IBM z/OS Container Platform integrates industry-standard open-source technologies with z/OS to provide you with the ability to build and deploy z/OS UNIX applications as containers on z/OS.

You can use z/OS Container Platform to create a secure environment for development teams to experiment with new features, and deploy containerized z/OS UNIX applications in z/OS Container Platform.

Before you get started, you need to have the following:

• IBM z14 or later
• IBM z/OS v2.5 or 3.1
• Access to the IBM container registry Learn more
• An internal registry for your images.

IBM z/OS Container Platform includes image management tools such as:

• Podman for IBM z/OS, an open source tool for building and running OCI images
• IBM z/OS for Skopeo, an open source tool for working with images in registries
• A Java image that builds on the z/OS base image

IBM z/OS Container Platform includes container runtime components such as:

• IBM z/OS for runC, an open source container runtime with a CLI
• A set of Container Network Interface for IBM z/OS plug-ins (z/OS CNI)

Once you have completed your order through IBM Shopz, you can download z/OS Container Platform and install it using the SMP/E command line or the Portable Software Instance (recommended).

Configure the container runtime on your z/OS system, so that you can build and run containers using Podman. You can complete the z/OSMF workflow to guide you through the configuration process. The z/OSMF workflow performs the setup of IBM z/OS Container Platform on a specified system on your z/OS system. The workflow ensures that you have set up the appropriate user id, file systems, mount points, and networking to begin using IBM z/OS Container Platform.

When IBM z/OS Container Platform is installed, the workflow definition (XML) files are placed in the workflow directory. The workflow definition file contains the logical structure of the workflow and identifies the various system objects, actions, and rules to perform a set of tasks. The zoscp_general.xml file contains the guided set of steps and JCL that helps you to prepare for running the IBM z/OS Container Platform runtime. The XML file includes the variable definitions and file templates.

A container is an executable unit of software in which application code is packaged along with its libraries and dependencies. With IBM z/OS Container Platform, you can containerize existing z/OS UNIX applications on z/OS to make them easier to manage, or create new applications on z/OS and containerize them.

System programmers can provide standardized images of z/OS software that enable developers to deploy containerized z/OS applications and services. This allows system programmers to maintain control and oversight without being involved in every deployment.

You can create, compile, containerize and run a Java application, using the supplied IBM Java image.

IBM z/OS Container Platform provides an open-source container runtime. The runtime includes runC, which is also a low-level Command Line Interface (CLI) for running containers. Container management tools, such as Podman, call runC to start container processes.

IBM z/OS for Skopeo is an open-source tool for working with images. Skopeo enables you to inspect images remotely, without needing to download them, and verify signatures to ensure that an image comes from a trusted supplier, including IBM. Use Skopeo to securely download images from the IBM Container Registry to your system.

Podman for IBM z/OS is an open-source tool for managing the container lifecycle, and can be used for building and running images. Use Podman to build z/OS UNIX applications, using the respective base images you have downloaded from IBM. When you run Podman, it automatically pulls an image from a registry to the local cache and uses the container runtime to create and start a container.

You can use Skopeo to:

• Inspect images remotely.
• Sign images.
• Verify an image signature.
• Transfer images between registries.

You can use Podman to:

• Check your version and view help info.
• Pull and list your images.
• Run an IBM supplied image to check your configuration.
• Stop and remove the running container.