the familiarity of a user community with a specific type of interface, should be considered when deciding which interface to provide.
For many products, it is possible to provide multiple user interfaces, allowing users to access the product in the manner more appropriate to their skills and familiarity. Review the following available user interfaces and considerations:
- IBM® OMEGAMON enhanced 3270 user interface
- Requires installation of one or more Tivoli Enterprise Monitoring Servers. It offers plex-level, system-level, and cross-product data views with enhanced functionality over older 3270 interfaces.
- Tivoli Enterprise Monitoring Server REST services interface
- A REST API that enables integration of OMEGAMON data into custom applications, dashboards, automation scripts, or third-party analytics solutions such as Splunk, Elastic, and Grafana. For information, see Tivoli Enterprise Monitoring Server REST services.
- IBM Z® OMEGAMON Web UI
- A modern graphical interface that requires installation of Grafana along with one or more Tivoli Enterprise Monitoring Servers. OMEGAMON Web UI delivers enhanced visualization and interactive features by leveraging Grafana dashboards. For platform-specific requirements, see Installation of OMEGAMON Web UI.
- IBM Z Service Management Explorer (IZSME)
- A graphical, web-based application that runs as a Zowe desktop plug-in. Unlike Tivoli Enterprise Portal, IZSME does not require installing Java or TEP software on client workstations.
- Tivoli Enterprise Portal (TEP)
- A graphical interface requiring one or more Tivoli Enterprise Monitoring Servers and a Tivoli Enterprise Portal server, which must be installed on a distributed platform.
- Older 3270 user interfaces
- These require less infrastructure but provide more limited information and fewer customization options.
Review the following sections to decide which interfaces to use.