Defining your software to z/OSMF

A software instance is a collection of data sets containing installed software, and other data sets that may be associated with that installed software. The software may be SMP/E managed, in which case the collection of data sets also contains, and is described by, one or more SMP/E target and distribution zone pairs, defined by a single global zone. A software instance describes software that is installed on DASD. This software is not necessarily running on a system.

Guidelines for identifying software instances

A software instance can contain any installed software (IBM and vendor). The software may or may not be SMP/E packaged and installed. For example, a software instance can contain:
  • IBM® software installed from ServerPac, CBPDO, or fee-based installation offerings
  • ISV software
  • z/OS® operating system and related products
  • Subsystems and related products
  • User written software

It is recommended that you group your software into product sets and identify those product sets as software instances in the Software Management task.

A product set is the set of products that you should install, maintain, migrate, and deploy as a group. When identifying which software to include in a product set (software instance), consider:
  • Software installation requirements. If software must be installed in data sets and SMP/E zones shared with other software in order to work, that software should be included in the same software instance.
  • Migration cycles. Any software installed or migrated on a cycle different from other software is a candidate software instance.
  • Organization requirements. If software in your organization is maintained by different groups, consider including that software in separate software instances.
  • Sharing boundaries. If some software is shared among some systems and other software is shared among different sets of systems, they are candidates for inclusion in different software instances.
  • Product availability. If software is no longer available from a particular software vendor, include that software in separate software instances. Doing so helps you avoid redeploying that software when you're deploying other software.

For more details on which software to place in a product set (software instance), see the section that introduces product sets in z/OS Planning for Installation.

Defining software instances

To define your software to z/OSMF, create a software instance that describes the software libraries and data sets associated with the installed software. The process of defining a software instance includes:
  • Specifying the name, description, and categories to use for the software instance.
  • If the software is SMP/E managed, then specify the global zone.
  • Select one or more target zones from that global zone that describe the software.
  • Identifying additional data sets (not managed by SMP/E) to include in and deploy with the software instance.

The software instances defined to z/OSMF are displayed on the Software Instances page. To display this page, click Software Instances on the Software Management page or select Software Instances from the Switch To menu provided on the Deployments page and the Products page.

For more details about defining software instances, see help topic Adding software instances.

Parent topic: Software Management task

Related concepts

Ensuring that your data is centrally located