E-GEN iCAN The Global solution to Collect, Audit and Navigate in the Information Systems
Jan 14, 2015
E-GEN iCAN
The Global solution to Collect, Audit and Navigate in the Information Systems
© ISC Software 2011 - Page 2
About ISC
• European Software Company
• Founded in 1986 in Brussels (HQ)
• Over 100 large customers
• Over 250 product instances
• Leader in Production Repositories
• Technological partnerships with
BMC, CA Tech, HP, IBM
• Consulting partnerships with
Sogeti, Aubay, Prodline…
• IBM “z/OS & LINUX Partners in
Development”
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ISC Product Line
© ISC Software 2011 - Page 4
Why continue wasting money ?
IT environments are like a large puzzle:
If you miss a piece
you can loose a lot of money
© ISC Software 2011 - Page 5
Z/OS Environments' Shortcomings
Separate items lack: Links between each other
An Op’s central repository
Customized User objects
Up-to-date Run books
…
User needs :
A global view of information
A structured Navigation
An easy user request facility
Multiple output possibilities
…
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E-GEN iCAN – The Global solution
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iCAN Concept
iCAN
- Centralize all IT and User information in a central repository
- Manage all xref’s between components
- Customized User Data Model
- Powerful functionalities
- to display
- to audit
- to request
- to generate
- To document
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iCAN Client logon ( Windows)
Select the iCAN scope
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User Interface
• Intuitive and easy-to-use
• Multiple display modes: graphical, text (structured / flat ), 3270…
• Hyperlinks on objects, whichever the display mode
• Cross References
Previous / Next
Display Mode
Selector
Cross References :
Uses / Used by
Job Documentation &
Run Book Generation
Object Explorer /
Selector
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ISC Graphical Interface
Predecessors /
Successors
Object under
analysis
• Each node is a hyperlink, allowing you to navigate
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GraphViz Interface Horizontal mode
Predecessors
in red
Object under
analysis
• Each node is a hyperlink, allowing you to navigate
Successors
in green
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GraphViz Interface Vertical mode
Predecessors in red
Object under
analysis
• Each node is a hyperlink, allowing you to navigate
Successors in green
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Graph to VISIO Interface with MS-Visio
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Run Books
• Generate an HTML Run Book, with hyperlinks
A click on any job directly opens
its detailed description.
Every object in the detailed
layout is an active link.
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3270 Interface
• Each item in red is a hyperlink, allowing you to navigate
• Procedures can be unfolded by clicking on '+'
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Cross References
• Cross references are available for any repository object, in any display mode
Procedure
IKJEFT01 is
"Used by"
Procedure
IKJEFT01
"Uses"
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Structured Text Interface
Predecessors
Each name in red
is a hyperlink,
allowing you to
navigate
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Flat Text Interface
• Even in Flat text mode, each element name (Step card, DDname, DSN…) is a hyperlink, allowing you to navigate.
Each object name is a
hyperlink, allowing you to
navigate
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Request Engine
Search (example):
• Find all jobs that have a RUNTYPE clause
• Among those, find the ones that are governed by TWS Rules (RUNTYP=R) and fetch the rule
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Request selection from iCAN Object Map
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Request user interface
This request searches all NAME parameter values in JCL collected objects
and store the result in a flat file
In this example, the user needs to know all the NAME
parameter values used in his collected Z/OS environment.
After the request process, the flat file, in Z/OS, Unix or
Windows, contains all the Names values used in the Z/OS
environment.
Global information's are coming from JCL collected
objects.
If the administrator wants , he can decide to create
customized User objects instead of flat file.
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• Define your audit criteria, including non-keywords, i.e. free text strings
• Launch the audit
Audit – Define your own criteria
Search criteria:
Analysis of all existing
values for the DISP
parameter
Each value in red is a hyperlink, allowing
you to list all the concerned JCLs
Result:
All existing values,
with statistics
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Collectors
ADABAS / NATURAL CA-IDMS JES3NET
APM / HS5000 CA-JOBTRAC LISTCAT
ASG-CORTEX PDB CA-SCHEDULER MQ SERIES
ASG-ZEKE CA-TNG RSD/EOS
ASSEMBLER CFT SMF
BETA 42 CICS TWS / OPC
BETA 92 COBOL XML
BETA 93 DB2 … BMC / CONTROL-D HDC
BMC / CONTROL-M
BMC / CONTROL-O IAM
BMC / ECS IMS DB/DC (DL1)
CA7 ISMF/VTOC
CA-AUTOSYS JCL
CA-DISPATCH JCL GCOS8
Our R&D dept. can
create any custom
collector, on request
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Create your own collector !
• Integrate any type of structured data into the repository, regardless of
their origin (z/OS or not), in the shape of flat files
o .TXT
o .CSV
o .XML
• Read those flat files, and aggregate them into the iCAN repository
o Collect the data and assign them to new data objects
o Create links between the new objects and previously existing ones
• The requests / procedures used to select and/or to generate the user
oriented data with your custom request.
• The newly aggregated data can be queried, viewed, charted, and you
may run an audit against it, just like for any other data in the repository.
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• Server installed on Unix / Linux
• ISC-made repository on the
Unix/Linux server (license-free)
• Collector batch jobs collect local flat
files that have previously been
extracted and transmitted from the
Host
• Communication with workstations via
TCP/IP
• Link with LDAP
z/OS Server
Unix / Linux Server
Windows Server
• Server installed on the Host (STC)
• Repository in a VSAM KSDS
• Collectors run as batch jobs
• Communication with workstations via
TCP/IP
• Link with RACF / TSS / ACF2
• z/OS Server is mandatory for DB2
collection
• Server installed on Windows
• ISC-made repository on the Windows
server (license-free)
• Collector batch jobs collect local flat
files that have previously been
extracted and transmitted from the
Host
• Communication with workstations via
TCP/IP
• Link with LDAP
Windows Client • Client installed on Windows workstations
• iCAN administration for all server types
• Ad-hoc collector batch jobs are launched
from Workstations or in batch mode
• Communication with servers via TCP/IP
• User interface for all users
iCAN Architecture
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Easy to implement
The entire process takes less than one day:
• Install the iCAN server on
o z/OS or
o Unix or
o Windows
• Install a client on one or more Windows workstation(s)
• Define one or more collect(s) configuration
• Start the desired collect (Batch process )
o From Windows
o From z/OS
• iCAN is operational, the results are ready for browsing
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ROI & Added Value
• The ROI is less than 1 year in any case
o The purchase price of E-GEN iCAN is +/- that of one resource/year.
o The maintenance fee corresponds to +/- two months salary of one resource.
• Examples of indirect savings:
o Simply extract z/OS files and send to iCAN Unix / Windows server for collection and analysis MIPS/MSU savings
o Run Book generated from collected objects always up-to-date; time savings on data entry, less errors due to obsolete documentation or data entry errors
o Add any type of structured data to the repository and audit / search / x-ref it flexibility; may eliminate the need for yet another tool
o Audit / Query on any repository object estimated time savings of 5' to 10' per query query without tool (i.e. using REXX, ISRSUPC…)
o All the information inside E-GEN iCAN (e.g. Run Books), can be made available to any person (e.g. Ops, Dev) via Intranet or via native iCAN Client savings on time / data entry / update
o Unlimited number of servers and users for a given geographical site
o No upgrades for any reason – no hidden clauses nor small print
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QA – Quality Assurance
E-GEN iCAN allows you to verify any kind of element:
o Against any internal or imported reference (list, table, catalogue…)
o Via an ad hoc procedure, which verifies the compliance with an existing norm or rule
• Sample verifications :
o JOBNAME Composition: e.g. the 3 first JN characters = App Code
o Intra-Step / Intra-Job / … file naming convention
o Search for unused files (dead ; only created but never reused…)
o FORMS names used in the JCL external correspondence table of usable EOS Forms
o Allowed / forbidden values
o Inventory
o …
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iCAN Roadmap
iCAN is a live product – following are some upcoming features:
• New types of graphs in the GUI (new graphical optimization algorithm)
o Over 20 formats available (bmp, gif, jpg, png, svg…) and exportable
• Support for any type of Excel graphs automatic Excel start in graphical mode
• Dynamic analysis / audit of external flat files, WITHOUT importation into the repository
© ISC Software 2011 - Page 30
Install
Populate
Understand
Use
Manage
Produce an immediate ROI
Benefits
In a single word EASY to
© ISC Software 2011 - Page 31
The best tool for Z/OS Op’s People