New: Kubernetes orchestration for IBM z/OS Container Platform

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IBM® z/OS® Container Platform (zOSCP) now includes Kubernetes orchestration. You can use Kubernetes infrastructure on z/OS to deploy, scale, and manage your applications, enabling full participation in your enterprise hybrid cloud solution.

What is IBM z/OS Container Platform?

zOSCP allows you to run containerized z/OS UNIX applications. Developers can build applications and consume resources in a self-service model while working in a secure and isolated environment on z/OS. It includes z/OS implementations of the industry-standard tools that you need to work with containers, from building images through to advanced orchestration.

Figure 1. The components of IBM z/OS Container Platform
This diagram shows the three main sets of components in IBM z/OS Container Platform: the Kubernetes components, including IBM z/OS Control Plane Appliance, the container runtime components, and the tools, or utilities, for working with container images.

The technologies included with zOSCP for this enhancement are:

  1. cri-o for IBM z/OS (cri-o) - An implementation of the container runtime interface that is used by Kubernetes to call runC.
  2. crictl for IBM z/OS (crictl) - The command-line interface for CRI-compatible container runtimes, such as cri-o.
  3. IBM z/OS Control Plane Appliance (zCPA) – The zCPA runs in a z/OS address space and enables one or more z/OS systems to participate as control plane nodes in a Kubernetes cluster.
  4. IBM z/OS Appliance Manager for Kubernetes (kam) - A z/OS UNIX command-line utility that manages the lifecycle of the zCPA.
  5. kubectl for IBM z/OS (kubectl) - A z/OS UNIX command-line utility for interacting with a Kubernetes cluster, for example, to create deployments.
  6. kubelet for IBM z/OS (kubelet) - The kubelet is an agent that runs on each system where you want to run a worker node.
  7. kubeadm for IBM z/OS (kubeadmz) - A z/OS UNIX command-line utility that provides functions for managing the lifecycle of control plane nodes and worker nodes.

How does Kubernetes orchestration work on zOSCP?

Figure 2 shows how the new Kubernetes orchestration components that are included in this enhancement work on IBM z/OS, interacting with other elements of z/OS, and with cloud and infrastructure components.

Figure 2. IBM z/OS Container Platform architecture
Diagram showing components of IBM z/OS Container Platform and other elements of z/OS that interact with it.

Why Kubernetes orchestration?

Kubernetes orchestrates the deployment of containerized applications into a cluster comprising multiple z/OS systems configured as worker nodes. Configuration, security, and network access are all represented in YAML documents that can be kept in version control, thus enabling modern development practices that can be applied to administration as well as source code. The control plane also works with trusted z/OS capability such as Sysplex Distributor and Systems Automation to ensure that new containerized applications integrate seamlessly with collocated traditional workloads. With this new capability users can:
  • Deploy, scale, and manage highly available applications through a secure control plane
  • Create well defined networking endpoints for HA applications comprising multiple containers
  • Leverage System Distributor as an on-platform load balancer for High-Availability clusters
  • Perform rolling updates to applications in production
  • Use version control to manage the deployment of applications through “configuration as code”

Delivering Kubernetes orchestration to z/OS Container Platform provides an opportunity to integrate with a vibrant ecosystem of open source tools including those providing GitOps capability. The networking support exploiting Sysplex Distributor allows for a seamless transition when containerizing highly scalable applications.

How do I get started?

Learn more about how to get started with IBM z/OS Container Platform by exploring our content solution page and Documentation.

Learn more about how z/OS Container Platform can benefit your enterprise by visiting our product page.

About the Authors

Matthew Webster is an experienced IBM Senior Technical Staff Member with a demonstrated history of leading innovative projects on a variety of platforms. Based at the IBM Hursley Lab, he is skilled in mainframe, containers, orchestration, DevOps, and continuous delivery, currently working as Kubernetes Architect for z/OS Container Platform.

Michael Fitzpatrick is a Senior Technical Staff Member and CPO of the IBM Enterprise Networking Software Group, based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, in the US. Mike has worked in the networking area for over 30 years, with a focus on resiliency, network design, and performance.

Bethany Simpson is a Technical Content Developer for IBM z/OS Container Platform and IBM CICS Transaction Server for z/OS.