IBM is introducing the CICS Explorer, a new Eclipse-based tooling environment for working with CICS systems. The CICS Explorer provides integrated access to CICS runtime data and tools in a common interface. It will include task-oriented views and context-sensitive resource editors. The CICS Explorer is being integrated into CICS Transaction Server and Rational Developer for System z to provide a centralized tool for managing CICS resources and applications.

1. ®
IBM Software Group
CICS Explorer
The New Face of CICS
Peter Siddell
CICS Tools Development
Hursley – IBM UK
psiddell@uk.ibm.com
© IBM Corporation 2009

2. IBM Software Group
Business problem - IBM Solution
 First- and second-generation System z specialists exit the industry
 Enterprises must transfer skills, knowledge and best practice to new CICS technical staff
 Productivity must be maintained, and service-levels protected
 Opportunity to build new System z skill pool
 Specialists can collaborate with new developers and administrators to create new
applications, and manage IT resources with a smaller operations team.
 CICS family intends to make a significant contribution by reducing the
skills barrier to the development and management of CICS systems
 IBM CICS Explorer
 Common, intuitive, Eclipse-based tooling environment for architects, developers, system
administrators, system programmers, and operators
 Integrated access to a broad range of data and control capabilities
 Supports CICS runtime, CICS tools, and CICS connectors, plus other IBM and third-
party software products
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3. IBM Software Group
CICS Explorer
View Systems
Edit Resource
View status
Definitions
of tasks
View Queue
Resource and Active CICS Systems Information
System Groups Views Program in the selected PLEX
Definitions
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4. IBM Software Group
CICS Tools Integrated within CICS Explorer Framework
Configuration Manager Interdependency Performance
Analyzer Analyzer
Average CPU
Time
Provides
Scenarios for
analysing data
Change Transactions Shipped Sampled
Packages Captured Queries
View Resources
Resource Definitions View tree of
used by a
for the CSD resources used
transaction
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© IBM Corporation 2009

5. IBM Software Group
Using tools integrated with CICS Explorer
Customise the layout to suit tasks
Example task-oriented layouts
2. CSD Clean up – using IA, SM and CM
3. Identify Business applications using IA, migrate to new regions using CM
4. PA,SM,CM performs governance: see performance changes of recently modified resources
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6. IBM Software Group
Feedback
 “If you are not using it, or you're not trying it, well, you should!”,
“Much, much more intuitive”, “A lot more room to grow”
 quot;Whole thing is brilliantquot;, quot;Help to keep people from moving off the
platformquot;, quot;Greatest product of all time [CICS])quot;
 quot;I see the explorer as bridging communities moving towards XDE
rather than IDEquot; .
 quot;The CICS Explorer is an extremely powerful SOA tool when
combined with CICSquot;, quot;The CICS Explorer is just the tool to extend
CICS Sub-systems to SOA environmentsquot;, quot;Demand for services is
so great that addressing the application developer desires with
Rational support make sense. What took you so long?quot;
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© IBM Corporation 2009

7. IBM Software Group
IBM CICS Explorer - The New Face of CICS
Key features
Common, intuitive, Eclipse-based environment for
architects, developers, administrators, system
programmers, and operators
Task-oriented views provide integrated access to broad
range of data and control capabilities
Powerful, context-sensitive resource editors
Coming soon in CICS Explorer
Also packaged with Rational Developer for System z
Integration point for CICS TS, CICS Tools, CICS TG,
•Real-time CICS resource status
PD Tools, and Rational Tools
Extensible by ISVs, SIs, and customers
•Resource dependency views
CICS support
CICS Transaction Server for z/OS V3.1, V3.2
•Manage and Control resource
CICSPlex SM WUI server required for CICS resource
definitions
views
Availability
•Performance data drill-down
Join beta program now - for information, contact
CICSEP@uk.ibm.com
•CICS TG gateway status
SupportPac to be available 4Q2008
Full function with next release of CICS TS in 2009
•Sub-set packaged with RDz
Statement of Direction dated 5 Aug 2008
http://www.ibm.com/common/ssi/rep_ca/8/897/ENUS208-248
Please note: This slide represents
Webcast held 5 Nov 2008
IBM’s current intent, but plans are
http://www.ibm.com/software/systemz/webcast/5nov
subject to change.
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© IBM Corporation 2009

8. IBM Software Group
Future direction
 CICS Explorer
 Tooling integration point for the CICS runtime, providing a rich set of CICS views, data, methods, and widgets
 Extensible by IBM, other vendors, and customers to deliver integrated solutions to key CICS users
 Software Development Kit (SDK) will allow clients and business partners to construct and integrate their own plug-ins
 CICS Transaction Server
 Current and future releases will integrate the CICS Explorer into their deliverables
 Future releases of CICS TS will build on ATOM/REST support (see SupportPac CA8K) to provide even more control of
the CICS runtime from the CICS Explorer
 CICS Tools
 Complement and enrich the base data and methods provided by the CICS Explorer
 Views, methods, and data to support performance analysis, configuration, and inter-dependency analysis
 CICS Tools will work together to deliver integrated solutions that cross traditional product boundaries.
 CICS Transaction Gateway
 Will introduce a plug-in for the CICS Explorer, providing an even broader view of the greater CICS environment
 IBM Problem Determination Tools
 Will integrate with the CICS Explorer to provide a more integrated, application development support environment for
CICS, adding to existing PD Tools support for CICS currently integrated in RDz
 IBM Rational
 RDz will deliver an integrated version of the CICS Explorer to provide a consistent control point for CICS development
environments
 Further integration with CICS Tools will simplify the interactions between the development and operational processes.
 Business Partners
 Development Kit (SDK) and a business partner program will facilitate ability to integrate existing and new solutions with
the CICS Explorer
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© IBM Corporation 2009

9. IBM Software Group
Product Positioning
 CICSPlex Systems Manager
 CICSPlex SM provides a single holistic view of complex environments to enable easier
configuration and administration of CICS systems
 IBM will continue to invest in this strategic CICS management framework
 CPSM WUI retains role as an important operational and control interface
 The CICS Explorer
 Complements and extends CICSPlex Systems manager by providing a more intuitive
interface, and an integration point with other CICS-related tooling solutions
 Complements and extends RDz with unified view of CICS resources and is basis for
CICS-centric System Programmer / Application Development activities
 Rational Developer for System Z
 RDz remains the strategic application development platform for CICS applications
 Provides a unified development environment for maintaining / developing new CICS and
other System z workload and connecting CICS in a heterogeneous environment
 IBM continues to invest in RDz - recent PD tools integration, CICS TS V3.2 support
 CICS Configuration Manager
 CICS CM will continue to provide the auditable, single point of control for CICS
definitions across the entire development, test and production life cycle
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© IBM Corporation 2009

10. IBM Software Group
CICS Managed Early Programs
 Why should customers participate?
 Get an early view and hands-on experience of CICS products
 Influence the future trends and directions of the product
 Test applications with pre-release product code (in some cases, including some CICS vendor products)
 Keep up with (or even overtake) your competitors by exploiting the next release of the product
 Receive related Education & Technical Support
 Customers are expected to:
 Exercise new functions in the early product
 Participate in mutually agreed status calls, where applicable - e.g. 30 mins every other week
 Provide an exit report at the end of the program (skeleton is provided)
 Provide some form of public reference
 After successful completion of testing, order and install the product at GA
 Currently running early programs
 CICS TS
 CICS Explorer
 CICS Transaction Gateway
 Apply to become involved with CICS Early Program offerings
 For more information, contact : CICSEP@uk.ibm.com (Notes: Global CICSEP/UK/IBM)
 Link to nomination form
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© IBM Corporation 2009

11. ®
IBM Software Group
CICS Explorer
Sample screenshots
The following screenshots are preliminary
and subject to change, but show current
level of working code or prototypes. These
are not mock-ups.
© IBM Corporation 2009

12. IBM Software Group
Explorer Trends and Directions with CICS Tools
Available Today… In The Works…
CICS Explorer
(Available to CICS TS V3 users)
CICS TS V3.2 Run
time
Task features (plug-ins) for
Performa CICS Transaction Server V3
nce
CICS Performance Analyzer
CICS Performance Analyzer
t CICS Configuration Manager
men
nage
a
fig M
Con
CICS Interdependency Analyzer
ry
ve
o
isc
D
CICS Configuration Manager
What is the CICS Explorer?
A new user interface to reduce the skills required to develop, deploy
and manage CICS applications. The CICS Explorer will be
incorporated in current and future releases of CICS Transaction
Server as a strategic point of integration between the run-time and
CICS Interdependency Analyzer add-on tools, extensible by IBM, business partners and clients.
Powerful, intuitive, Eclipse-based user interface
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© IBM Corporation 2009

13. IBM Software Group
CICS Interdependency Analyzer Explorer
What is CICS IA?
A discovery tool that identifies resource interdependencies in your CICS systems. Automates detection of
your CICS runtime relationships and populates data in a DB2® database for off production analysis.
Now includes a powerful eclipse-based query user interface
List of all Regions
Breakdown of resources used
Results of queries
Saved query definitions
List of all
Programs
Where is resource used ?
List of all Transactions Call tree of program execution
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© IBM Corporation 2009

14. IBM Software Group
CICS Explorer - Program Definition editor - CPSM
Everything greyed
out because …
… it's a 3.1 system
that uses the CPSM
WUI server that is
read only.
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© IBM Corporation 2009

15. IBM Software Group
CICS Explorer - Program Definition editor - CICS CM
The editor is input capable
(i.e. fields aren't grey) and
The history view shows
changes can be made
who made changes, when
changed, by attribute
…because same
system connected
to using CM
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© IBM Corporation 2009

16. IBM Software Group
CICS Explorer - Powerful, context-sensitive resource editors
Editors only show applicable attributes and
tabs - overview/runtime/printer are all specific
for a TDQ of type quot;Extra Partitionquot;
This shows how for a non-CM connection the
history view just gracefully says that the
function isn't available.
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© IBM Corporation 2009

17. IBM Software Group
CICS Explorer - TD Queue resource editors
Unlike CEDA or the WUI whose editors show too
much information and allow the user to make
mistakes, the CICS Explorer editors only show
and present what's relevant to the resource type
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© IBM Corporation 2009

18. IBM Software Group
CICS Explorer - No “magic” values - Journal editor
Compare again the
Specifying which attributes to log in a journal for a
explorer with the WUI
file is very involved in CEDA and the WUI
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© IBM Corporation 2009

19. IBM Software Group
CICS Explorer - No “magic” values - Transaction editor
In CEDA or the WUI the user has to know the
“magic values”. DTIMEOUT of a TRANDEF
In CICS Explorer editors, no special values
contains values of quot;0quot; meaning quot;No timeoutquot;,
are entered into text fields - everything is
quot;SYSTEMquot; meaning quot;Use system valuequot; or else a
done with radio buttons, combos, radios,
time in milliseconds.
and other advanced controls
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© IBM Corporation 2009

20. IBM Software Group
CICS Explorer - Editor validation
An advantage of an Eclipse client over a browser/TSO/ISPF
interface which is that keystroke by keystroke client validation
occurs making the GUI more responsive (no server roundtrips)
and less errors get sent down the wire to CICS making it faster.
The pipeline definition below has two errors -
20p is not a valid number …
… and the configuration file name
has an invalid character entered.
Each error field has a red X next to it to show it's
bad, and hovering over the red X bring up a tooltip
with the error. All errors can be seen by hovering
over the red X at the top of the screen.
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© IBM Corporation 2009

21. IBM Software Group
CICS Explorer - CICS IA perspective
Lists regions
where the
collector has run
Lets you do things
like see the
resources the
collector observed
and see where
they're used.
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© IBM Corporation 2009

22. IBM Software Group
CICS Explorer - CICS IA integration in CICSPlex perspective
If the IA collector has
run in the region - a
little decoration is
shown in the bottom
right hand corner
The pop-up lets you run the
IA query straight from the
region and the results are
shown in a search results
window at the bottom
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© IBM Corporation 2009

23. IBM Software Group
CICS Explorer - CICS IA integration in CICSPlex perspective
The list of files in the Explorer -
the files actually installed in the
region, and their current status.
IA extends the context menu (pop-up) so you
can easily see the information that IA has
about the usage of the file so the quot;Used By
Programsquot; and quot;Used By Transactions“ …
… is available on a live resource
and opens the search results at the
bottom.
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© IBM Corporation 2009

24. IBM Software Group
CICS PA - Full Eclipse Integration
Conventional
Eclipse style
integration:
Projects, folders,
files etc
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25. IBM Software Group
CICS PA - Rich workspace See extracts of the file in raw
data form..
Ability to “Drill
into” data files
..or follow “Analysis
Scenarios” to
highlight issues
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26. IBM Software Group
CICS PA - Visualization 1
Presentation most
appropriate to data
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27. IBM Software Group
CICS PA - Visualization 2
Flexibility in what
you want to see
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28. IBM Software Group
CICS PA - Visualization 3
Comparison between
“before and after” situations
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29. IBM Software Group
Thank you !
Any questions ?
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© IBM Corporation 2009