Brightside 4.0 Advances Mainframe Modernization with Enterprise-grade Extras

Published in

Modern Mainframe

7 min readJul 25, 2022

Now that Zowe has cleared the early-adopter hurdle with the introduction of Zowe V2 LTS, it’s not surprising to learn, the number of mainframe customers interested in some form of experimentation with one or more components is on the rise. Zowe not only introduces open source to mainframe, its transformative approach to interacting via API services fundamentally changes the way mainframe infrastructure is managed and mainframe apps are developed. Zowe is an enabler; a foundation on which to build. The power lies in its extensibility and connectedness. This opens the door to rationalize on tooling and proven technologies — both open source and vendor instantiated — already in use within your organization. If you think of Zowe as holding the keys to the open-first approach for mainframe automation & modernization initiatives, think of Brightside as your must-have starter kit for implementing them. The recently introduced 4.0 release is what you want to grab sooner rather than later to be in a position to take advantage of the latest advances in mainframe open source and stay ahead of the competition.

Support for open source and more

Brightside 4.0 is more than support for Zowe V2. The offering can be characterized into 3 categories: (1) Support for Open Source, (2) entitlement for proprietary software that is built-on-open, and (3) a “beyond code” partnership that lends a helping hand when you need one. We believe it is these three in combination that provide organizations with what is necessary to complete their mainframe transformation. Confidence in using open solutions, quick access to supplemental technologies that enhance them, as well as non-technical extras designed to guide, facilitate, educate and assist in getting to the finish line are key to successful modernize-in-place efforts. Let’s take a closer look at each.

First, be confident in not only trying but implementing open source solutions.

Support for Open Source. Broadcom provides 24 x 7 enterprise-grade support for several open source projects. We characterize enterprise-grade as what you would expect with any vendor-owned product: always-available staff, traditional issue monitoring and tracking, access to SMEs, training and education. Supported projects include:

The Open Mainframe Project Zowe core components and plug-ins for all of the ACTIVE & MAINTENANCE LTS continuous delivery releases. They include:

Zowe API Mediation Layer*
Zowe App Framework*
Zowe Command Line Interface*
Zowe Explorer*
IBM® CICS® Plug-in for Zowe CLI
IBM® Db2® Database Plug-in for Zowe CLI
IBM® IMS™ Plug-in for Zowe CLI
IBM MQ for z/OS Plug-in for Zowe CLI
z/OS FTP Plug-in for Zowe CLI

*Minimum component support coverage required to earn the comprehensive Support Provider badge via the Zowe Conformant Support Provider Program. Brightside is recognized via the OMP interactive landscape, as a Comprehensive Support Provider for Zowe V1 and Zowe V2. Introduced in Sept 2021, the program was designed to vet the applicants’ ability to both support core components and contribute code back to Zowe in a timely manner, resulting in an easy search & select for certified support vendors.

Brightside is a Zowe Conformant Support Provider

The Code4z VS Code Extension Pack. The pack includes extensions that help new-to-mainframe users understand program logic and become effective and efficient in developing mainframe applications with minimal platform knowledge. Code4z covers the end-to-end needs of a mainframe developer including extensions for resource access, edit, compile, debug, fault analysis, test and test data editing. This group of Visual Studio Code extensions presented together — like a bundle — make it easy for organizations to recommend and users to decide how to build their mainframe-centric modern workspace. Brightside 4.0 includes support for all Code4z 2.x releases.

The software is available at the Visual Studio Marketplace as well as the Open VSX Registry. We’ve included a Code4z Overview PDF at support.broadcom.com in the “My Downloads” to help you navigate to the latest components and their installation instructions.

Second, Leverage innovative solutions to further your initiatives.

Entitlement for proprietary software. Similar to 3.0, Brightside 4.0 includes Broadcom proprietary software that seamlessly interacts with and complements the foundational Zowe components. Brightside customers are entitled to download, install and use these extensions. These fully supported z/OS components are available in both PSWI and SMP/E form. They are:

Test4z: Broadcom data verification APIs that introduce highly-efficient, distributed-style test automation concepts to mainframe. The Test4z open-first approach offers freedom-of-choice when selecting testing frameworks, which, in turn, encourages the implementation of mainframe test automation. Our Test4z public GitHub repository includes both Jest: JavaScript-based and Pytest: Python-based test framework examples which illustrate how easy it is to get started with the Jest framework. Brightside 4.0 includes Test4z 2.0 and complimentary editions of our mainframe file management and manipulation tools: File Master Plus™, File Master Plus™ for IMS and File Master Plus™ for Db2 to maximize test automation capabilities.

Zowe Conformant API-ML Extensions: Proprietary features requested by customers, engineered by Broadcom that work seamlessly with Zowe’s API Mediation Layer.

The API State Monitor for Zowe API Mediation Layer monitors the state (active, inactive, etc.) of all of the API services registered to Zowe primarily to alert for and prepare for service outages. Information is delivered to the z/OS System Log (SYSLOG) in the form of a Write To Operator (WTO) message making it easy to blend Zowe-managed service activities in with any z/OS monitoring tool and operational rules engine.
The API Audit Log for Zowe API Mediation Layer produces audit logs for all of the API services registered to Zowe. Data can be (1) further analyzed through visualization tools such as Kibana or (2) integrated into other data sources as a means to easily identify and prevent service degradation, trace and track usernames and login events for incident investigation or trouble-shoot access issues with services.

Third, we are in this effort with you!

Beyond Code. At Broadcom, we believe in partnering for success — that means we are committed to providing a helping hand even when you haven’t reported an issue. We call this aspect of our offering “beyond code”. All Brightside customers are entitled to:

Broadcom Web-based training courses at no additional cost
Request demonstrations/meetings with technical experts and product management
Schedule personalized workshop events to help progress open-first modernization initiatives

Broadcom’s strategic commitment to Open-First

In addition to support for open source projects, we are always looking for ways to ensure your experience remains consistent and your trust is uncompromised. To that end, we certify every open source release prior to posting distributions and respond quickly to accommodate your needs.

Want to acquire, install, and maintain Zowe the same way you install other Broadcom products? For the Zowe runtime z/OS components, you’ll find both a traditional SMP/E distribution as well as a Portable Software Instance (PSWI) for use with z/OSMF
Already have a Zowe distribution and you’d rather not re-install? We support any authentic Zowe distribution
Looking for an offline package with all Zowe Conformant Broadcom product extensions? You’ll find an all-inclusive LOCAL PACKAGE .zip file at the “My Downloads” at support.broadcom.com
Prefer a registry distribution for Zowe CLI? We’ve got that too! Same place! Look for the Brightside CLI 4.0 Registry entry
Concerned about upgrading to Zowe v2? Brightside is an OMP certified Zowe Conformant Support Provider. We’ve got SMEs for all components to help with the upgrade AND you’ve got time to plan your upgrade. Support continues for Zowe V1 LTS throughout the maintenance phase (See the Zowe Release Timeline).

Interested in speaking to the Product team? Feel free to contact us!

Brightside: Rose.Sakach@broadcom.com
Zowe Client-Side Components: Rose.Sakach@broadcom.com
Zowe z/OS Components: Elliot.Jalley@broadcom.com
Code4z: Ekaterina.Tumanova@broadcom.com
Test4z: Petr.Vacula@broadcom.com

There’s never been a better time to be a Broadcom Customer

If you are a Broadcom customer you’ve probably heard us speak about our “Open-First” strategy. As a Broadcom employee, we live it. Broadcom utilizes open source and is committed to delivering open interfaces, conformant extensions, applications and innovations that serve as the foundation for the open-first strategy. In addition, we’ve introduced an offering that makes it easier than ever to ensure you are well positioned to modernize critical areas at your own pace. Our DevOps Suite is a comprehensive solution that includes Brightside and a number of products that facilitate the adoption of hybrid tools and practices. As a leader and major contributor in open source communities like Zowe, Broadcom is uniquely positioned to provide the level of support and partnership customers expect and can rely on. Mainframe CAN be as easy to use and to automate as any other platform. That IS the Brightside of open-first. Let us help you get there with Brightside 4.0!

Read more about Zowe V2 LTS:

https://medium.com/zowe/zowe-version-2-1434a1e1ed88 https://techchannel.com/Trends/07/2022/zowe-lts-v2

More details about Broadcom’s Zowe Conformant API Mediation Layer Extensions: https://medium.com/modern-mainframe/two-innovations-for-the-zowe-api-mediation-layer-from-broadcom-f2994d845ce

Hear what customers are doing with Zowe: June 2022 Zowe Quarterly Webinar

Learn about Test4z: https://medium.com/modern-mainframe/test4z/home

Learn about Code4z: https://medium.com/modern-mainframe/vscode/home

Getting Started with Zowe V2: https://docs.zowe.org/stable/getting-started/release-notes/v2_0_0

Zowe CLI V2 Reference Blogs:

Zowe Explorer V2 Reference Blog: https://medium.com/zowe/team-configuration-the-new-sheriff-in-town-fffa4572e983

Brightside 4.0 Advances Mainframe Modernization with Enterprise-grade Extras

Written by Rose Sakach