Learn about zCX performance benefits compared to x86
Now that you have decided to use zCX, it is time to prepare your system to support zCX and plan for your zCX instance.
zCX requires IBM z14™ or later servers with z/OS V2R4 or higher and
IBM Container Hosting Foundation for z/OS (5655-HZ1) provides required service and support for the underlying Linux kernel and zCX appliance, as well as unlimited zCX usage in the central processor complex (CPC) across all LPARs. If you have an IBM z14 or IBM z15 processor, as an alternative to IBM Container Hosting Foundation for z/OS, you can order Container Hosting Foundation, hardware feature code 0104, from the eConfig Fulfillment System.
Enable Container Hosting Foundation
Use the steps below to help your z/OS team decide on allocations and variables needed for your zCX instances.
To prepare a software services template and provision software, you perform these steps using the Software Services task of z/OSMF.
- Authorize users for zCX provisioning in z/OSMF
- Decide CPU, memory, DASD/disk storage allocation for zCX and use of the z/OS NFS server
- Decide and prepare network resources that will be used by zCX
- Update Workload Management policies for zCX
- Update security definitions for zCX
- Decide and prepare for your user management technique
- Decide the registry to which your zCX instance will connect
- Decide whether to use IBM License Metric Tool for sub-capacity pricing
Once all the decisions in the planning phase have been decided, you are ready to provision your zCX instance using a
The first workflow step asks you to provide the information needed to provision your zCX instance. You can input the variables manually, or using a workflow variables input properties file that you prepare beforehand. The remaining steps of the workflow can be automated.
Now you are ready to log in to your zCX instance and deploy a
Visit the Open Mainframe Project, Ambitus, for additional resources to promote collaboration and knowledge sharing of open source technologies that modernize and expand the IBM Z platform ecosystem.
- Log in to the
Docker Command Line Interface (CLI) - Pull in a Docker image to the container
- Create a container from a Docker image
z/OSMF has additional workflows to manage the lifecycle of your zCX appliance, including deprovisioning a zCX instance.
There is diagnostic information available for zCX should you encounter any problems.
Capabilities for extending zCX use include clustering and orchestration, creating a swarm cluster of zCX instances using the
Available z/OSMF workflows for zCX:
Q: What are the benefits of z/OS Container Extensions?
A:
z/OS Container Extensions expands and modernizes the z/OS software ecosystem to include Linux on IBM Z applications. Most applications (including Systems Management components and development tools) that are currently only available to run on Linux will be able to run on z/OS as
Q: How is Container Extensions different from Linux on IBM Z?
A:
zCX gives z/OS environments the ability to deploy Linux on IBM Z applications as
If you are a client with Linux on IBM Z installations, you will continue to run those installations. If you are a z/OS client that used to, but no longer has a Linux on IBM Z installation, you should consider zCX. If you are a z/OS client that has never had a Linux on IBM Z installation, then zCX Extensions is a low effort way to try Linux on IBM Z.
Q: Can I install the APAR and enable the 90-day zCX trial in more than one LPAR or on more than one CPC?
A:
You can use the 90-day zCX Trial no more than one time per sysplex. The sysplex can span multiple
Q: What are some zCX use cases?
A:
z/OS software ecosystem expansion: Latest microservices, non-SQL databases, analytics frameworks, ICP, application server environment, and emerging programming languages and environments.
Systems management: Centralization of UI portals for management products and databases
z/OS modernization: Open source application development utilities.
Q: Are there samples and resources that I can look at to get started?
A: Yes. Visit the Open Mainframe Project, Ambitus, for samples, build recipes, and other resources to promote collaboration and knowledge sharing of open source technologies to modernize and expand the IBM Z platform.
Q: Do application developers require knowledge of z/OS to create and deploy Linux on IBM Z applications to run in z/OS Container Extensions?
A:
Applications will look like
Q: Does Container Extensions make use of Kubernetes?
A:
No, not at this time. The initial release of zCX for IBM z/OS V2.4 provides
Q: Will there be performance data published for zCX?
A: There is currently no plan to publish performance data for the zCX environment because performance is heavily reliant on individual configuration, workload, and networking characteristics.
Q: What are the costs associated with z/OS Container Extensions?
A:
zCX is a base element of z/OS. There is no additional software cost for zCX itself beyond z/OS. Associated costs are IBM Container Hosting Foundation for z/OS (or the alternative FC 0104 for an IBM z14 or IBM z15), possible hardware costs for
Q: On which engine types can z/OS Container Extensions run?
A:
z/OS Container Extensions address spaces are
A good first assumption is that the new work running in the zCX environment will be 95% zIIP-eligible. However, your zCX environment may be more or less zIIP eligible depending on characteristics of the workload. Capacity planning should be based on the measured zIIP eligibility of your specific zCX applications. zCX can be deployed exclusively on standard processors if no zIIP processors are available. See "Exploiting zIIP and general purpose processors for zCX workloads" in the IBM z/OS Container Extensions Guide for more information.
Note: Results were extrapolated from internal IBM benchmarks performed in a controlled environment using a single z14 z/OS 2.4 LPAR with
Q: Are licenses required for applications running inside z/OS Container Extensions?
A: Yes, any licenses that you would procure to run applications in a traditional Linux on IBM Z environment will also be required to run those same applications inside zCX. Licenses are the same as those used for traditional Linux on IBM Z applications. If you are using an application on both Linux on IBM Z and zCX environments, ensure you have enough licensed capacity available to run the application on all the cores on which it will be active.
Q: Is Processor Value Unit (PVU) Licensing effective for IBM applications running inside z/OS Container Extensions?
A:
Yes, whatever PVU licensing is in effect for IBM software in the traditional Linux on IBM Z environment is also in effect for zCX. Both General Purpose and
Q: Will subcapacity pricing for Linux on IBM Z IBM SW (Passport Advantage products) be supported in zCX?
A:
Yes, sub-capacity pricing is supported through the IBM License Metric Tool.
For more information on IBM License Metric Tool enablement on zCX, refer to Using the IBM License Metric Tool for sub-capacity pricing.
Use of IBM License Metric Tool is now mandatory for sub-capacity pricing for the zCX environment. Manual reporting is no longer acceptable.
Q: What can run in z/OS Container Extensions?
A:
Anything with s390x architecture (the IBM Z opcode set) in
In addition to open source packages, there will likely be IBM and third-party software available. It is intended that clients can participate with their own Linux applications, which can easily be packaged in Docker format and deployed in the same as open source, IBM, and vendor packages.
Q: On which engine types can z/OS Container Extensions run?
A:
z/OS Container Extensions address spaces are
A good first assumption is that the new work running in the zCX environment will be 95% zIIP-eligible. However, your zCX environment may be more or less zIIP eligible depending on characteristics of the workload. Capacity planning should be based on the measured zIIP eligibility of your specific zCX applications. zCX can be deployed exclusively on standard processors if no zIIP processors are available. See "Exploiting zIIP and general purpose processors for zCX workloads" in the IBM z/OS Container Extensions Guide for more information.
Note: Results were extrapolated from internal IBM benchmarks performed in a controlled environment using a single z14 z/OS 2.4 LPAR with
Read the comprehensive content collection about z/OS Container Extensions.
Get started on your journey to AI on IBM Z and LinuxONE.
Sharing information about zCX and insights into deploying Linux on IBM Z containerized applications inside z/OS.
Episode 79 of Terminal Talk by Frank and Jeff features Gary Puchkoff of IBM Z discussing z/OS Container Extensions (zCX). Search for “Terminal Talk” in iTunes, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app, or click the link below.
Episode 77 of Terminal Talk by Frank and Jeff features Joe Bostian of IBM Z discussing open source on Z.Search for “Terminal Talk” in iTunes, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app, or click the link below.
This episode of Terminal Talk by Frank and Jeff features Anthony Giorgio of IBM Z discussing the what, how, and why of zCX including its latest developments.
Learn about Docker containers through the Resources tab on Docker’s website.
Learn how IBM Systems Lab Services can help you install Docker containers for z/OS using zCX.
Learn how to onboard and leverage z/OS Container Extensions in a custom workshop.
Marna Walle of IBM Z discusses zCX performance enhancements.
Gary Puchkoff and Allison Moshier explain how z/OS Container Extensions has advanced recently and give a peek of things to come.
Read the comprehensive content collection about z/OS Container Extensions.
An overview of how to plan for zCX and the required resources
A demonstration of how to provision zCX using z/OSMF
Provisioning a zCX appliance
An introduction to understanding and using Docker
A zCX open source Github repository with example images of Portainer, Jupyterhub, Dev Toolkit, and Grafana
Getting started with z/OS Container Extensions and Docker
Install, configure, and use the IBM z/OS Management Facility (z/OSMF).
Download the Service Management Unite (SMU) image directly into z/OS using z/OS Container Extensions (IBM enterprise account required).
Transforming a Corporate Datacenter into a Modern Environment: Kubernetes as a Foundation for Hybrid Cloud.
A Grafana dashboard template for monitoring your zCX instances.
Learn about the 90-day zCX Trial.
Understand configuration and impacts of zCX in the V2R4 report.
A demonstration of Docker image development in zCX.
Getting Better Performance for Your zCX Containers.
Getting started with zCX maintenance version 1.26.0
IBM z/OS Container Extensions (zCX) Use Cases.
A demonstration of using JupyterHub and zCX.
Learn how IBM used zCX to modernize our own internal tool.
Use cases with z/OS Container Extensions
Learn about zCX performance benefits compared to x86
Learn about container images for IBM Z and LinuxONE
Learn about running IBM Security Guardium Key Lifecycle Manager (GKLM) on zCX
Learn about running IBM Z Workload Scheduler Dynamic Workload Console, IBM Z Workload Scheduler Agent and File Proxy on zCX
Deploy containerized Linux-on-Z applications in a Red Hat OpenShift cluster on z/OS with zCX.
Build and train models anywhere, and deploy them on IBM Z and LinuxONE infrastructure.
The Tutorial & Instruction tab of the Technical Resources section was updated with a new blog, Getting started with zCX maintenance version 1.26.0.
Links to IBM Z Hot Topics articles were changed to reflect the move of Hot Topics to IBM Docs.
An Architecture topic was added to the Big Picture section.
The contents of the Learn more section were integrated into the How to get started section, and the Learn more section was removed.
The link to the documentation in the Documentation section was updated.
The Planning for zCX tab of the How to get started section now reflects the new support for the z/OS NFS server.
A new podcast resource was added to the About zCX tab of the Technical resources section.
The FAQs were organized into categories.
The How to get started and FAQ sections were updated to make clear that FC 0104 is avaialble for the IBM z14 and IBM z15 only.
New resources were added to the Use cases tab of the Technical resources section.
The zCX Foundation for Red Hat OpenShift content solution was added as a related content solution.
The link to the IBM Z and LinuxONE Container Image Registry in the FAQ section was updated.
A link to information about enabling Container Hosting Foundation was added to the Planning for zCX tab in the How to get started section.
New z/OS Container Extensions overview video.
Transcript added for z/OS Container Extensions overview video.
A new IBM Z Hot Topics article, Getting Better Performance for Your zCX Containers, was added to the Tutorial & instruction tab of the Technical resources section.
The links for other IBM Z Hot Topics acrticles, on the About zCX and Tutorial & instruction tabs in the Technical resources section, were updated to find the articles on the new IBM Z Hot Topics website.
Updates for the new IBM Container Hosting Foundation for z/OS were made to the Planning for zCX tab of the How to get started section and the Frequently Asked Questions section.
The Big Picture has been modified for accessibility.
Added new resources to the About zCX tab of the Technical resources section.
Changes were made to the Technical resources section as a result of the digital transformation of IBM Systems magazine content.
Added new resources to the About zCX and Use cases tabs of the Technical resources section.
IBM Systems Lab Services was added to the About zXC tab of the Technical resources section.
z/OS Communications Server Performance Summary Report was added to the Tutorial & instruction tab of the Technical resources section.
Tutorial video of Docker image development in zCX was added to the Tutorial & instruction tab of the Technical resources section.
Third tab of Technical resources section was changed from Events to Use cases.
Example video of using JupyterHub and zCX was added to the Use cases tab of the Technical resources section.
IBM Z Hot Topics article on the 90-day zCX Trial was added to the Tutorial & instruction tab of the Technical resources section.