Software Services

You can use the Software Services task, along with the Resource Management task, to provision z/OS® software. This includes creating instances of IBM® middleware, such as IBM CICS® (CICS), IBM Db2®, IBM Information Management System (IMS™), IBM MQ, z/OS Connect, and IBM WebSphere® Application Server (WAS), and creating middleware resources, such as MQ queues, CICS regions, and Db2 databases. You can then manage the software services instances.

Templates and instances

In the Software Services task, you work with:

Templates

A software services template consists of workflows and associated actions and variables that can be used to provision z/OS software. The original source of the workflow and action definitions is the software provider. You might modify the files supplied by the provider for your installation. Then, using the Software Services task, you add (create) a template for your installation.

The list of templates is maintained in the software services catalog.

You define the domain, and add a template to a tenant, using the Resource Management task.

There are these types of templates:
Standard
Use these to provision a single software service.
Composite
Use these to provision more than one type of software service with a single Run operation or to provision clustered software services. For more information, see Composite templates.
Instances
A software services instance represents software that has been provisioned through the use of templates. It might be a middleware instance or middleware resource.

To create a software instance from a template, you test run a draft template or run a published template.

An instance is registered as provisioned in the software services registry. The software services registry is maintained in the z/OSMF data repository and has a sysplex-wide scope.

Tabs for the Software Services page

The Software Services page contains an Overview tab, a Templates tab, and an Instances tab.
Overview
This is the initial tab. It provides an overview of software services instances and software services templates, including:
  • The templates and instances, grouped by type (for example, IMS or CICS, or Composite Template, for composite templates that include multiple standard templates).
  • For each type, a count of templates that are in the draft, published, and archived states.
    • Templates that are in a draft state can be modified as needed and then published using the Publish action.
    • Templates that are in a published state are locked, meaning that they cannot be modified. Publishing a template makes it available for consumers. Using the Run action for a published template provisions the software and creates a corresponding instance.
  • For each type, a count of instances that provisioned or deprovisioned.

Click links in the summary information to see associated details. For example, click the number for Drafts to display templates of the same type that are in a draft state, or click the number for Published to see templates of the same type that are in the published state.

Templates
This tab shows the software services templates.
Instances
This tab shows the software services instances.