ChangeMan® ZMF

I am wondering if there are others managing these component types and have any useful information to share.#Webservices

When executing XMLSERV, SERXMLS returns a RC=8 but nothing else indicating why.#ChangeManZMF

It is often tempting to assume that because a specific ZMF module writes output stating that it is running at a certain version, that must be the definitive version of the product that is in use. For example, module CMNBATCH writes the following: ChangeMan(R) ZMF CMNBATCH - 8.2 Patch 6 2023/10/18 03:23:16 Or the CMNLNKDT report generated at ZMF Server started task start-up time writes the following to the task's SYSPRINT output file: ChangeMan(R) ZMF CMNLNKDT - 8.2 Patch 6 Link Date Report WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 18, 2023 @ 03:11:49 Page 1 So, we must be running ZMF 8.2 Patch 6, yes? Well, no. Both of the above messages are taken from a subsystem running the original GA version of ZMF 8.2 Patch 7. Whilst all modules will be typically rebuilt for any new, major release (e.g. 8.2, 8.3, etc.), this is not true for interim patch releases. Only those modules that actually change in the associated patch levels will be rebuilt. As neither the CMNBATCH or CMNLNKDT modules changed in the original 8.2

Since the release of ChangeMan ZMF 6.1.2 in November 2010, CMN30, CMN37, CMN55 and CMN57 package install or backout job updates to the active Impact Analysis (IA) table applied by program CMNDSPTM have been serialized/single-threaded. This change was implemented to avoid potential corruption of the IA table that could occur whilst simultaneous updates were applied by more than one requestor. This serialization may result in the appearance of any of the jobs  listed above hanging in the DSPTM step, especially when a large number of package installs or backouts are in progress. Before assuming that a CMN30, CMN37, CMN55 or CMN57 job is hanging in the DSPTM step and cancelling or commencing other investigative techniques, users should check the JESMSGLG for the following type of messages: CMN4535I - CMNDSPTM is waiting for jobname DEMO3024 (asid 04F2) to end.CMN4535I - CMNDSPTM is waiting for jobname DEMO3724 (asid 02A1) to end. When these messages are seen execution of the waiting j

Securing Client Pack and ChangeMan ZMF with TLS.  Has any one gotten this to work.We have 2 separate rules. One to cover port  ZMF port and one to cover port  Client Port. Other than the port, the rules are identical:They use the same cert/keyring.They are for inbound traffic (so it's a "server" rule).TLSv1.2 only.No client authentication (except by user id/pass from client pack and TSO logon).When Application Controlled is OFF client pack works but TSO doesn't. When it's ON client pack doesn't work but TSO does.The error we are getting when TSO access doesn't work is 5003 Data Decryption.We tried adding a third rule to cover the TSO connection. This was a client rule/outbound traffic. Application Controlled on and off had the same effect: 5003 Data Decryption. We did NOT have a client cert/keyring specified for this rule.#ChangeManZMF

If an XML Service call fails for any reason the calling routine will generally receive both a return code and a reason code to indicate the cause of the failure. The common ones are documented in the ChangeMan ZMF XML Services User’s Guide, the 8.3 version of which can be found here. However, sometimes an unexpected reason code may be returned. For example, a PARMS.APL.LIST service call may receive return code 4 with a <statusReasonCode/> value of 6504. Or the same call could also receive a return code 8 with a 6105 <statusReasonCode/>. In this type of situation it is worth checking the ChangeMan ZMF Messages Guide to see if a matching CMNnnnnl or SERnnnnl (where nnnn = reason code and l = severity level (I -Information, E – Error, etc.)) message can be found. Although the full message will often be returned in the <statusMessage/> field, it can sometimes be overwritten or custom-written routines may not always display this field. Hence the frequent confusion around t

New versions of :ZMF Explorer for ChangeMan ZMF V2.0.4 is now available on the VSCode MarketPlace.This version should be installed before the end of September 2023 due to a breaking change that is being introduced by Microsoft in their October release. A new version of ChangeMan ZMF plugin for zowe cli V2.0.4 is also available on the OpenText MarketPlaceBoth the above new versions will require Rest Services to be at a minimum level of ZMF 8.2 Patch 7.#Announcement#ChangeManZMF

Back in June 2023 we published the following Support Tip that contained maintenance which we recommend customers install prior to upgrading to the ZMF 8.3 release:  Support Tip: Recommended maintenance for customers running or upgrading to ChangeMan ZMF 8.3   Since then a couple of further, potentially troublesome issues have also been identified for which hotfixes have been produced. The first is: ZMF8.3.0.022/OCTCR46A325001 ‘CMN8856I - Package is promote locked.’ approving unplanned package  For customers that use ZMF instances configured with an ALL environment type, i.e. those with ‘ChangeMan ZMF environment’ = ‘A’ specified in A.G.1 Part 1 of 8/ISPF panel CMNGGP01, we also recommend installing the fix for the following issue: ZMF8.3.0.021/OCTCR46A325003 Variable &PRSNOD is blank in ChangeMan ZMF 8.3 'ALL' task  The same notes, caveats, etc., as last time apply to the above recommendations. Namely: a. All of the issues listed above, and their associated

Some older versions of the ZMF REST API documentation, and the associated videos, ask customers to download separate files that contain the software needed to run the mainframe Apache Tomcat environment required to host zmfrest.war, zmobile.war, etc. However, since the release of ZMF 8.2 Patch 3 these files have been shipped within the CMNZMF CNTL file. No separate downloads are now required to obtain the Tomcat software and further information related to these components can be found in the CMNZMF CNTL $INDEX member.  #s/s/SupportTips/KnowledgeDocs#s/SupportTips/KnowledgeDocs#ChangeManZMF#SupportTips/KnowledgeDocs#s/

OCTCR46A204001/KM000007410 documented a ZMF4ECL problem that was liable to occur when a user’s TSO password contained a special character. For example, a user whose password contained an ampersand (‘&’) character receives an 'ICH408I...INVALID PASSWORD GIVEN' response at logon time with a SER8210E message visible either alongside the ICH408I or in the ZMF Server started task output. As stated in the above KB article, this problem was resolved in the ZMF4ECL 8.3 release and affected customers should upgrade to the latest available hotfix version of the ZMF4ECL 8.3 client software, which is compatible for use with all currently supported lower versions of the Server (i.e. mainframe) software.#SupportTips/KnowledgeDocs#ChangeManZMF#SupportTip

Just a reminder, that if you are using the ChangeMan ZMF plugin for zowe cli and/or the VSCode Explorer for ChangeMan ZMF, that you should regularly check for and upgrade to the latest version of node.js and also the latest LTS version of zowe cli. it is easy to forget that these need to be kept current.You can check your node version by issuing the command: node -v and the latest version of zowe cli by issuing:zowe -V  You can find the current version of node.js at - Download | Node.js (nodejs.org)and you can upgrade your zowe cli base by issuing the following command: npm install -g @zowe/cli@zowe-v2-lts #SupportTips/KnowledgeDocs#ChangeManZMF#SupportTip

Hi, Has anyone ever tried to setup VS Code - ZMF Explorer on Citrix Or would there be any issues to be aware of? Thank you Best regards Johan#Citrix#ZMFExplorer#VSCode#ChangeManZMF

The SERDRT procedure, which allows HSM migrated dataset recalls to be processed by a separate address space outside of the ZMF Server started task, was first introduced in the ZMF 8.2 release. Information related to this task can be found the 8.2 Readme file and the Installation Guide, the 8.3 version of which can be found here.  Since ZMF 8.2 Patch 2 there is also another, and still undocumented Sernet parameter keyword, RECALLPROC. This parm will allow customers to override the default procedure name from SERDRT to a value which fits their specific naming standards. Further information on this can be found in KB article D26343. Failure to setup this task may result in the following type of messages being seen in the ZMF Server started task SERPRINT output and will also allow the possibility for one user’s HSM recall to impact other users' HSM recalls: SER0020I SERDRT no response - recall request will be issued locally for CMNSUP.DEMO.STGT.#004967.Y01#SupportTips/Knowle

Users sometime report issues where the ChangeMan ZMF user interface (UI) has told them that a certain function has been completed, and/or a job has been submitted, but the resultant task or job never actually finishes. For example, a user submits a package audit job from the ISPF UI and receives the following messages: AUDIT JOB SUBMITTED/CMN2600I - The job to audit this package has been submitted. Or a user in the ZMF4ECL UI sees the following in their Notification view after submitting a component build request: CMN8700I – Component Build service completed – Package(DEMO000999) Type(SRC) Component(PGM1) Jobname(USER01A) However, the audit and component build requests in the above examples never complete. So, where should you begin investigation into such an issue? The first point of investigation should be the actual job that was submitted to execute the requested function, assuming that it was actually submitted and the output can be found. However, sometimes the job cannot be locat

Component names in zFS/HFS/USS file systems can be up to 255 characters and path names can be up to 1024 characters in length. Using ‘traditional’ or ‘standard’ techniques when attempting to write custom ISPF skeletons to handle such components is liable to result in errors. For example, the following type of messages being issued by the external file tailoring procedure (i.e. CMNADSP) when building the component: Line to be written greater than data set LRECL (80), CMNCUST record-405 CN(INTERNAL)*** And this in the associated SYSPRINT output file: CMNVFTLR file tailoring - 8.3 Function : Component file tailor and submit for stage. Subsystem: T Userid : USER01 Package : DEMO004963 Date/Time: 2023/08/22 03:35:52 Libtype : JVS Component: SiJavaPgmButThisOneIsVeryMuchLongerThanUsualAndWillGoBeyond80BytesWhenFileTailored.java Error occurred during file tailoring Line to be written greater than data set LRECL (80), CMNCUST record-405 When attempting to incorporate zFS path and component n

Hi, This question is related to Sernet Activity Log and Monthly Reporting Feature. After reading the art S143076/KM000020625, I have the following question or doubt. I have several instance executing on same LPAR. According to the resolution section, each instance of the started task requires its own ACTLOG dataset. On the one hand, if I decide to share a single dataset between multiple started tasks, this will produce unpredictable results. On the other hand, in the same art says the only reason for having multiple procs is to want to direct the report output (SERPRINT DD card) to different datasets. It seems obvious that I want avoid unpredictable results, I must have multiple procs pointing to different datasets, I mean, if I have six or seven ZMF/ZDD procs, I will need six o seven SERALREP procs to avoid the unpredictable results. Right up to here? My question o doubt is the following. Since there is the PARM statement in the proc to specific the ALREPORTPROC startup parm passing p

Unless explicitly documented otherwise, the Client Pack (i.e. ChangeMan ZDD and ChangeMan ZMF for Eclipse (ZMF4ECL)) user interfaces (UIs) are downwardly compatible to run with earlier versions of the ZMF Server (i.e. mainframe) software that are still supported. Any exceptions to this will be called out in the appropriate Readme and Supported Platform Matrix files. Please also remember that again as documented in all ZMF* Readme files, if or when it is necessary to upgrade various components at different times, the following is the ONLY supported upgrade sequence: - ZMF Web Services (only required if you are running custom applications using ZMF Web Services (i.e. zmfrest.war))- the Client Pack UIs (i.e. ChangeMan ZDD and/or ChangeMan ZMF for Eclipse (ZMF4ECL))- ZMF P sites and associated REST Services- ZMF D, DP and ALL sites and associated REST Services Upgrading these components in a different sequence is unsupported and highly likely to cause significant product problems.#ChangeMa

Need information regarding ChangeMan ZMF (or ChangeMan SSM, Comparex, StarTool FDM, StarTool IOO, ChangeMan ZMF Client Pack and Advanced Authentication Connector for z/OS) compatibility with z/OS 3.1? This can be found in KB article KM000020189. As always, if or when an upgrade is required to reach the minimum supported level, we recommend that the very latest version of the appropriate product is selected. At time of writing (10-Aug-2023) that is ZMF 8.2 Patch 7 (in the 8.2 maintenance stream) and 8.3 (new feature release).#SupportTips/KnowledgeDocs#s/SupportTips/KnowledgeDocs#ChangeManZMF#s/s/SupportTips/KnowledgeDocs#s/#Announcement#Announcements/News

Customers sometimes ask us what known problems or hotfixes exist in the specific ChangeMan ZMF release to which they are upgrading? For several valid reasons, we do not provide a ‘bucket’ or ‘collection’ of all existing hotfixes for any given release. All of our hotfixes are designed and developed to be installed as unique and targeted solutions to specific problems. However, after a recent review of the existing hotfixes in the ZMF 8.3 release the following is a current list of those that we recommend customers install before upgrading their live systems to run this version of the product: 1. ZMF8.3.0.002/OCTCR46A280001 Potential 'deadly embrace' converting to Db2 Core functionality in ZMF 8.3 2. ZMF8.3.0.011/OCTCR46A290001 Backout of package in 'XIN' status returns error message 'CMN1275A' 3. Sernet8.3.004/OCTCR46A299001 S0C6-06 abend executing SERCOPY with the BSAM and REALLOC parameters  Also, customers that use CMNEX023 to create and store user-defined variables in

Hi, The included copybooks are not getting downloaded and I'm in the dark where the problem could be. Scenario - In created a package and checked out a component using the ISPF dialog - I connected with VS Code to the package - I locked the component and then I clicked on the component a) I don't get a 'popup' with the request to download the copybooks b) the z Open Editor is unable to resolve the copybooks Any idea what could be the problem? Thank you Johan#VSCode#Copybookresolvement#ChangeManZMF#ZMFExplorer

Status: New IdeaWhen we Recompile a src member in TSO, it allows us to use the "List Library containing component" option. This lists all the promotion libraries where the component resides and we can choose right there from where we want to recompile.  In the client pack it is not this simple. We have to do a component query first and see where the component is, so we can choose it for the recompile.  Making the Client pack work as it is in TSO would be very beneficial and easier. #Simplify#ZMF4ECL

Customers often query the ‘end of support’ date associated with the specific patch release of ChangeMan ZMF/ChangeMan ZMF Client Pack that they are running. This information can be found by expanding the major release entry on the ZMF Product Support Lifecycle page. For example, the ZMF 8.2 release currently looks like this: Please remember that all information listed on the product lifecycle page is closely related to the approach and processes documented in the ChangeMan ZMF Release Cadence KB article. Customers should ensure that they are familiar with the contents of this KB article, too.#SupportTips/KnowledgeDocs#ChangeManZMF#SupportTip

Status: Under ConsiderationYes, the approver reload command should include exit 9 processing.Currently the refresh approver command only reloads approvers from the application approval records.  It wipes and does not add back in approvers added via exit 9.  I suggest that this command should include the entire approver list flow.  #LocalandRemoteSystemInformation#Customizationoptions

Customers sometimes question why their ChangeMan ZMF unplanned package is created with the approvers defined for planned packages? As documented in the ZMF Administrator’s Guide, the 8.3 version of which can be found here, this is usually linked to the ‘Normal business hours’ defined in the global admin parameters (ZMF ISPF option A.G.1). The application Planned Approval list is always incorporated into any change package that is created within normal business hours. An unplanned package uses the Unplanned Approval list only if it is created outside of normal business hours.#ChangeManZMF#SupportTips/KnowledgeDocs#s/#s/SupportTips/KnowledgeDocs#s/s/SupportTips/KnowledgeDocs

Very old releases of the ChangeMan ZMF product did not require unplanned change packages to be audited in any way. An additional option ('FORCE AUDIT OF UNPLANNED PACKAGES') was then introduced that allowed administrators to enforce the requirement to audit unplanned packages. However, this merely forced the audit job to be run and did NOT ensure that the product also honoured the specified application audit level requirements. This prompted the introduction of the ‘Unplanned package audit option’ that allows ZMF administrators to control their specific requirements around this functionality in the ZMF 8.1.1 release. This functionality persists to this day and is documented in the ZMF Administrator’s Guide, the 8.3 version of which can be found here. #SupportTip#SupportTips/KnowledgeDocs#ChangeManZMF