Releases¶
Version 1.3.0-beta.1¶
What’s New¶
Modules
zos_apf
- Add or remove libraries to and from Authorized Program Facility (APF).zos_backup_restore
- Backup and restore data sets and volumes.zos_blockinfile
- Manage block of multi-line textual data on z/OS.zos_find
- Find matching data sets.zos_data_set
- added support to allocate and format zFS data sets
Playbooks
In each release, we continue to expand on the use cases and deliver several new playbooks in the playbook repository that can be easily tailored to any system.
Authorize and synchronize APF authorized libraries on z/OS from a configuration file cloned from GitHub
Automate program execution with copy, sort and fetch data sets on z/OS playbook.
Automate user management with add, remove, grant permission, generate passwords, create zFS, mount zFS and send email notifications when deployed to Ansible Tower or AWX with the manage z/OS Users Using Ansible playbook.
Use the configure Python and ZOAU Installation playbook to scan the z/OS target to find the latest supported configuration and generate inventory and a variables configuration.
All playbooks have been updated to use our temporary data set feature to avoid any concurrent data set name problems.
In the prior release, all sample playbooks previously included with the collection were migrated to the playbook repository. The playbook repository categorizes playbooks into z/OS concepts and topics, it also covers playbook configuration as well as provide additional community content such as blogs and where to open support tickets for the playbooks.
Bug Fixes
Modules
Module
zos_copy
was updated to fail gracefully when a it encounters a non-zero return code.Action plugin
zos_copy
was updated to support Python 2.7.Module
zos_tso_command
support was added for when the command output contained special characters.Module
zos_job_submit
referenced a non-existent option and was corrected to wait_time_s.
Documentation
All documentation related to playbook configuration has been migrated to the playbook repository. Each playbook contains a README that explains what configurations must be made to run a sample playbook.
We have been carefully reviewing our users feedback and over time we have compiled a list of information that we feel would help everyone and have released this information in our new FAQs.
Learn about the latest features and experience them before you try them through the blogs that discuss playbooks, modules, and use cases:
Running Batch Jobs on z/OS using Ansible details how to write and execute batch jobs without having to deal with JCL.
z/OS User Management With Ansible explains all about the user management playbook and its optional integration into AWX.
Reference¶
Supported by IBM Open Enterprise Python for z/OS 3.8.2 or later
Supported by IBM Z Open Automation Utilities 1.1.0
Note
There is an additional step for Z Open Automation Utilities 1.1.0 (ZOAU) over prior installations of ZOAU on the target z/OS. After you have configured IBM Open Enterprise Python on z/OS environment variables on the z/OS target and have installed ZOAU from a PAX archive or through SMPe, you will need to perform a PIP installation of the ZOAU Python libraries and ensure you have either exported or added these environment variables to your z/OS host .profile.
Variables:
export ZOAU_HOME=/usr/lpp/IBM/zoautil
export PATH=${ZOAU_HOME}/bin:$PATH
export LIBPATH=${ZOAU_HOME}/lib:${LIBPATH}
PIP installation command:
pip install zoautil_py-1.1.0.tar.gz
.This will install the ZOAU Python libraries on the z/OS target for use by z/OS Ansible core and other collections.
However, the Python installation may not have the the symbolic link for
pip
in which case you can usepip3
to install the libraries:pip3 install zoautil_py-1.1.0.tar.gz
.If the Python installation has not installed the
wheel
packaging standard and not updated thepip
version to the latest, the warning messages can be ignored.Example output:
Processing ./zoautil_py-1.1.0.tar.gzUsing legacy setup.py install for zoautil-py, since package ‘wheel’ is not installed.Installing collected packages: zoautil-pyRunning setup.py install for zoautil-py … doneSuccessfully installed zoautil-py-1.1.0WARNING: You are using pip version 20.1.1; however, version 20.2.4 is available.You should consider upgrading via the ‘<python_path>/pyz_3_8_2/usr/lpp/IBM/cyp/v3r8/pyz/bin/python3.8 -m pip install –upgrade pip’ command.Supported by z/OS V2R3 or later
The z/OS® shell
Known issues¶
Modules
When executing programs using
zos_mvs_raw
, you may encounter errors that originate in the implementation of the programs. Two such known issues are noted below of which one has been addressed with an APAR.zos_mvs_raw
module execution fails when invoking Database Image Copy 2 Utility or Database Recovery Utility in conjunction with FlashCopy or Fast Replication.zos_mvs_raw
module execution fails when invoking DFSRRC00 with parm “UPB,PRECOMP”, “UPB, POSTCOMP” or “UPB,PRECOMP,POSTCOMP”. This issue is addressed by APAR PH28089.
Version 1.2.1¶
Notes¶
Update required
Module changes
Noteworthy Python 2.x support
encode - removed TemporaryDirectory usage.
zos_copy - fixed regex support, dictionary merge operation fix
zos_fetch - fix quote import
Collection changes
Beginning this release, all sample playbooks previously included with the collection will be made available on the samples repository. The samples repository explains the playbook concepts, discusses z/OS administration, provides links to the samples support site, blogs and other community resources.
Documentation changes
In this release, documentation related to playbook configuration has been migrated to the samples repository. Each sample contains a README that explains what configurations must be made to run the sample playbook.
Availability¶
Reference¶
Supported by IBM Open Enterprise Python for z/OS: 3.8.2 or later
Supported by IBM Z Open Automation Utilities 1.0.3 PTF UI70435
Supported by z/OS V2R3 or later
The z/OS® shell
Version 1.2.0¶
Notes¶
Update recommended
Collection changes
Beginning this release, all sample playbooks previously included with the collection will be made available on the samples repository. The samples repository explains the playbook concepts, discusses z/OS administration, provides links to the samples support site, blogs and other community resources.
Documentation changes
In this release, documentation related to playbook configuration has been migrated to the samples repository. Each sample contains a README that explains what configurations must be made to run the sample playbook.
Reference¶
Supported by IBM Open Enterprise Python for z/OS: 3.8.2 or later
Supported by IBM Z Open Automation Utilities 1.0.3 PTF UI70435
Supported by z/OS V2R3
The z/OS® shell
Version 1.2.0-beta.4¶
Notes¶
Update recommended
Bugfix
Fixes a bug for zos_data_set module where some parameters were not getting passed correctly because python considers integer value of 0 to be false.
Fixes documentation in module zos_job_submit where wait_time_s should have been written as duration_s.
Fixes requirements version in sample playbook hosts-setup.yaml
Module changes
Module
zos_copy
can now use wildcards to copy multiple PDS/PDSE members to another PDS/PDSE
Reference¶
Supported by IBM Open Enterprise Python for z/OS: 3.8.2 or later
Supported by IBM Z Open Automation Utilities 1.0.3 PTF UI70435
Supported by z/OS V2R3
The z/OS® shell
Known issues¶
Modules
When executing programs using
zos_mvs_raw
, you may encounter errors that originate in the programs implementation. Two such known issues are noted below of which one has been addressed with an APAR.zos_mvs_raw
module execution fails when invoking Database Image Copy 2 Utility or Database Recovery Utility in conjunction with FlashCopy or Fast Replication.zos_mvs_raw
module execution fails when invoking DFSRRC00 with parm “UPB,PRECOMP”, “UPB, POSTCOMP” or “UPB,PRECOMP,POSTCOMP”. This issue is addressed by APAR PH28089.
Version 1.2.0-beta.3¶
Notes¶
Update recommended
Bugfix
Fixes a bug which causes action plugins to fail when collections are referenced using fully qualified collection names instead of playbook level imports
Reference¶
Supported by IBM Open Enterprise Python for z/OS: 3.8.2 or later
Supported by IBM Z Open Automation Utilities 1.0.3 PTF UI70435
Supported by z/OS V2R3
The z/OS® shell
Known issues¶
Modules
When executing programs using
zos_mvs_raw
, you may encounter errors that originate in the programs implementation. Two such known issues are noted below of which one has been addressed with an APAR.zos_mvs_raw
module execution fails when invoking Database Image Copy 2 Utility or Database Recovery Utility in conjunction with FlashCopy or Fast Replication.zos_mvs_raw
module execution fails when invoking DFSRRC00 with parm “UPB,PRECOMP”, “UPB, POSTCOMP” or “UPB,PRECOMP,POSTCOMP”. This issue is addressed by APAR PH28089.
Version 1.2.0-beta.2¶
Notes¶
Update recommended
Module changes
Update zos_fetch and zos_copy to allow for user specified SFTP transfer port.
Refactor module option backup_file to backup_name in modules
zos_copy
,zos_lineinfile
,zos_encode
.Fix
zos_copy
record format.Fix
zos_job_submit
allowable characters for data sets.Update
zos_fetch
andzos_copy
with option ignore_sftp_stderr to alter module behavior.Fix
zos_operator_action_query
so that all outstanding messages are returned.Update
zos_mvs_raw
with verbose option.
Documentation
Update documentation in support of centralized content.
New playbook to aid in generating group_vars
Reference¶
Supported by IBM Open Enterprise Python for z/OS: 3.8.2 or later
Supported by IBM Z Open Automation Utilities 1.0.3 PTF UI70435
Supported by z/OS V2R3
The z/OS® shell
Known issues¶
Modules
When executing programs using
zos_mvs_raw
, you may encounter errors that originate in the programs implementation. Two such known issues are noted below of which one has been addressed with an APAR.zos_mvs_raw
module execution fails when invoking Database Image Copy 2 Utility or Database Recovery Utility in conjunction with FlashCopy or Fast Replication.zos_mvs_raw
module execution fails when invoking DFSRRC00 with parm “UPB,PRECOMP”, “UPB, POSTCOMP” or “UPB,PRECOMP,POSTCOMP”. This issue is addressed by APAR PH28089.
Version 1.2.0-beta.1¶
Notes¶
Update recommended
New modules
zos_copy
zos_lineinfile
zos_mvs_raw
Bug fixes
Documentation updates
New samples
Module enhancements:
zos_data_set - includes full multi-volume support for data set creation, addition of secondary space option, improved SMS support with storage, data, and management classes
Availability¶
Galaxy
GitHub
Reference¶
Supported by IBM Open Enterprise Python for z/OS: 3.8.2 or later
Supported by IBM Z Open Automation Utilities 1.0.3 PTF UI70435
Supported by z/OS V2R3
The z/OS® shell
Version 1.1.0¶
Notes¶
Update recommended
New modules
zos_fetch
zos_encode
zos_operator_action_query
zos_operator
zos_tso_command
zos_ping
New filter
Improved error handling and messages
Bug fixes
Documentation updates
New samples
Availability¶
Automation Hub
Galaxy
GitHub
Reference¶
Supported by IBM Open Enterprise Python for z/OS: 3.8.2 or later
Supported by IBM Z Open Automation Utilities: 1.0.3 PTF UI70435
Supported by z/OS V2R3
The z/OS® shell
Version 1.1.0-beta1¶
Notes¶
Update recommended
New modules
zos_fetch, zos_encode, zos_operator_action_query, zos_operator, zos_tso_command, zos_ping
New filter
Improved error handling and messages
Bug fixes
Documentation updates
New samples
Availability¶
Galaxy
GitHub
Reference¶
Supported by IBM Z Open Automation Utilities: 1.0.2 or 1.0.3 PTF UI70435
Version 1.0.0¶
Notes¶
Update recommended
Security vulnerabilities fixed
Improved test, security and injection coverage
Module zos_data_set catalog support added
Documentation updates
Availability¶
Automation Hub
Galaxy
GitHub
Reference¶
Supported by IBM Z Open Automation Utilities: 1.0.1 PTF UI66957 through 1.0.3 PTF UI70435
Version 0.0.4¶
Notes¶
Update recommended
Includes fixes to modules zos_job_output and zos_job_submit
Improved buffer utilization
Optimized JSON response
Functional test cases for all modules
Updated document references
Availability¶
Galaxy
GitHub
Reference¶
Supported by IBM Z Open Automation Utilities: 1.0.1 PTF UI66957 through 1.0.3 PTF UI70435
Version 0.0.3¶
Notes¶
Update recommended
Includes updates to README.md for a malformed URL and product direction
Includes fixes for zos_data_set module
Availability¶
Galaxy
GitHub
Reference¶
Supported by IBM Z Open Automation Utilities: 1.0.1 PTF UI66957 through 1.0.3 PTF UI70435
Version 0.0.2¶
Notes¶
Update not required
Updates to the README and included docs
Availability¶
Galaxy
GitHub
Reference¶
Supported by IBM Z Open Automation Utilities: 1.0.1 PTF UI66957 through 1.0.3 PTF UI70435
Version 0.0.1¶
Notes¶
Initial beta release of IBM Z core collection, referred to as ibm_zos_core which is part of the broader offering Red Hat® Ansible Certified Content for IBM Z.
Availability¶
Galaxy
GitHub
Reference¶
Supported by IBM Z Open Automation Utilities: 1.0.1 PTF UI66957 through 1.0.3 PTF UI70435