Getting started with CICSPlex SM

Adopting CICSPlex SM in stages

CICSPlex SM provides different features for managing your CICS regions, but you do not have to set up everything straight away. Instead you can adopt the features in a staged approach, gradually improving your environment until you have a highly available system. The following roadmap outlines the different stages for system management:

Stage 1 - Single system image (SSI)

Create a single system image, also called a topology, for some or all of your CICS regions. CICSPlex SM can manage regions across logical partitions and provides a single point of management for your regions. Group your regions into a CICSplex to manage them together. The samples provided with CICS help you to set up the CMAS region, the management point for the CICS regions, and a WUI server, a region that you use to access the CMAS from CICS Explorer® or Web User Interface. You can also create a MAS, a CICS region that can be managed by CICSPlex SM.

A single system image is a prerequisite for other CICS features, such as providing a platform. For more information about planning your CICSPlex SM environment, see Designing your CICSPlex SM environment.

Stage 2 - Workload management (WLM)

Create workload specifications that dynamically route transactions to whichever CICS region is the most appropriate, based on its availability or specific criteria. Workload management removes the need to code specific links and routing between regions and optimizes a workload across your CICS regions. For more information about workload management, see Configuring workload management.

Stage 3 - Business application services (BAS)

Move CICS resources from CSD files to the CICSPlex SM data repository. The data repository already contains definitions for the topology and workload management. By moving all resource definition to a central location, you can install a definition across many CICS regions. BAS provides other useful features such as saving different versions of a resource, and producing both local and remote instances of a resource from a single definition. For more information about BAS, see Administering BAS.

Stage 4 - Real-time analysis (RTA)

Create RTA specifications to monitor and analyze the status of CICS regions and generate notifications when a condition occurs. CICSPlex SM can issue warnings when a problem occurs in a CICS region, for example the region is short on storage, or when a particular resource is in the wrong state, for example a connection goes down. For more information about RTA, see Real-time analysis.

Stage 5 - High availability

Add more regions to your environment to ensure your system can continue running when you want to apply maintenance or a problem occurs; for example, you can add additional CMAS and WUI server regions across logical partitions to continue managing the environment if a partition is unavailable. For more information about planning your CICSPlex SM environment, see Designing your CICSPlex SM environment.

It is also possible to run CICS in a parallel sysplex. For more information about exploiting a parallel sysplex, see the IBM® Redbooks® publication: Exploiting Parallel Sysplex®: A Customer Perspective.

Single system image sample

CICSPlex SM is included as part of the CICS installation process. If you run DFHISTAR during the installation, the job generates samples that you can use to create a basic CICSPlex SM configuration. The samples are saved in the XDFHINST library. You can use these samples to create a single system image of your CICS regions, and to verify that CICSPlex SM has been installed correctly. The samples create the following environment:

The CICSPlex SM members that provide the samples are supplied in the TDFHINST library. For a list of the members, see CICSPlex SM postinstallation members.

The samples do not include security. To set up security for CICSPlex SM, see CICSPlex SM security.