Distributing product updates
The Developer for z/OS push-to-client feature provides tools for system administrators to create product installation updates and prompt client workstations to install the updates when they connect to a remote system.
Before you begin
This type of update supports only modification-level updates. You can use push-to-client to update clients from version 9.5 to version 9.5.1, for example, but not from version 9.5 to version 14.0 and not from version 14.0 to version 14.1.
You can distribute product updates after the Developer for z/OS servers are installed and configured on a remote system. To complete the push-to-client tasks, the Developer for z/OS pushtoclient.properties file must be configured to distribute product updates.
- An IBM® Installation Manager response file. For instructions for creating a response file, see Creating a response file.
- An IBM Installation Manager product activation kit file. If the product update requires a product activation kit, you can place the kit in a network location and refer to the location from the response file.
- A key mapping file. This file defines the location of other files, such as installation response files and configuration files, that are distributed automatically to client workstations. The key mapping file is called keymapping.xml. Its default location on the z/OS system is /var/zexpl/pushtoclient.
- An installation configuration file. This file defines
the product offering IDs, a range of Developer for z/OS versions,
and the name of the response file that installs the product update.
The push-to-client feature scans the installation configuration file
for an applicable product offering ID and installed version. If found,
it starts Installation Manager with the specified response file. The
installation configuration file is called installconfig.xml and
is in the path indicated by the
<fileId>com.ibm.ftt.resources.zos.install.configuration</fileId>
tag of the key mapping file. - A push-to-client properties file, called pushtoclient.properties. This file defines the location of the key mapping file. The default location of the pushtoclient.properties file on the z/OS system is /etc/zexpl/.
- To update the client version, you need to set both
product.enabled
andconfig.enabled
totrue
orSAF
in the pushtoclient.properties file, even if you only plan to distribute product updates.
About this task
Procedure
To create and distribute product updates: