Release notes for IBM CICS Explorer

Copyright statement

(C) Copyright IBM® Corporation 2008, 2022. All rights reserved. For legal information, see Copyright and trademark information.

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You can install CICS Explorer® for Aqua1 in the traditional way to enjoy the full IBM support of CICS Explorer and other IBM-provided Eclipse tools, or from Eclipse Marketplace if you want to use a more recent Eclipse. The name of IBM CICS Explorer for Aqua indicates the version of the IBM Explorer for z/OS (z/OS Explorer) platform it's based on. IBM CICS Explorer for Aqua 3.3 and 3.2 include fix packs in the format of 5.5.0.x or 5.5.x.

As of 5.5.19, CICS Explorer fix packs are referred to as v.r.f (5.5.19) instead of v.r.m.f (5.5.0.19) to align with the way that the version is displayed within Eclipse.

The following tables include features for CICS Explorer for Aqua 3.3, CICS Explorer for Aqua 3.2 and CICS Explorer on Eclipse Marketplace.

What's new in Fix Pack 5.5.25

New Function Description
CICS Explorer is now available on an Eclipse 2022-03 release train

CICS Explorer Fix Pack 5.5.25 is available on the Aqua 3.3 release train, based on Eclipse 2022-03.

What's New in Fix Pack 5.5.23

New Function Description
Applicable to CICS Explorer on Eclipse Marketplace only: CICS Explorer can now be installed from Eclipse Marketplace

You can now install CICS Explorer from Eclipse Marketplace, in addition to existing installation methods. This offers more flexibility by allowing you to use a later version of Eclipse than Photon (4.8), enabling use of Java™ 11 that is only supported in more recent Eclipse versions.

For more information, see Downloading and starting CICS Explorer.
Enhancement to JVM Servers view

You can now generate a stack trace of the Java thread that is running a CICS® task to help with problem determination.

When you select the Stacktrace of Running Task option from the JVM Servers view, the thread running the task is located. A stack trace is generated and written to the JVM log file (dfhjvmlog).

You can use this option to understand in what method a Java application is suspended, and how that method was started.

For more information, see JVM Servers view.
Enhancement to the Policy Definition editor
New system rule type: Compound condition
Use this rule type when you want to define a system rule that specifies two or more conditions. CICS takes the defined action when all the specified conditions are met. Note that only selected filters can be specified for compound condition system rules.

For more information, see Policy rule conditions.

New option ALL added to selected policy task rules
New option ALL is added to the following types of policy task rules:
  • File requests
  • Storage allocation
  • Storage requests
  • TD queue requests
  • TS queue requests

This enhancement allows you to apply a threshold to the total cumulative count.

For more information, see Policy rule conditions.
Enhancement to the Event binding editor CICS event processing support has been expanded such that application events now support the PUT64 CONTAINER capture point. You can now select PUT64 CONTAINER as an application capture point on the Specification > Capture Point tab in the Event binding editor when defining capture specifications. The PUT64 CONTAINER capture point requires a minimum schema level of 5.0.

For more information, see https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/cics-explorer/5.5.0?topic=specification-capture-point-tab.
New CSD Map view to show related resources in the CICS system definition data set

In addition to definitions in the CICSPlex® SM data repository, the Map view can now show related resource definitions in the CICS system definition data set (CSD) too, making it easier to understand and visualize the relationships between lists, groups, and resource definitions in the CSD.

The Map view for resource definitions in the CSD is supported in CICS Explorer Fix Pack 5.5.23 or later and CICS Explorer on Eclipse Marketplace. In CICS, the CMCI JVM server provides the underlying CMCI GraphQL API that supports the Map view. In CICS Explorer, to enable the Map view for resource definitions in the CSD, the CICS region that CICS Explorer connects to must be at CICS TS 6.1 or later and be configured to use the CMCI JVM server. For instructions, see Setting up CMCI in CICS TS documentation.

For more information, see Viewing related CSD resource definitions in the Map view.
New Security Request Recordings view to show the available security request recording entries Security request recording (SRR) is a new feature to aid in resolving security issues. Sometimes the error messages that are presented are not sufficient to resolve an issue. A security request recording identifies origin data to aid data capture that assists system programmers in investigating whether security is configured as needed. Use the Regions view to select the regions for which you want to capture a security request recording using the Add Security Request Recording. Recordings are then available for view by using the Security Request Recordings view.

For more information, see How to use security request recording.

What's new in Fix Pack 5.5.22

New Function Description
CICS Explorer can connect to CICS TS 6.1

As of Fix Pack 5.5.22, CICS Explorer can connect to CICS regions up to CICS TS 6.1.

For detailed information about the compatibility of CICS Explorer, see Appendix. Compatibility of CICS Explorer.

What's new in Fix Pack 5.5.20

New Function Description
Resource aggregation in single CICS regions

Available with APAR PH35122, the aggregation function that was supported for CICSPlex SM environments is available in single CICS regions too. With aggregation, you can merge resource records together to display a summarized view for one or more attributes in any resource view. Aggregation helps you identify similarities and differences in a set of CICS resources.

To enable aggregation in CICS, the single CICS region must be at CICS TS 5.6 with APAR PH35122, or a later release. It also needs to be configured to serve as a CICS System Management Single Server (SMSS) by using a CMCI JVM server. The CMCI JVM server provides the underlying CMCI GraphQL API that supports the aggregation function.

For more information, see Aggregating data in a resource view.
Connecting to a single CICS region with multi-factor authentication (MFA) for enhanced security

Available with APAR PH35122, the MFA sign-on that was supported for CICSPlex SM environments is available in single CICS regions too, allowing enhanced security for sign-on to single CICS regions.

To enable MFA sign-on in a single CICS region that your CICS Explorer connects to, make sure the region is at CICS TS 5.6 with APAR PH35122, or a later release. You must also configure a CMCI JVM server in the region to turn it into a CICS System Management Single Server (SMSS).

For more information, see Multi-factor authentication (MFA) credentials for CICS Explorer connections.

What's new in Fix pack 5.5.0.18

New Function Description
Usability enhancement
Quickly locate a CICS system or system group in the CICSplex Explorer view
In the CICSplex Explorer view, you can now quickly locate a CICS system or system group by typing its name in the search box in the top of the view. The search box also reflects the context or scope you are in when you click through the navigation tree.

For more information, see CICSplex Explorer view.

What's new in Fix pack 5.5.0.17

New Function Description
CICS Explorer for Aqua 3.2 can be installed on macOS Catalina and Big Sur releases CICS Explorer for Aqua 3.2 can now be installed on macOS Catalina and Big Sur releases. To install and run it on these masOS releases, you must follow instructions in this technote to bypass the security restrictions.

What's new in Fix Pack 5.5.0.15

New Function Description
Enhancement to the Policy Definition editor A new task rule, container storage, is available:
  • Use this rule type to define a threshold for the amount of container storage allocated to a user task, and take an automatic action if the threshold is exceeded. This rule does not apply to EXCI containers or BTS containers.
  • This rule type requires CICS TS 5.6 with APAR PH29187 or later releases of CICS.
For more information, see Policy conditions.

What's new in Fix Pack 5.5.0.11

New Function Description
Enhancement to the Policy Definition editor You can now define the Transaction ID and User ID filters as rule conditions for task rules. This hence provides a simpler way of restricting your policy to certain user tasks, in addition to the policy scope and application entry point. For more information, see Policy conditions and Restricting a task rule policy to specific user tasks in a stand-alone CICS region.

What's new in Fix Pack 5.5.0.9

New Function Description
New editor and view for JVM server endpoints The JVM Endpoints view and JVM Endpoint editor are available for you to manage JVM server endpoints. JVM endpoints provide methods for remote access, monitoring or management. Using the new view and editor, you can now view information of the JVM endpoints, as well as enabling or disabling them.

For more information, see JVM Endpoint view and JVM Endpoint editor.
Enhancements to JVM Servers view and JVM Server editor The JVM Servers view and JVM Server editor are enhanced to allow you to better administer JVM servers.
Hyperlinked file paths for easier redirection
The JVM Servers view and JVM Server editor now provide hyperlinks for more JVM server files, including:
  • JVM server working directory
  • Java home directory
  • JVM profile file
  • JVM server log file
  • JVM server standard error file
  • JVM server standard output file
  • JVM server trace file
You can directly jump to a z/OS UNIX file or directory as well as a JES data definition, by clicking the links.
More actions available against the JVM server
You can now gather JVM diagnostics, collect the JVM or Liberty server dump, refresh OSGi packages, refresh Liberty configuration and application changes, or view the JVM endpoints of a JVM server.
For more information, see JVM Servers view and JVM Server editor.
Enhancements to the policy definition editor
New action for system rules
You can now specify the z/OS WLM health value action for a system rule so that CICS sets the z/OS WLM health value when all the specified conditions in the rule are met. For more information, see Creating and deploying a policy in a CICS bundle project.

What's new in Fix Pack 5.5.0.7

Submitting a batched repository-update (BATCHREP) job
You can now create, update, remove, or review multiple definitions in the data repository by submitting a batched repository-update (BATCHREP) job in CICS Explorer, as in the CICSPlex SM Web User Interface (WUI). See Submitting a batched repository-update (BATCHREP) job.

What's new in Fix Pack 5.5.0.3

More policy rules available in policy definition editor
You can now use the policy definition editor to define system rules for:
  • DBCTL connection status
  • IBM MQ connection status
  • Pipeline enable status

For more information, see Policy conditions.

What's new in 5.5.0

Aggregation in resource views

With aggregation, you can merge resource records together to display a summarized view for one or more attributes in any resource view. Aggregation helps you to identify similarities and differences in a set of CICS resources. For more information, see Aggregating data in a resource view.

Aggregation for a CICSplex is supported in IBM CICS Explorer for Aqua 3.2 or later. To enable aggregation for the CICSPlex SM environment in CICS Explorer, ensure that the CICS WUI region is at Version 5.5 or later and that it's configured to use the CMCI JVM server that supports the CMCI GraphQL API.

For more information, see How it works: CMCI GraphQL API.

New Map view to show related CICSPlex SM resources

The Map view shows related resources in a CICSplex, making it easier to understand the relationships between such resources.

The Map view function supports Business Application Services (BAS) and definitional workload management (WLM) resources. You can open it from many views or editors that are related to those resources, for example, the CICSplex Explorer view.

The Map view is supported in IBM CICS Explorer for Aqua 3.2 or later. To use the Map view in CICS Explorer, ensure that the CICS WUI region is at Version 5.5 or later and that it's configured to use the CMCI JVM server.

For more information, see Viewing related BAS resources in the Map view and Viewing related WLM resources in the Map view.

New Feature Toggles view available

The new Feature Toggles (FEATURE) view displays enablement and configuration settings for toggle-enabled features for your CICS region. For more information, see CICS feature toggles and continuous delivery and FEATURE Resource Table.

New Global TCP/IP Statistics view available

The Global TCP/IP Statistics (TCPIPGBL) view displays information about CICS internal TCP/IP sockets support. For more information, see Global TCP/IP Statistics view.

New Policy Rules view available

The Policy Rules (RULE) view displays information about policy rules. For more information, see Policy Rules view.

New BAS Resource Assignments view available

The BAS Resource Assignments (RASGNDEF) view displays information about the characteristics of resource definitions of a particular resource group and class, and how those resources are to be assigned to and installed in a set of CICS systems.

For more information, see BAS Resource Assignments view.

Resource Group and Group List Definitions views changed for enhanced capabilities
To provide full resource view capabilities such as aggregation, grouping, quick filters, and advanced view customization, the Resource Group and Group List Definitions views are replaced as follows:

Stability of these views is also improved.

Enhancements to the policy definition editor
You can now use the policy definition editor to define system rules for:
  • AID threshold
  • Bundle available status
  • Bundle enable status
  • IPIC connection status
  • MRO connection status
  • Program enable status

For more information, see Policy conditions.

Quickly add filters in a resource view

In most resource views, you can add a quick filter to a resource attribute by right-clicking the column header of that attribute. For instructions, see Filtering resources in a view.

Faster CICS Explorer connections to CICS TS through GZIP compression

CMCI connections to CICS Transaction Server for z/OS servers now support GZIP compression to reduce payloads and speed up connections. To use GZIP compression, your CICS TS must be at Version 5.5 or later and is configured to use the CMCI JVM server.

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System requirements and prerequisites

Details of system requirements for CICS Explorer are available online, at the Detailed system requirements for a specific product website. Search on the product name for details.

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Installing CICS Explorer

You can download CICS Explorer from the Install Eclipse Tools website.

For detailed instructions on downloading and installing CICS Explorer, see Downloading and starting CICS Explorer.

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Starting CICS Explorer

To start CICS Explorer, double-click the file zosexplorer.exe (zosexplorer on Linux® or macOS), in a subdirectory called zosexplorer. The first time CICS Explorer starts, the welcome screen is displayed.

CICS Explorer uses a local workspace folder to save its data and configuration files. By default, the workspace folder is called .zosexplorer and is stored in your user directory.

If you do not want to update your default workspace, start CICS Explorer with a different workspace by using the -data option to specify a new target path for the workspace. For example, to start CICS Explorer and create a new workspace in the location c:\my_cicsexplorer_workspace, use the following command:

C:\zosexplorer\zosexplorer.exe -data c:\my_cicsexplorer_workspace

For instructions on starting CICS Explorer with a different workspace by using a CICS Explorer shortcut, see Changing the CICS Explorer workspace location.

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Getting started

The CICS Explorer help documentation is integrated with the product and also available in IBM Documentation for CICS Explorer. Get started with CICS Explorer in either of the following ways:
  • Read the Getting started guide either online or in the product help by click Help > Help Contents > CICS Explorer User Guide > Getting Started with CICS Explorer.
  • Follow the CICS Explorer basic tutorial in the product, by clicking the Tutorials icon on the welcome screen.

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Upgrading CICS Explorer and associated workspaces

CICS Explorer for Aqua 3.3 is based on a different release of Eclipse from previous versions of CICS Explorer.

To reuse the workspace of a previous version of CICS Explorer, take a backup first. Alternatively, you can preserve the old workspace by creating a copy of the workspace and renaming it for your new version of CICS Explorer; see Changing the CICS Explorer workspace location.

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Known issues and limitations

The following limitations exist in CICS Explorer for Aqua 3.3:
  • IBM Installation Manager does not support CICS Explorer for Aqua 3.3.

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Resources

1 Aqua refers to IBM Explorer for z/OS® Aqua.