You must have an FTP or z/OSMF connection to use the views
in the z/OS perspective. By default, the FTP connection uses the secure
forms of the protocols, FTP over TLS. If the secure connection is
not successful, the connection is reattempted without security.
Before you begin
You must have at least one connection credential before
you can connect to a system. A credential is a repository for a user
ID and password combination. For more information, see Defining connection credentials.
Note: For z/OS® Explorer to
successfully obtain the required spool files, the FTP.DATA configuration
file for the Server must specify JESINTERFACELEVEL 2. For more information
about the JESINTERFACELEVEL parameter, see your System z/OS documentation.
Procedure
- Click Window > Manage Connections from the workbench
menu bar. The Host Connections view is displayed.
If
your connections are preconfigured, you see the connections listed
under the categories in the view. If not, the categories are empty.
The following example screen shows the Host Connections view in the
CICS Explorer. One connection is defined in each category type. Each
connection is associated with a credential, with the exception of
the z/OS FTP connection. The credential is shown in brackets after
the connection name.
- In the Connections section select the z/OS FTP category
and click Add. The Add System
z - FTP Connection window opens.

- In the Host name field enter the
FTP host name of your server . As you type, the characters up to the
end of the first qualifier are inserted in the Name field.
So if your host name is myserver.example.ibm.com then
the name would display as myserver.
- Optional: You can specify a different name
by overtyping the name in the Name field.
- Complete the other fields as appropriate for your organization,
and click OK The connection
is saved and displayed in the Host Connections view.
- Optional: You can choose to associate a credential
with the connection at this time. Right-click the connection name
and hover over Set Credentials to show the
credentials available. Click the credential you want to use for the
connection.
Results
The connection and associated credential are displayed
in the Host Connections view.
What to do next
You can now connect to the system by right-clicking the
connection name and clicking Connect. Alternatively,
select the connection name and click Connect.
If the connection is not already associated with a credential, you
can choose an existing credential or create one at this time.