An important advantage of using VMARC is that there is a WMAWin application on Windows that allows you at least to view which CMS files are stored in the VMARC, as well as to view or even extract some. A VMFPLCD file is of no use once sitting on a PC. I could no longer live without VMAWin given that I no longer have my favorite VM systems of my former client.
2009/9/3 David Boyes <[email protected]> > On 9/2/09 5:07 PM, "Alan Altmark" <[email protected]> wrote: > > I don't think the packaging format is an issue. If people are > *permitted* > > to run shareware on their z/VM systems, they do. > > I respectfully disagree. If there is a configuration management system in > place on the system, it should be possible for ANYTHING added to the system > to participate in it. > > Part of the reason why most of the IBM enterprise configuration management > products don't work very well on VM is that most of the non-IBM software > DOESN'T use the packaging system because we don't understand how to do it. > It's also really annoying to change management people when we have to use > an > exception to get something really useful onto the system and have no way > for > it to show up in the system "master software catalog". > > > For those that can, far simpler is to put a bunch of Good Things on a > > single minidisk. Then use VMFPLCD to create an envelope containing the > > content. Post the envelope somewhere and the instructions for restoring > > it. That's about as easy as it's going to get, I think. > > Easy isn't the point. Consistency is. COPYFILE is easy. COPYFILE doesn't > show up in VMFINF like every other thing. Doesn't use the same maintenance > tools. Doesn't use the same installation process. Can't be easily migrated > using automation. Can't be interrogated remotely and fed into a CMDB, etc, > etc, etc. > -- Kris Buelens, IBM Belgium, VM customer support
