Deploying a CICS bundle project

You can deploy a CICS® bundle directly to a z/OS® UNIX System Services (z/OS UNIX) file system from CICS Explorer™, and use a BUNDLE resource to create resources dynamically for you. A BUNDLE resource defines a bundle, the unit of deployment for an application.

About this task

A bundle project is a collection of CICS resources, artifacts, references, and a manifest that you can deploy into a CICS region to represent all or part of an application. The manifest is a file that describes the contents of the bundle, including any prerequisite system resources for the application. CICS does not dynamically create these system resources but can check that they are present in the CICS region. This separation of resources means that you can install the same application into multiple CICS regions without repackaging or redeploying the bundle.

When you have created a CICS bundle project in CICS Explorer, you must export it to a z/OS UNIX file system. You must also define and enable a BUNDLE resource for the bundle project. CICS then creates the bundle project application resources dynamically for you.

Note: If you are not authorized to deploy the bundle directly to a z/OS file system, you can export the CICS bundle project as a compressed file to your local file system. For more information, see Exporting a CICS bundle project to your local file system.

Procedure

  1. Right-click your CICS bundle project and select Export to z/OS UNIX File System. The Export to z/OS UNIX File System dialog opens.
    A screen capture of the Export to Unix File System dialog. The screen capture shows a parent directory of /u/nbishop/ and a bundle directory of /u/nbishop/Bundle. The name of the Bundle Directory is the parent directory with the bundle name appended.
    The Bundle project field contains the name of your bundle project. Alternatively, you can type the name of a bundle project in the field or click Browse to select a project.
  2. In the Connection field, select either an existing connection to an FTP port by clicking the twistie, or click the connection text hyperlink to define a new connection of type System z - FTP.
  3. In the Parent Directory field, specify the name of a z/OS UNIX file system directory as a target for the transfer. This can be a new directory or an existing directory. When you type the name of a directory folder, the directory tree is refreshed and this folder, if it exists, is shown as the root. If you double-click a folder, this folder becomes the root of the tree. Alternatively, you can select from the tree and navigate to the directory. The Bundle Directory field shows the directory, and the name of the folder where the bundle will be exported to, in that directory. By default, the folder name is the same as the bundle name, but you can overtype the name if you want to change it.
  4. Optional: Select the Clear existing contents of Bundle directory check box to remove any folders and files in the target directory before performing the file transfer. If you do not select the check box and a folder by that name exists, the export does not take place.
  5. Click Finish.

Results

The bundle project is exported to z/OS UNIX.

What to do next

Note: When you have created and deployed your bundle using the CICS Explorer, you should ensure proper management of the bundle source. The bundle cannot be reconstructed from the exported data in zFS, and a failure of your workstation would cause the data to be lost. You can use the Export function of CICS Explorer to export the bundle and check it in to a source code management system.

You must now define and enable a BUNDLE resource for the application bundle. See BUNDLE resource definitions in the CICS TS Information center for more information. When the BUNDLE resource is enabled, CICS reads the manifest in the bundle directory and dynamically creates the application resources. It also checks that any required references, for example to programs or files, outside the application are present in the CICS region, so that the application can run successfully.