Context Sensitive Help

This context sensitive help file contains the context sensitive help text for the IBM® CICS® CM plug-in.

Configurations view

Use the Configurations view to navigate through your Configuration Manager (CICS CM) configurations.

Configurations view

Use the Migration Schemes view to create new, or work with existing, migration schemes.

Right-click in the view see the available actions, or for more information, see the related link.

Lists view

Use the Lists view to view the resource group lists, which are displayed as a result of selections made in the Configurations view.

Groups view

Use the Groups view to view the resource groups, which are displayed as a result of selections made in the Configurations or Lists views.

History view

The History view displays previous edits made to the definitions.

Change packages view

The Change Packages view displays all the packages that are defined to CICS CM.

You can run the following actions against a change package:
Add command to change package
Use the Add command to perform the following actions:
  • Add a resource definition to a resource group (ResGroup) in a context-based target CICS configuration
  • Add a ResGroup to a ResDesc (by RESINDSC association)
  • Add (append) a CSD-based group to a list
Ready
When you are satisfied with the resource definitions and are ready to migrate them to another CICS environment, you mark the change package as ready for a particular migration scheme. This status indicates that you want no further edits to the change package before migration.
Unready
Changes the change package back to an unready state.
Migrate
Performs the following actions against the change package:
  1. Confirm that the change package is still ready. That is that the package has not changed since you marked it as ready, and is not marked as unready.
  2. If approval is required, then confirm that the change package is fully approved.
  3. Read the candidate resource definitions from the source CICS configurations, and transform them according to the rules specified by the migration scheme.
  4. Write the transformed candidates to the target CICS configurations, and write before and after images of these migrated resource definitions to the journal. This last step is so that you can back out the migration later.
  5. Add the migrated resource definitions to the change package. By doing this step you can reuse the change package with different migration schemes to progressively migrate resource definitions between environments.
Backout
Undo and reverse the previous migration.
For more information about the migration of change packages, search for Migration of resource definitions in the CICS Configuration Manager documentation in the CICS TS product documentation.

Change package editor

The Change Package editor allows you to work with Change Packages.

New Change package wizard

Use this wizard to create a new Change Package.

If Automatic change package numbering is selected in the Configuration Manager Preferences view, you do not have to enter a package name. A new change package number is automatically assigned to the change package. If automatic numbering is not enabled, you must enter the name of the new change package.

Optionally, enter a description and an external reference. The external reference might, for example, be the unique ID of a corresponding item in your enterprise's change management system or problem tracking system. The CM server passes this reference as a parameter in the communication area (COMMAREA), to user exit programs.

Change package action wizard

Use this wizard to perform actions on a Change Package, such as ready or migrate.

Ready: When you are satisfied with the resource definitions and want to migrate them to another CICS environment, you mark the change package as ready, and select a migration scheme that identifies a set of source and target CICS configurations. A package that is marked as ready indicates that you want no further edits to the change package before migration.

Migrate: When a change package is ready and, if applicable, approved, you specify the migration scheme that you want to use. CICS Configuration Manager then copies resource definitions according to the migration paths in the migration scheme.

Add Change package commands

Use this dialog to add commands to the Change Package.

Search view

The Search Results view displays the output from a resource search of a Configuration Manager (CICS CM).

Search dialog

Use the search dialog to find CICS resources defined in CICS CM configurations.

Search for groups

The Search Results view displays the output from a group search from the Configurations View. You can compare the groups with each other

Search for lists

The Search Results view displays the output from a list search from the Configurations View. You can compare the lists with each other

History Date range

Use History Date range to set a date range that applies to the History view.

Search History

Use the History tab of the search dialog to find changes to CICS resources.

Comparing resources

Use the Compare with each other menu option to compare two lists, or two groups, or two definitions.

Deployment Analysis preferences

Provide the default job card information that is used on the JCL when you run deployment analysis. You can select the check box if you want to open the JCL in the Deployment Analysis editor before you submit jobs.

If you use a filter file data set to suppress unwanted items from the report, type the data set name in the Default Filter DSN field.

The default job library is a folder in your CICS Explorer® workspace where jobs and deployment analysis reports are saved. Click Change to change the library name.

CICS Configuration Manager preferences

Use the CICS Configuration Manager preference pages to configure the preferences for working with Configuration Manager. Expand this section in the menu pane, and choose the preference to configure.

Add CSD Connection

Use this window to add the names of the remote system connections to the CICS regions that use this CSD file. The CICS Configuration Manager server uses these remote system connections to communicate with the CICS Configuration Manager agent installed in the CICS regions, enabling you to perform actions such as install, discard, and newcopy. Enter the name of the CSD connection and click Add.

Add Transformation Variable

Use this window to add a transformation variable to the configuration. Variables that are used when CM processes the transformation rules. Enter the name and the value of the transformation variable and click Add.

Edit transform Variable

Use this window to make change to a transformation variable. Change the name or the value of the transformation variable and click Save to apply the changes.

New Configuration Details

Use this wizard to create a configuration.

If you are creating a configuration based on an existing configuration, then the details are copied from the existing configuration. You must provide only the name.

Configuration Editor

Use the Configuration Editor to edit the configuration details.

Install

Use this window to install a resource, or a resource group, into one or more CICS systems. Select the target system, or systems, and click OK.

The New Migration Scheme wizard

Use the New Migration Scheme wizard to create a new migration scheme. Type a name and description for the new migration scheme.

Click the check box if you want to activate approvals checking for the change packages that use this migration scheme.

Click the plus (+) icon to define at least one migration path for this migration scheme.

The New Migration Scheme wizard

Use the Migration Scheme view to view or edit migration schemes.

A migration scheme defines one or more migration paths. Each migration path refers to a pair of CICS configurations: A source CICS configuration and a target CICS configuration. The source CICS configuration identifies where you want to migrate from; the target CICS configuration identifies where you want to migrate to.

When you run the command to migrate a change package, you specify the migration scheme that you want to use. CICS Configuration Manager copies resource definitions according to the migration paths in the migration scheme. For more information about migration schemes, see Migration schemes in the CICS TS information center.