Getting started with IBM CICS Explorer
Follow the instructions or video tutorials to download and get your CICS Explorer® ready to work.
Downloading and starting CICS Explorer
- Go to Install Eclipse Tools and select as you move through the wizard.
- Download the version of IBM® CICS Explorer that suits your operating system. The compressed file contains an IBM Explorer for z/OS® platform on which CICS Explorer is built, so you don't need to separately download IBM Explorer for z/OS.
- After you extract the compressed file, double-click the zosexplorer.exe file to start CICS Explorer.
The workbench shows a collection of windows that form a certain layout. The windows are called views and the overall layout is a perspective in CICS Explorer. They display information related to your CICS® regions or CICSplexes.
Connecting CICS Explorer to CICS systems
You must connect CICS Explorer to a CICS region or CICSplex to manage your resources.
You are recommended to connect to CICS regions or CICSplexes through the CICS management client interface (CMCI) connection, which provides more powerful capabilities against CICS resources. To add a CMCI connection, select the CMCI category from the connection list and click Add. In the pop-up window, specify the information, such as the host name and port number, for your connection and click Save and Connect.
In the Signon window, specify your credentials to connect.
Viewing and changing resources
- Customize resource views to examine resources
-
To view resources in the connected region or CICSplex, select a CICS region or a CICSplex in the CICSplex Explorer view. Each resource view dynamically shows information about a certain type of resource in the selected systems. For example, in the screen capture, the Programs view in Area 2 shows information about programs in the connected IYCWEKKS region.
As with perspectives, you can customize the resource view to examine a specific set of resources to suit your business needs. For example, you can change the view layout by moving or resizing its columns; you can also filter or sort the data in a view. Customization of a view remains after you refresh or reopen a view.
To filter resource data quickly, right-click a resource, and then select Add Quick Filter to specify a filter for that resource attribute. You cannot filter resources by the region attribute.To sort data by a resource attribute, click the attribute column header, for example, Name. Click the column header again to change the sorting order. To clear sorting, click the View Menu icon on the toolbar of the view, and then click Clear Sort.To perform more actions against a resource, you can right-click it to display a menu of available actions for the selected resource.
- Change resource definitions in an editor
-
You can edit existing resource definitions by using the resource editor, which displays the resource definition attributes in one or more pages. You can open the resource editor in a resource definition view or a project view, by double-clicking the resource or right-clicking it and then selecting Open.
If you open a resource in a running CICS region, the changes you can make are limited. However, if you open a resource definition, you can change all editable attributes, just as you can with CEDA.
Getting started video tutorials
Follow these videos to get familiar with CICS Explorer.
Tutorial 1. Downloading and installing
Note that this video shows the old-style download page. As an alternative, you can go to Install Eclipse Tools and follow the interactive instructions there.
Tutorial 2. The basics of the interface
Watch the video to familiarize yourself with the three major components of Eclipse (perspectives, views, and editors), which CICS Explorer is based on, and how to use them to your advantage.
Tutorial 3. Getting connected
Use the Host Connections view to create new connections to CICS, assign credentials to connections, and define a default connection.
Tutorial 4. Using the CICSplex Explorer view
This key view is essential for navigating the topology of your CICS systems. Watch this video to know the different elements that make up this view, and how to narrow your scope to target specific resources in your system.
Tutorial 5. Using resource views
Resource views allow you to dig deep into your CICS systems. You’ll see how to filter, sort, aggregate, and choose the columns you need to find information and take action fast.
Tutorial 6. Configuring your resource views
Resource views are highly configurable to get the information you need. This video shows you how to create a new resource view, then change it by adding filters, aggregation, and adding columns. Finally, you’ll learn how to share this view with a colleague.