Enterprise Edition
ZD&T Enterprise Edition enables enterprises to host an IBM® Z distribution on low-cost Intel-based x86 machines. It creates an environment for mainframe application demonstration, development, testing, and education without Z mainframe hardware, enables z/OS®, middleware, and other z/OS software to run on Intel and other compatible computers, and emulates z/Architecture with virtual I/O and devices. Enterprise Edition also provides a web-based interface. You can extract, deploy, and manage the application images from an existing Z or ADCD packages.
With a flexible licensing method, ZD&T Enterprise Edition can be used on cloud, VMs, or in-housed physical 8086 hardware. The Enterprise Edition also comes with a single user license that is known as Authorized User (AU) license, or with a multi-user license that is known as the Resource value Unit (RVU) license. If you use a Rational® token license server to enable other IBM products, you can use the same licensing method for ZD&T.
ZD&T Enterprise Edition provides the following features:
- An application development and testing environment that can improve development infrastructure availability and flexibility
- Current levels of IBM z/OS software that give access to new runtime capabilities for development and testing for enterprises
- Mixed workload support for enterprises, which can help reduce the development costs
- An approachable and portable environment for education on Z for enterprises
- A web-based interface to extract, deploy and manage the application images from an existing Z or ADCD packages.
- Creating and managing application images from various sources
- Provisioning application images for developers and testers in a self-service automated way
- Monitoring the status and availability of all created assets and target environments
- Integrating with IBM Application Discovery (AD) to deploy the data sets that are identified by AD to the target machine (ZD&T)
ZD&T Enterprise Edition web server
ZD&T Enterprise Edition web server enables users to use the browser to extract volumes or data sets, transfer the volumes or data sets to the image storage server, and deploy them to the target environment. You can use the web server to deploy the volumes or data sets to the target ZD&T machine step-by-step.
- Integrating with IBM Application Discovery (AD) to transfer the data sets that are identified in AD projects
- Integrating with company LDAP account to enable administrators to set up accounts with minimum efforts
- Scheduling the extraction or deployment for another date or time that you want
- Flexible functions to select required data sets or volumes from the source machine, and transfer the data sets or volumes to the target machine
- Providing Rest API support, which enables you to integrate and automate the functions of the web server in your own environment
- The deployment process can install ZD&T emulator, and make the system ready. You do not need to remember the ZD&T native commands.
- If IBM Application Discovery (AD) is integrated with a source Z, AD can be used to provision the CICS® environment.
- Integrating with OpenStack cloud.
Source Z, ZD&T or ADCD
ZD&T Enterprise Edition can work with your existing Z machine, ZD&T machine or ADCD to extract and deploy the necessary volumes or data sets that are required for the target machine.
Image storage server
ZD&T Enterprise Edition stores extracted information on the intermediary storage machine, for example, FTP or SFTP server. Extracted information is never deleted from the image storage server until the information is manually deleted, which enables you to provision as many as machines that you want based on your license entitlement. You need to have enough storage on the image storage server to hold the required volumes or data sets.
Software-based License Server
When you use the software-based licensing, the Software-based License Server provides a server for centralized management of license keys for one or more instances of ZD&T Enterprise Edition. With this method, a USB hardware device is not required.
To prepare the Software-based License Server, install the server and authenticated license key files. The licensee is not authorized to use Enterprise Edition or any of its components except when the Software-based License Server is activated with a license key file and is accessible by the program, as it provides the proof of license entitlement.
Each license key file is generated with a number of entitled emulated central processors, which is referred as Central Processors (CPs). A single instance of ZD&T requires at least 1 CP, and can run with a maximum of eight CPs. The number of CPs needed depends on the number of users and the types and amount of processing required. For more information about the number of CPs that is used with an instance, see section 2.3.4 "Performance" in the zPDT® Guide and Reference.
The Enterprise Edition also comes with a single user license that is known as Authorized User Single Session (AUSS), or with a multi-user license that is known as the Resource Value Unit (RVU).
Hardware-based License Server
The earlier versions of ZD&T Enterprise Edition require a USB hardware device that contains a license key to control the licensee's access to all or portions of the program. The USB hardware device is ordered through Passport Advantage® in a media pack that is separate from the electronic media that contains the offering software. After you order a license key (called update file) from Rational License Key Center, you need to apply the license key to the USB hardware device. Then, connect the USB hardware device to the machine that is known as Hardware-based License Server.
Each update file is generated with a number of entitled emulated central processors, which is referred as Central Processors (CPs). A single instance of ZD&T requires at least 1 CP, and can run with a maximum of eight CPs. The number of CPs that is needed depends on the number of users and the types and amount of processing required. For more information about the number of CPs that is used with an instance, see section 2.3.4 "Performance" in the zPDT Guide and Reference.
Rational Tokens
Rational Software License Server (RLKS) uses Rational Tokens to enable IBM supplied products. If you also use other IBM products, and already set up RLKS, you can use Rational Tokens to enable ZD&T Enterprise Edition.
To enable Enterprise Edition by Rational Tokens, you need to decide to use Hardware-based License Server or Software-based License Server. In either case, the license key file indicates that Rational Tokens are required.
For ZD&T Enterprise Edition, each emulated central processor within an instance of a Z virtual machine requires a particular number of Rational Tokens, based on the token value for ZD&T Enterprise Edition. When you use Rational Tokens, each instance of the emulator coordinates with a Rational License Key Server instance, and starts or continues to run only if sufficient Rational Tokens are available for the number of configured CPs defined for that instance.
The use of Rational Tokens does not replace the requirement for a license key for ZD&T Enterprise Edition. Either a software-based license key file or a USB hardware device with a valid update file is still required.
Application Developers Controlled Distribution (ADCD)
ZD&T Enterprise Edition also comes with the Application Developers Controlled Distribution (ADCD) package, which is known as z/OS ADCD. ADCD package enables the enterprise users to use and develop their applications with the newest set of mainframe software packages, such as CICS, DB2®, IMS, z/OS 2.3, and JES2. You can select the software packages that you need, and deploy the packages out of ADCD to the target ZD&T images. Alternatively, you can use Z images from source Z.
For a complete list of z/OS products in ADCD, see ADCD z/OS V2R3 May Edition of 2019.
Terminal emulator
A terminal emulator, terminal application, or other terminologies that emulate a video terminal within some other display architecture. Though, the terminal emulator is typically synonymous with a shell or text terminal, the terminal emulator covers all remote terminals, including graphical interfaces. A graphical user interface that is in the terminal emulator is known as a terminal window.
Various terminal emulators are available in the market, and this software is not supplied with ZD&T. You can download the terminal emulator that you want. Or you can purchase IBM Personal Communication that is known as (IBM PCOMM), and download x3270 on your Linux machine if you want. Terminal emulator screen is accessed via port 3270/23.