Velocity Software, Inc. is recognized as
a leader in the performance measurement of z/VM and Linux on z.
The Velocity Performance Suite consist of a set of tools that
enable installations running z/VM to manage Linux and z/VM
performance.
In addition, many components of server farms can be
measured and analyzed. Performance data can be viewed real-time
through the use of either 3270
or a browser.
The CLOUD Implementation (zPRO) component is designed
for full cloud PaaS implementation as well as
to extend the capabilities of the z/VM sysprog (system programmer)
to the browser world. This feature moves system management to
the point-and-click crowd. Archived data and reports can be
kept available of long term review and reporting usine zMAP.
The zVPS, formally ESALPS, components consist of:
zMON (formally ESAMON - real-time display of performance data),
zTCP (formally ESATCP - SNMP data collection),
zMAP (formally ESAMAP - historical reporting and archiving),
zVWS (formally ESAWEB - z/VM based web server),
zTUNE (a subscription service),
zVIEW (formally SHOWCASE - web based viewing of performance data),
zPRO (new to the quality line of Velocity Software Products).
Velocity continues to work with other software vendors to ensure
smooth interface with or from other products such as
VM:Webgateway, CA-Webgateway, EnterpriseWeb, MXG, MICS.
Velocity software remains the leader and inovator in the
z/VM performance, Linux performance, Managing cloud computing
arenas.
z/VM runs on very modern hardware - that keeps being enhanced.
However the provided user interface for z/VM
has not kept up with technology.
This makes most of
z/VM much more complex then necessary, requiring a skill level
that should be unnecessary. Velocity Software's goal with zPRO
is to modernize the
user interface to z/VM and simplify user interactions with the platform.
zPRO is completely IPv6 compatible and can function in IPv4 only,
IPv4/IPv6 mixed or IPv6 only networks.
Enterprise Perspective
Installations have dispersed workloads that may be on multiple
LPARs, multiple geographies, and even multiple platforms. zPRO
provides a single pane of glass that encompasses the enterprise,
and allows management of workloads regardless of where the z/VM based
servers
are operating.
zPRO Objectives
zPRO's original objectives were to provide an on-prem cloud
environment where users could manage their own servers without
requiring interaction with systems programmers or other system
administrators. This objective was met, but it became clear
there was much more opportunity to build on this architecture.
The objectives now go beyond just providing
an "on-prem" cloud environment.
Providing modern tools for system programmers and administrators
to simplify tasks and enhance their productivity
Delegating functions to reduce requirement and queues for skilled
systems programmers
Simplify installation and support to minimize implementation times
On-prem Cloud
As this was the first objective of zPRO, Velocity Software is
excited about where this technology has gone, and how successful
it has become in many financial and government institutions. The
ability to transform your users from a paper heavy request system
to a cloud like environment increases platform acceptance.
zPRO greatly simplifies the provisioning and management of
Linux servers on Z. It enables installations running the IBM z/VM
platform to create their own private PaaS (Platform as a
Service) environment. Allowing end users to administer their own
servers greatly reduces the perspective of z/VM being
a "legacy" platform.
Empowering the users both improves user
productivity, and reduces the need for skills. Skills are
always required, but in today's world with a focus on reducing
costs, replacing people as they retire becomes less important if
there is a supportive infrastructure.
zPRO's modern, simple and intuitive browser-based
interface allows installations to take advantage of the
strengths of the mainframe without requiring any understanding
of the underlying platform.
The functions provided to support the on-prem cloud are:
Cloning and Provisioning of any flavor of guest
Linux servers of all favors (SLES, RedHat, Ubuntu)
z/OS guests
VSE guests
CMS users
z/VM guests (2nd level)
Server Administrators
zPRO provides defined centralized or
distributed cloud management roles
Server managers can, optionally, alter server
characteristics, such as memory size or processor count
Server managers can, optionally, start/boot,
stop/shutdown, migrate/LGR, and delete servers owned by them.
Installations can define each user or user group's
management capabilities
Server expirations can be set, supporting simple "NOLOG",
or complete server elimination at the end of term. Elimination
of the server
returns the resources to the zPRO resource pool for new servers
Console interface allows users to interact directly with Linux
servers with a traditional line mode interface. This is critical
if by chance the server loses its network connection.
Resource Control and Management
Monitor and restrict resource consumption on a user or
group basis. Resource pools are defined to ensure ease of management.
Automatic assignment of IP addresses
Automatic expiration of servers
Resource reclamation
Integration with all Velocity Software products
Quick access for Linux Administrators to performance data
Present performance details view using zVIEW
Modernizing System Tools
zPRO greatly improves productivity of
mainframe systems programmers
by condensing complex tasks into simple "point and click"
operations. zPRO creates an intuitive user interface using modern
browser technology. Enhancing system programmer productivity
creates time for other important work or issues.
zPRO provides a growing collection of
robust features.
expectations of the Linux on Z community.
With the management layer provided by zPRO, many of the underlying
functions often difficult to manage are hidden from the users. There
is no need to learn traditional 3270 command line interfaces for
products like Dirmaint, RACF, VM:Secure, etc when required functions
are performed in the background to support user requests.
Many traditional command line interfaces and often associated
products can be easily replaced by zPRO. The following
looks at what zPRO
can do from a functional level:
Directory Management, Security and Authorizations
zPRO interfaces with Dirmaint (IBM) and VM:Secure (Broadcom)
for directory management for all necessary functions.
zDIRECT is a no charge feature of zPRO to provide a
directory manager replacement to
administer the CP directory. This is non-intrusive, and
maintains the directory intact to allow manual directory updates
if still desired.
Security is important:
Both currently available ESMs (External Security
Manager), RACF (IBM) and VM:Secure (Broadcom), are fully supported.
Additional management functions for these products are included as well.
The underlying architecture of zPRO allows it to
interface with any product that has a CMS capable interface.
LDAP SUPPORT!
Installations have different methods of
authenticating. zPRO supports LDAP, DIRMAINT, VM:SECURE, RACF
(RACF authentication without having another method of
authentication as in a directory entry).
zSPOOL
Browser based access to z/VM spool files, open or closed
End users may also be provided access to their server's spool files
allowing them to observe the server console real time
Spool management at a system level
zScheduler: Large complex environments require a scheduling
facility to ensure specific tasks are accomplished as need at times
when needed.
Browser based access to a full scheduling system
End users may also be provided access to schedule tasks related to
their servers.
Backup/Restore: Many files are critical and must be backed up with
capability to restore when needed. zPRO backup/restore provides:
Browser based access to manage file level backups
Support for both system minidisks and shared file systems
Users may be authorized to manage their own backups
File restores may be copied to a disk or sent via spool
Managed schedule for backups
Operator Console: Note that zOPERATOR is provided as part of the
zVPS product. zPRO adds additional capabilities
Shared File System Management made easy
File pools can be easily built using disk space from the
standard disk pools
Space management with ability to modify space allocations
Restful APIs!
Installations wishing to manage specific z/VM functions from
MS/Windows or a Linux server may use the zPRO APIs for many functions
SMAPI Replacement - replacing the complexity and reliability issues
of SMAPI with zPRO simple and reliable APIs is the future....
LUN Management (DS8K)
Direct management as a zPRO integrated function simplifies
LUN management
Volume MAP, Create, Delete / management functions
EDEV Management
From reading this list of current features of zPRO, you might think
that Velocity Software wants to own the user interface for z/VM. You
would be correct. A modern user interface is necessary to promote the
platform, and at this time, Velocity Software owns the only native
z/VM web server and thus is in the unique position to fully own
the future of how users interact with the platform.
zPRO Product Benefits
Management Benefits Management of an enterprise, from the resource perspective,
requires knowledge of resource allocation, usage, and growth.
zPRO keeps track of system resources which are defined within
the scope of zPRO management. Managers can:
View resource consumption by individuals and/or groups of
individuals
Keep track of activities related to system usage
and/or provisioning (Auditing)
Provide a more responsive environment for end-users.
In a mainframe environment, the procurement process
for a new collection of Linux servers is generally eliminated.
zPRO can be used to "spin up" one or more new servers in the
amount of time it takes for the end-user to click and get a cup
of coffee.
System Administrator, System Programmer Benefits System programmers are often stuck between the needs of
management and those of the end-user community. zPRO can be used
to relieve the system programmer from needing to be in the
middle. The task of provisioning a server can generally be
performed by rote. However, the process can be time consuming as
all of the requirements are analyzed and the required resources
gathered. zPRO can perform these tasks and address the
requirements with just a point and click.
Determine if end-user is authorized to request a new server
Determine if required resources are available
Automatically assign resources
Copy all data into place in anticipation of
instantiating the new serve
Autostart the new server
Stopping an active server
Removing the server from the system and reclaiming
resources assigned to the server, and making them automatically
available to be used by future requests
In a private cloud environment, most of the work related
to the provisioning of a new server can be off-loaded to the
end-user if desired. Various levels of authorizations, as
described in the section titled "end user benefits"
be granted to allow end-users to:
Provision/clone a new instance of a server
Alter server characteristics, such as number of virtual CPUs
Boot / Shutdown servers
Migrate servers between SSI clusters
Add resources, such as memory or disk space, to a server
Delete a server
zPRO can be configured to work in any flavor of centralized
and/or multiple LPAR environment. That is to say that much of
the work normally required to be performed by the system
programmer can be relinquished to the end-user community. The
end-user need have no knowledge of the underlying platform or
the operations being performed.
Operations Benefits
Often times, the operations staff is
required to bring servers up or down or migrate them for scheduled outages,
maintenance, or even load balancing. zPRO allows this process to
be simplified by giving those individuals the ability to perform
these tasks, for one or more servers, in a simple point and
click environment.
End User Benefits
End-users are often at the mercy at the availability of
either the system programmer(s) or
operations support group. Many times, the need of
the end-user is a simple task that can be
accomplished in less time than it takes to make a
phone call or produce an email. zPRO can be
utilized to authorize end-users to:
Provision/clone a new instance of a server
Alter server characteristics, such as number of
virtual CPUs
Boot / Shutdown servers
Add resources, such as memory or disk space, to a
server
Delete a server
zPRO: Keep It Simple!
One of the benefits of the z/VM platform over the last 40 years
has been the simplicity of the platform. Complex solutions fail because
of too many moving parts, too many APIs and overhead.
zPRO eliminates complexity:
No "guest Linux server" requirement
zPRO utilizes the native
z/VM webserver, ZVWS. This means there is no requirement for
the overhead and complexity of a Linux server to provide a web
interface and the cloud logic. As zVWS is already installed as
part of the zVPS solution, there is no need for installation of
additional web services.
No "SMAPI" requirement:
As there is no need for the Linux
server, there is no need for the extremely labor intensive and
unreliable SMAPI - as the native webserver has access to the
native functions, whereas a Linux webserver requires this
system's management API. Eliminating SMAPI removes a huge source
of problems in many other (deceased) solutions.
No DIRMAINT requirement:
zPRO now offers and includes a
simple directory manager that is non-intrusive, does not change
how the system is managed and fully allows directory changes to
support your cloud requirements.
NO JAVA!
How many different releases of Java are available,
and how many different dependencies? We don't believe in that
kind of limitation. All browsers are supported. No downloads
required on a workstation, zPRO KEEPS IT SIMPLE!!!
Installation time measured in minutes....
zPRO installation time is measured in minutes, not days or
weeks. Once implemented, any updates take the normally 1-2
minutes. Tailoring is with simple XEDIT functions. Managing a
z/VM Cloud should be based on z/VM capabilities - it is hard to
manage a z/VM system from a Linux server.
Trial zPRO TODAY!
If you would like to evaluate if zPRO is the right solution
for you and your organization, please email us
at info@velocitysoftware.com and we will organize
a test installation for you.
Demonstration Site!
Velocity Software maintains a cloud for demonstration
purposes and for supporting your education needs. If there is a
need to access a mainframe for education purposes, this is
offered by Velocity Software at
"zPRO DEMO"
(use the ID of DEMOZPRO and password DEMODEMO to acquire your own demo User ID)
There is also education provided for hands-on users at
"VelocitySoftware.com/Educate" allowing
a self-study education path for students finding it difficult to
access a mainframe platform free of charge....
NEW! zPRO from Ansible
Drive API calls from Ansible to zPRO. Click
here
to find out more!
