BMC Compuware:
building a modern devops toolchain
Does your DevOps ecosystem include your mainframe? It should.
A BMC Series For Mainframe Modernization
For the Mainframe
Explore the DevOps Lifecycle
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Evaluate the mainframe-inclusive DevOps Toolchain
The speed of change has propelled organizations into the digital age—not by choice, but by necessity. How quickly your business can adapt and react to change depends upon the weakest link in your business. Your success depends on relentless and continuous improvement of your company’s digital capabilities—and on consistently getting great code and applications into production fast. To do this, companies are building DevOps toolchains that use automation to facilitate speed, quality, and productivity. Successful companies include the mainframe in these toolchains—because mainframe applications and data are among their most strategic digital assets.
Connect your mainframe to the rest of IT.
See how BMC AMI and BMC Compuware provide the complete DevOps toolchain that accelerates innovation and resiliency for the mainframe.
Striving to accelerate application development and delivery across all systems, including the mainframe? Building a robust DevOps toolchain is vital. What you need is an open ecosystem of best-of-breed software tools that integrate across platforms and are shared across teams.
Evaluating the DevOps Toolchain
Does your DevOps toolchain include automation to accelerate all manual processes and enforce process rules? Visualizations that make it easy to find and fix problems?
Functional Richness:
A DevOps toolchain is only as usefule as it's weakest link. What gaps do you have in toolchain coverage? This is an absolute constraint on the end-to-end CD process.
Completeness:
Tool-to-tool integration is a critical factor in toolchain value. Each step in the toolchain must be linked together.
Integration:
If it takes too much time and effort to learn how to use all of the features, the DevOps toolchain will lose its effectiveness.
Ease of Use:
A good toolchain must be capable of adapting to changes in technology, application partners and collaboration partners.
Adaptability:
Whitepaper: Mainframe-inclusive DevOps Toolchains
LEARN MORE
BMC Compuware’s DevOps Transition Workshop is for organizations that want to learn more about modernizing mainframe software delivery with DevOps.
BUILDING A MAINFRAME-INCLUSIVE DEVOPS TOOLCHAIN
SEE WHAT MAINFRAME-INCLUSIVE LOOKS LIKE
The best cross-platform toolchains leverage both platform-specific and cross-platform tools to include the mainframe in enterprise Agile/DevOps processes.
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View the mainframe-inclusive devops toolchain
eBook: Ten Steps To True Mainframe Agility
eBook: Accelerating the Mainframe to the Speed of DevOps
BMC Compuware's modern mainframe DevOps solutions integrate with each other and with an expanding array of cross-platform partner tools, empowering developers of every stripe to perform and improve the processes necessary to fulfill each phase of the DevOps lifecycle.
Is Your DevOps Toolchain Mainframe-inclusive?
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analyze
As developers make changes in the source code there may need to be concurrent development workstreams with multiple versions of code in flight. End-to-end tracking is required to show every action that affects or impacts code running at any level. At the same time, Developers need to quickly understand unfamiliar or complex mainframe applications, so they'll need a visual representation of both the code structure and logic.
DevOps Lifecycle
Use BMC Compuware ISPW for Agile source code management (SCM), parallel development, and impact analysis.
Containers track key project components—code, documentation, JCL, etc.—as logical units to advance together throughout lifecycle
Life Cycle chart shows multiple versions of code in flight for better DevOps collaboration
Impact Analysis shows how code changes will impact mainframe environments
eBook: Maximize the Benefits of Your CI/CD Pipeline by Including the Mainframe
Use BMC Compuware Topaz for Program Analysis to easily maintain complex, unfamiliar, or poorly documented programs.
Does not require source code
Save, replay, and compare visualizations
On-demand runtime visualizations show program call order as well as file and database I/O
Access deep-dive analytical information when editing programs
Dynamically generated program structure chart visualizes logic within COBOL or PL/I programs
Data flow diagram shows how information flows through variables within programs, enabling data quality improvement
eBook: Git for the Mainframe - Take Mainframe DevOps to the Next Level Using Git with BMC Compuware ISPW
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edit data and code
Are your developers still coding with a 3270/ISPF interface? Then they will only be as productive as they were decades ago. To achieve the speed and agility needed by today's digital economy you need modern mainframe development tools that allow them to quickly edit source code and data.
Use BMC Compuware Topaz for Enterprise Data's editor to focus on data quality over data type.
Compare data files, including files that exist on different LPARs
Quickly copy whole files, lists of files, or selected data from one host to another, or initiate copy with a simple drag and drop
Common editor for Db2, IMS, MVS, SQL Server, and Oracle data
Click on records and bar charts to view and control display of compare details
Use BMC Compuware Topaz Workbench's familiar Eclipse environment to edit code while improving and validating code quality.
Video: Give Your Developers Modern Tools for Mainframe Application Development with BMC Compuware
Integration with SonarSource SonarLint strengthens code quality and adherence to standards
Auto-complete and syntax expansion improve mainframe agility
Eclipse-based interface helps developers learn and support mainframe application development
Preferences, configurations, and/or working sets can be grouped into Topaz Team Profiles and shared with others to help jumpstart the process of editing data and other common tasks
On-the-fly quality checks enable earlier issue resolution to prevent future difficulties and expenses
Minimize code complexity to ease maintenance and troubleshooting over time
build
Without modern mainframe CI/CD tools, you can’t ensure your mainframe code pipelines are secure, stable, and streamlined throughout the DevOps lifecycle. You need the confidence of knowing you can quickly and safely build, test, and deploy mainframe code.
Use BMC Compuware ISPW to prepare applications to test or deploy to production with a familiar Eclipse-based interface.
Use ISPW for mainframe source code management (SCM), build, and deploy, or leverage Enterprise Git, such as Bitbucket or GitHub, for source control and ISPW for build and deploy
Use ISPW Operations Jenkins plugin to build DevOps pipelines in Jenkins to manage code throughout development lifecycle and easily orchestrate ISPW operations, such as generate, build, promote, deploy on the mainframe, or pull in source code from Git, all within Jenkins pipelines
Leverage Source Code Downloader Jenkins plugin to download source code stored in ISPW for code quality analysis and reporting by SonarSource’s SonarQube
Use Promotion Analysis to automatically identify dependencies so components can be confidently deployed
Use standard JCL within BMC Compuware ISPW to initiate compiles and links, confining all development activities to one environment for heightened visibility and sustained control
Generate feature pulls in correct copybooks, compiles program, and links it to correct library
Trigger ISPW operations with Digital.ai Release or CloudBees Flow or use REST APIs to integrate with tools of choice
Use BMC AMI DevOps for Db to speed up your application changes by automatically integrating mainframe database changes into your agile application development process.
Automate Database DevOps with IBM UrbanCode Deploy plugins
Automate Database DevOps with Jenkins plugins
BMC AMI DevOps for Db integrates database change management into existing pipelines
Video: BMC AMI DevOps for Db2
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Report: Forrester TEI - “The Total Economic Impact of BMC Compuware ISPW and Topaz
Test
Developers must move at the speed of business and customer expectations. That means increasing the velocity while still delivering and maintaining quality, error-free mainframe applications. Developers need tools that allow testing to be highly automated.
Use BMC Compuware Topaz for Enterprise Data to validate data quality, test with efficient and effective data, and identify and protect sensitive data.
Use integrations for quality management and Continuous Integration.
Use BMC Compuware Topaz for Total Test to automate mainframe virtualized and non-virtualized testing
Data relationship visualizations aid discovery of necessary data for testing applications
Create Extract and Load requests to get data required for testing
Use data relationship visualizations to understand what data to incorporate into test data
Define privacy rules, run extract specifications with rules applied, and create masked test data
Apply privacy rules for data in z/OS files, Db2 tables, IMS segments, and distributed databases and files
Use BMC Compuware Hiperstation with BMC Compuware Topaz for Total Test to automate consistent and repeatable regression and performance tests representing application business requirements.
Load data into Db2 directly from non-virtualized test scenarios though integration with Topaz for Enterprise Data to ensure programs depending on Db2 have correct data when running tests
Remove dependencies on systems and subsystems to speed up testing by automatically virtualizing test data; program and stored procedure calls; CICS and IMS commands and more
BMC Topaz for Topaz for Total Test uses data collected from BMC Compuware Xpediter® to automatically generate virtualized and non-virtualized tests
Enable DevOps pipelines to automatically execute right tests based on changed source code only through integration between Topaz for Total Test and ISPW
Topaz for Program Analysis, Topaz for Total Text, and Xpediter Code Coverage integrated with Jenkins for Continuous Integration and SonarQube for quality management enable IT teams to track and validate test coverage as well as glean insight into coding errors and vulnerabilities
Infographic: Forrester TEI - “The Total Economic Impact of BMC Compuware ISPW and Topaz”
Video: Reduce Testing Time of MF Applications and Innovate Faster w/ BMC Compuware Topaz for Total Test
Orchestrate simple or complex non-virtualized test scenarios for testing and verifying batch jobs and CICS transactions
In addition to Jenkins integration, Topaz for Total Test integrates with Digital.ai Release, and CloudBees Flow for cross platform release orchestration of testing activities.
Enhance static analysis by automatically refreshing project source via Jenkins from Compuware ISPW®, PDS, and Endevor
eBook: Ten Steps to Effective Mainframe Testing
debug
Developers need to quickly validate that the code and logic works correctly for the applications they have changed.
Case Study: BMC Compuware Xpediter is the First Line of Defense for Credit Union
Use BMC Compuware Topaz for Total Test with BMC Compuware Xpediter to automate recording of automated virtualized and non-virtualized test cases.
Use BMC Compuware Xpediter mainframe application debugger through BMC Compuware Topaz® Workbench or BMC AMI DevX Workbench for VS Code to test multiple conditions and scenarios and improve code quality.
Use BMC Compuware Xpediter mainframe application debugger through BMC Compuware Topaz® Workbench to test multiple conditions and scenarios and improve code quality.
Generate BMC Compuware Topaz for Total Test test cases right from your debugging session within Xpediter
Stop/start, view data, monitor, review/alter logic flow, and analyze programs from one common and familiar Eclipse-based interface
Gain intuitive understanding of application functionality—visually see program flow and I/O
Configure debug sessions to collect code coverage metrics to ensure adequate test coverage; covered and uncovered code is highlighted so areas that need attention can be spotted quickly
Quickly start interactive debugging sessions
Leverage BMC Compuware COPE®, which also integrates with BMC Compuware Abend-AID® and BMC Compuware File-AID®, enabling multiple developers to debug application code in same or separate logical IMS systems within COPE virtualized environments
Automatically execute test cases as a regression test suite
Automatically execute the right tests based on changed source code only through integration between Topaz for Total Test and ISPW
Integrate test cases into your Continuous Build and Deploy processes
Use data collected from Xpediter to automatically create test scenarios, test cases, test assertions, and test data for virtualized and non-virtualized tests (test cases can also be recorded by clicking a record button within Topaz for Total Test)
Run validation tests to ensure COBOL batch program changes haven’t caused unintended consequences
deploy
Agile development alone isn't enough for full business agility. Your business also needs to get new code into production quickly and reliably.
Use BMC Compuware ISPW's integration with Jenkins, Digital.ai Release, HCL Launch, and CloudBees Flow to orchestrate cross-platform application deployments.
Use BMC Compuware ISPW's integration with Jenkins, Digital.ai Release, and CloudBees Flow to orchestrate cross-platform application deployments.
Automate, standardize, and monitor code deployments across multiple platforms into multiple target environments (automation and monitoring includes test/QA, pre-copy staging, and code promotion)
Use BMC Compuware ISPW’s mobile interface for quick approvals to promote mainframe code faster, facilitating more rapid rollouts with fewer errors
Fallback all changes at once and replace with valid previous version if issues occur
Use the intuitive hierarchical chart in the event of failed deployment to pinpoint failure for corrective action
Diagnose and fix issues with a suite of troubleshooting tools available via Topaz Workbench
Use ISPW’s web interface to view status of deploy requests and environments where code is deployed
ISPW’s integrations with DevOps tools like Jenkins and Digital.ai Release enable teams to automate, standardize, and monitor code deployments across several platforms into multiple target environments.
Get detailed release flow analytics, including how long each step took
Remediate bottlenecks or other issues in code promotion to ensure smooth delivery process
Video: Forrester TEI - “The Total Economic Impact of BMC Compuware ISPW and Topaz”
Case Study: Top European Bank Chooses BMC Compuware Strobe, Gets Results
MONITOR
DevOps needs to monitor mainframe application performance to reduce the time it takes to identify and fix performance problems, as well as prevent elongated elapsed times for customers.
Use BMC Compuware ThruPut Manager to proactively control IT costs by measuring performance, identifying waste, and removing inefficiencies.
Use BMC Compuware Strobe to monitor applications for peak periods of CPU usage and identify jobs contributing to your rolling 4-hour average (R4HA).
Identify jobs that contribute most to peak R4HA periods
Schedule measurements during periods when online regions are consistently high-use consumers of CPU
Capture elapsed and CPU times for selected jobs using Batch Global Monitoring, automatically initiating measurements if breaches of threshold occur
Capture both current and R4HA MSU usage and high CPU consumers with SMF Global Monitoring
Create optimized MSU usage history in preparation for adopting IBM Tailored Fit Pricing
Tune and monitor jobs to prevent future problems
Initiate measurement directly from Strobe Insight Report to identify root cause of high CPU
Automatically monitor R4HA usage and reduce MSU consumption to lower MLC including across different CECs when Country Multiplex Pricing is utilized
Automatically prioritize critical jobs and ensure production batch job workloads run on time or earlier through an integration with BMC’s Control-M
Apply policy-based administration to every job every execution so they are always managed the same
Ensure batch workload runs as efficiently as possible, delivering significant savings
Balance workload and improve batch throughput to deliver significant savings
Obtain visually intuitive insight into how batch jobs are managed and executed via web interface
CLICK TO ENLARGE
Video: Proactively Monitor Mainframe Application Performance with BMC Compuware Strobe
eBook: DORA Metrics for Mainframe DevOps
MEASURE
Mainframe DevOps Managers need to continuously deliver innovations on time without compromising quality. To get there, they need key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to understand the performance and efficiency of the development team in order to continuously improve.
Use BMC Compuware zAdviser to access KPI Dashboards with a comprehensive view of mainframe development and operations behaviors.
Identify how often changes and deployments lead to failures
Mean Time to Recovery: See how quickly your teams recover from an interruption due to system or deployment failure
Deployment Frequency: Measure how frequently your development teams are deploying to production
Lead Time for Changes: Know how quickly new or updated code can be deployed once it’s committed
Video: Continuously Improve with DORA Metrics for Mainframe DevOps
Blog: Top 4 Reasons Your Mainframe Team Needs ChatOps
Diagnose
Developers need to reduce the tedious and time-consuming task of manually cross-referencing pages of recorded application memory information with pages of application code to understand why an application failure occurred.
Use BMC Compuware Abend-AID for quick alerts when application faults occur. Work as a team with ChatOps to resolve Abends on mission critical applications.
Provides access to numerous integration points with BMC Compuware Topaz Workbench. Also includes third-party integration with Syncsort Ironstream including a Splunk app to help with analysis
Be proactive with an integration with BMC Compuware zAdviser uncovering trends and critical areas requiring attention
Capture information on mainframe application and systems abends in real time across multiple environments
Conduct root-cause analysis and confidently remediate issues regardless of complexity
Reduce production and development downtime, as well as reduce time-to-market for new functionality
Speed time to resolution: Get automated failure alerts utilizing ChatOps via Slack or Teams with links to root cause analysis for faster remediation
Blog: Notify, Then Inform with Automated Trouble Ticket Creation
Case Study: The Bank of Ireland Improves Efficiency with BMC Compuware Strobe
Tune
Mainframe application performance monitoring and analysis are keys to reducing the time it takes to identify and fix performance problems and prevent elongated elapsed times for customers. BMC Compuware Strobe has been modernized to make it easy to analyze and tune mainframe application performance.
Use BMC Compuware Strobe to identify program statements that consume excessive CPU.
Use BMC Compuware Strobe Profile Summary Compare
Leverage a treemap to easily understand how applications use CPU data without having to parse through excessive data clutter
View resources and percentage of CPU time used within modules and control sections, display procedure names and statement numbers, and provide complete line of source code
Identify SQL statements and Db2 system services that cause excessive CPU or wait time
Use BMC Compuware Strobe Profile Summary Compare:
to quantify performance improvements realized when converting VSAM datasets to IAM datasets
for compiler, Db2, CICS, and IMS upgrades to confirm performance is within expectations when analyzing different program coding alternatives
to create an artifact for reporting
Video: Application Performance Monitoring and Analysis with BMC Compuware Strobe
feedback
Once a fault has been identified, operations teams need to get feedback to development teams quickly and seamlessly to improve mainframe application development throughout the DevOps lifecycle.
Use BMC Compuware Abend-AID with Webhook Notifications for automated alerts that instantly connect developers to root cause analysis for fast MTTR
Direct Notification: Enable direct notification of high impact production issues in Slack or Teams; Send to Web or mobile devices before even receiving a trouble ticket
ChatOps for Abend Resolution in Test: Alert team to an abend or defect in testing so developers can immediately resolve and restart the test
Automated Trouble Ticket Creation: Set up trouble tickets via Webhook Notifications into BMC Helix ITSM, Jira, ServiceNow
The evolution of your Mainframe DevOps Toolchain doesn’t stop once you achieve the desired state of agility and cross-platform integration of your DevOps workflows. In fact, you’ll probably want to build upon that achievement to enhance your company’s digital agility and efficiency even more over time. BMC Compuware's DevOps Transition Workshop is for customers who want to learn more about modernizing mainframe software delivery with DevOps. This free on-site service will help you develop a pragmatic approach to adopting DevOps practices for the mainframe that build on initiatives and capabilities already in place at your organization.
workshop
DevOps Transition
Whitepaper: Mainstreaming the Mainframe
