A CICS® Platform
project defines a platform bundle, which is a type of management bundle
that describes a platform. The CICS Platform
project can reference one or more CICS bundles
that contain resources to be deployed on the platform, such as policies.
Before you begin
Ensure that any CICS bundle
projects that you want to deploy on the platform are available.
About this task
The platform bundle contains a descriptor for the platform
that defines the name, description, region types, and platform home
directory. This information uniquely identifies the platform when
it is installed in CICS and
can help you manage multiple platforms in the CICS Explorer®. Every time you change
part of the platform, you can update the information in the platform
descriptor before deploying it to CICS.
For
more information about the platform home directory, see
Creating a platform home directory in zFS.
Procedure
- On the Eclipse menu bar, click to open the New Project wizard.
- Expand the folder, click , and click Next.
- In the Project Name field, enter
a name for the project. The Platform properties section
of the wizard is automatically populated, but you can edit the name
and description if required.
- Optional: Click Specify a location and
enter a location, or click Browse and navigate
to the location of your choice. The Browse radio
button is only enabled when you have an active z/OS® FTP connection.
- Click Next.
- Specify your region types. Click Add to
add a region type for the platform. The Add a Region Type window opens.
- In the Name field, enter a name
for the region type.
- Choose an existing CICS system
group (CSYSGRP) by establishing a CICS SM
connection, choosing a CICSplex, and choosing a CICS system group.
Restriction: The
following restrictions apply:
- CICS platforms require
a lock on the groups that are used as region types.
Do not use
groups that are likely to require modification, for example groups
that are involved in WLM or RTA. In these situations, the system definitions
(CSYSDEFs) required can be added to a new system group (CSYSGRP) created
specifically for the platform.
- Do not use CICS system
groups (CSYSGRPs) which contain subgroups; system groups which contain
subgroups are not valid groups to be used as a region type.
You
might need to change your topology to ensure that all the CSYSDEFs
that you require can be included in the platform. For example, create
a CSYSGRP which contains the regions the platform requires, without
subgroups.
- Do not use groups that have already been adopted by another platform.
- Ensure that all CICS regions
that you include in a platform have the CICSPlex® SM system parameter MASPLTWAIT(YES)
specified. This parameter is required to automatically install resources
for an application or platform when the CICS region
is initialized. MASPLTWAIT(YES) is also required for Business Application
Services.
- Click OK and a region type is
added. The Remove and Properties radio
buttons are only enabled when a region type is selected.
- Optional: Click Properties to
edit a region type for the platform. The Edit
property of Region Type window opens.
- In the Name field, update the
name for the region type.
- In the Region Type ID field,
update the region type ID, and then click OK.
- Click Next.
- Specify the CICS bundles that you want to use to deploy
your platform. The list of CICS bundles
is discovered from your local workspace.
- Select the CICS bundles
that you require and click Next. You
can also use the Select All or Deselect
All radio buttons as required.
- Click Next. The Next radio
button is only enabled when one or more CICS bundles
are selected.
- Optional: If you do not require any CICS bundles, click Finish.
- Specify the deployment scope for your platform. If
you do not specify any CICS bundles
in step 8 the deployment scope table is empty.
- Select a CICS bundle and specify one or more region types,
for every CICS bundle in the CICS bundles panel.
- Click Finish to create the project. The Finish radio button is disabled if
one or more CICS bundles are
selected, but no deployment scope is specified.
- To view your Platform project, open the CICS Cloud perspective. The Platform
project is displayed in the Project Explorer view.
Results
The platform project is created. The project contains a META-INF
folder that contains four XML files:
- bundles.xml describes the CICS bundles that are deployed on the platform.
- deployment.xml describes the rules that are
used to deploy the CICS bundles
to the platform.
- manifest.xml is the manifest file for the
platform bundle and identifies it as a CICS management
bundle.
- platform.xml is the descriptor that contains
the metadata for the platform, including its name, description, region
type, and platform home directory.
You cannot edit the platform descriptor after it is created.
Note: When
you have created and deployed your platform project using the CICS Explorer, you must
ensure proper management of the project source. The platform project
cannot be reconstructed from the exported data in zFS, and a failure
of your workstation might cause the data to be lost. Ensure that your
project is checked into a source code management system. When you
use a source code management system that integrates with Eclipse,
you can check projects in and out while you are working in the CICS Explorer.
What to do next
Export the platform project to zFS to deploy the platform
in a CICSplex.