Installation prerequisites

To successfully install IBM® Wave for z/VM®, you must install and configure the following prerequisite software for the z/VM and Linux® systems:
Note: IBM Wave requires American English (AMENG).

Prerequisites for z/VM

The following prerequisites must be met for each z/VM instance that is managed by IBM Wave:
  • IBM Wave requires American English (AMENG).
  • If the z/VM instance is to be managed with a secure SSL/TLS connection, the z/VM instance must support TLS 1.0 or later, and must support AES cipher suites.
  • The z/VM release must be supported by IBM.
    Note: When you are applying IBM Wave fix packs, be sure to check the readme file for any new z/VM APARs.
  • The Linux distribution (also called managed guests) must be listed in Linux distribution support.
  • Directory Maintenance Facility for z/VM (DirMaint) or an equivalent directory management product must be installed and active.
  • If a security management product is used, it must be RACF® or an equivalent security product.
  • Storage must be DASD (ECKD) or FCP when an emulated device (EDEV) is being used.
  • Networking must be one of the following types:
    • VSwitch
    • Guest LAN (internal z/VM)
    • OSA (ODS) (shared across LPARs).
  • TCP/IP must be configured and active with communications protocol of IPV4. (The TCP/IP stack must also be reachable from the client workstations. Telnet, FTP or FTPS, and the z/VM SMAPI ports must be opened to the z/VM managed systems.) For more information about the ports, see Port reference information.
  • Telnet (3270) access must be enabled.
  • FTP Server must be up and running.
  • The SMAPI server that is used by IBM Wave requires authentication by using an existing z/VM guest and its z/VM password. The z/VM guest needs no special privilege classes and might also be called the Authorized API User. See Configure SMAPI for more information.
  • VDISK space of 144000 blocks is needed for use by the Long Service Machine (WAVEWRKL). Make sure the VDISK space allowed for a user by a define command and allowed for the total system is greater than or equal to 144000 blocks. This is usually the default on z/VM systems. The VDISK space can be checked using the z/VM CP commands Q VDISK USERLIM and Q VDISK SYSLIM. For more information about the Q VDISK commands, see one of the following:

    QUERY VDISK (z/VM 7.1)

    QUERY VDISK (z/VM 7.2)

Prerequisites for Linux guests

For Linux distributions supported, see Linux distribution support.

For every Linux virtual guest that is managed by IBM Wave, make sure the following packages are installed:
  • Binary utilities (binutils)
  • SSH Server
  • VMCP
The following are required when you use the accompanying feature:
  • To run scripts, managed guests require a Network File System (NFS) client.
  • For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 (RHEL 7), the net-tools package is required.
  • For SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES), a CMS file system is required.
  • For Ubuntu, a vlan package is required to add a trunk network connection.

Prerequisites for the IBM Wave Linux server

The following prerequisites apply to each Linux system that is running on the IBM Wave server (WAVESRV):
  • The Linux distribution on the Wave server must be one of the following:
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 (RHEL 7) with the net-tools package and other dependency packages.
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 (SLES 12) with dependency packages.
  • IBM Java™ 1.8 is required.
  • The deltarpm package is required.
  • The command-line interface (CLI) and the installation of the WebSphere® Application Server Liberty require software to unpack .tar and .zip files.
  • TCP/IP must be configured and active. If a Linux security manager is enabled on the Linux server, verify that it permits you to install IBM Wave.
  • If you are using Directory Access, it must be Microsoft Active Directory or LDAP.
  • If Directory Access is used with a secure SSL/TLS connection, the directory server must support:
    • TLS 1.0 (or later)
    • AES cipher suites.

Prerequisites for workstations that run IBM Wave

The following prerequisites are for each workstation that is running the IBM Wave client:
  • The operating system for the IBM Wave user interface can be Microsoft Windows 7 or Windows 10.
  • The IBM Wave client can use Oracle Java 1.8 or IBM Java 1.8.
    Note: For workstations that run the 64-bit version of Windows, 64-bit Java is recommended.
  • Browser support must be Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 or Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) 17.
  • TCP/IP must be configured and active for all managed z/VM systems and to the Linux server (WAVESRV).