Hello linux-390 and IBMBM lists, zoom (System z object-oriented management) and zuess (System z user-enabled self-service) are open-source packages that provide "Private Cloud" on IBM mainframe hardware, the z/VM hipervisor and the GNU/Linux operating system - arguably the most solid and mature virtualization trio on earth. They provide three interfaces for systems management of Linux on the mainframe: 1) Command line (zoom) 2) Web UI (zuess) 3) RESTful API (zuess)
Together, they create a "self-service portal", where end users can build new Linux systems*, rebuild*, destroy* power-on and off, add and remove CPUs and memory non-disruptively, and report on these systems. It also has a complete "cookbook" with a user guide and command reference. (* some code has to be written by the user) Also supported are: -) An authentication/authorization mechanism for operations on data or systems -) Ability to run Linux or z/VM commands and copy files with "passwordless" SSH -) Inline Web editing of metadata fields "description" and "owner" -) Quotas for CPUs and memory used by Linux group -) A second level arbitrary grouping mechanism below Linux groups -) A locking mechanism for systems being operated on -) User preferences -) z/VM DASD, FCP and OSA device reporting -) Monitoring, Software as a Service and live guest relocation are works in progress The main Web page is https://sourceforge.net/projects/system-zoom/ The document in PDF: https://sourceforge.net/projects/system-zoom/files/zoom.pdf/download The download page is https://sourceforge.net/projects/system-zoom/files/ You should see six files available for download: README.txt Basic information - this file zoom-3-XX.s390x.rpm The "back-end" RPM - CLI to be installed on a zLinux system zuess-3-XX.s390x.rpm The "front-end" RPM - Web UI to be installed on same zLinux system zoom.pdf The documentation - if you just want to read about it zoom.tgz Tar file with zoom code - if you just want to see the CLI code zuess.tgz Tar file with zuess code - if you just want to see the UI code The version was bumped to 3 because of the new "zoom tree" data structure. To create a zoom cluster of multiple z/VM systems, one zoom server on one z/VM system calls the "zaddserver" command to combine another zoom server on a different z/VM LPAR. The first server becomes to be the "primary", and the second server becomes the "secondary". The primary server can then add any number of additional servers on different z/VM LPARs which all become "tertiary". The primary and secondary servers each maintain an identical copy of the complete zoom tree. Each tertiary server only maintains a tree with clients on that z/VM LPAR. Think of this as an active-active configuration. Should the primary server fail, the secondary will be a hot standby. It should be possible to create a Virtual IP address (VIP) that would load balance between the two servers. For data reliability and operation integrity, when clients (managed guests) are being operated on, they are locked. So if two administrators try to reboot the same client, the first one will succeed, and the second one will get a “system is locked” message. Locks are maintained on the primary sever, but if it is down, they are maintained on the secondary. The zuess Web User Interface was designed with the goal of giving users in an organization Self-Service portal to z/VM and zLinux resources. It requires that a Web server be running on the zoom server (only Apache has been tested). With version 3.0, access to the Web UI is split into two categories (1) Read-only - the home page and any other page that does not perform operations is in a directory (usually /srv/www/cgi-bin/) open to all users. No audit trail is needed, so no user/group information is available. (2) Read-write - any page that performs any operation or makes any change to the tree is in a directory that is password protected (usually /srv/www/cgi-bin/zuess/). Once the user supplies valid credentials, the user name is maintained along with their primary and secondary groups. An audit trail is maintained in the zoom log file (usually /var/log/zoom.log). OK, that's probably enough description. Phil Tully and I presented on this at the last SHARE and MVMUA. Both were pretty well received. Unfortunately, no more presentations are planned at this time. If anyone does get it set up, please let me know. What would be great is a contribution of some Linux/VM code to do build (clone to new VM), rebuild (clone to existing) and destroy. All of those operations are outlined in the file /usr/local/src/userexits.stubs. It would have to be copied to userexits.local. What we do in house is put a message on the zoom server's console, IBM OpsMgr traps it and calls the appropriate REXX EXEC. I'd imagine the sample code could use PROP instead. A free six-pack of the beer of your choice to the first person to do that! A great goal would be to get to a series of three one hour labs where (1) Linux/zoom/zuess are installed, (2) a zoom tree is created and the Web UI set up, and (3) all the teams in the class cluster the zoom servers together. Wouldn't that be cool to come back from SHARE or VM Workshop and say "Yeah, I set up Private Cloud on the mainframe in three hours with open source tools"? Simultaneously, that exercise would help drive out the bugs which are certainly there. C'mon community, stop letting "distributed" beat us at Cloud! -- -Mike MacIsaac ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For LINUX-390 subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@vm.marist.edu with the message: INFO LINUX-390 or visit http://www.marist.edu/htbin/wlvindex?LINUX-390 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information on Linux on System z, visit http://wiki.linuxvm.org/
