Release notes for CICS Explorer Version 5.2.0

Copyright statement

What's new in this release?

CICS Explorer® Version 5.2.0.2 includes the following new function:

CICS Explorer is available for the OS X 10.10 Yosemite operating system.

CICS Explorer Version 5.2.0 includes the following new and changed function:

Define FILE, JVMSERVER, PIPELINE, TCPIPSERVICE and WEBSERVICE resources in a CICS® Bundle project
View details of, and work with, an application installed on a platform
Manage multiple versions of applications installed on a platform
Additional content in the CICSplex Explorer view
Further support for CICS policies
New Repository Explorer view
New Operation views:
- Task related User Exits
- Global User Exits
- Shared TS Queues
- Transaction Dumps
- System Dumps
- Unit of Work Links
Updated Pipelines view
New Workload Management views:
- WLM Specifications
- WLM Specification Editor
- Active Workload Definition, also known as Routing Rules, Editor

For more information about the new and changed function, see What's new in version 5.2 in the CICS Explorer Help Contents.

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System requirements and prerequisites

The CICS Explorer system requirements are listed on the System Requirements page on the CICS Explorer website.

Before you upgrade to CICS Explorer Version 5.2, it is advisable to take a backup of your CICS Explorer workspace so that you can use it to restore the workspace to a previous version. When you upgrade to CICS Explorer Version 5.2 from Version 5.1.0 or earlier, the data that is stored in your existing workspaces is automatically migrated to the new data format when those workspaces are used with CICS Explorer Version 5.2. The workspaces will no longer work with CICS Explorer Version 5.1.0 or earlier. Therefore, if you need to work with CICS Explorer Version 5.1.0 or earlier, you must back up your existing workspace before you upgrade. If you upgrade to CICS Explorer Version 5.2 from Version 5.1.1, your existing workspaces are not migrated, but it still advisable to take a backup. For more information about taking a backup of the CICS Explorer workspace, see Installing the CICS Explorer in the CICS TS product information.

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Downloading CICS Explorer

The CICS Explorer product is a combination of two Explorer products: The z/OS® Explorer, which provides the host connection and z/OS functions, and the CICS Explorer SDK, which provides the CICS functions. The CICS Explorer SDK consists of three features: CICS Explorer, CICS SDK for Java™ support, and CICS SDK for web and JSP support. The CICS Explorer SDK also contains a copy of z/OS Explorer, although this copy is ignored in certain installation scenarios.

There are many different download scenarios, including IBM Installation Manager, direct download, or Eclipse P2. The download scenarios are listed on the CICS Explorer download web page, which is available from the CICS Explorer product page.

CICS Explorer can be installed in a number of different locations, for example on a local workstation, a shared Linux server, or a remote network drive. The following instructions guide you to installing the CICS Explorer direct download on a local workstation. This download includes all the CICS Explorer features, and the z/OS Explorer. For more information about other installation options, see Installing the CICS Explorer in the CICS TS product information.

Before you upgrade to CICS Explorer Version 5.2, it is advisable to take a backup of your CICS Explorer workspace so that you can use it to restore the workspace to a previous version. When you upgrade to CICS Explorer Version 5.2 from Version 5.1.0 or earlier, the data that is stored in your existing workspaces is automatically migrated to the new data format when those workspaces are used with CICS Explorer Version 5.2. The workspaces will no longer work with CICS Explorer Version 5.1.0 or earlier. Therefore, if you need to work with CICS Explorer Version 5.1.0 or earlier, you must back up your existing workspace before you upgrade. If you upgrade to CICS Explorer Version 5.2 from Version 5.1.1, your existing workspaces are not migrated, but it still advisable to take a backup. For more information about taking a backup of the CICS Explorer workspace, see Installing the CICS Explorer in the CICS TS product information.

To download the CICS Explorer compressed file:

Navigate to the CICS Explorer website and click the Direct Download link. Select the CICS Explorer files for your operating system:
- For the Windows operating system, download the CICS Explorer for Microsoft Windows .zip file, for example:
  cicsts_explorer_win32_v5.2.0.2.zip
- For the Linux operating system, download the CICS Explorer for Linux .tar.gz file, for example:
  cicsts_explorer_linux_v5.2.0.2.tar.gz
- For the OS X Yosemite 10.10 operating system, download the CICS Explorer for OS X .zip file, for example:
  cicsts_explorer_macosx_v5.2.0.2.zip
Review the license agreement, and click the relevant response.
- If you click I agree, download to the download directory for your web browser begins automatically.
- If you click I do not agree, the download ends.
When the download is complete, extract the contents of the compressed file to a suitable writable directory. The top level directory in the compressed download is CICS_Explorer. You can copy this CICS_Explorer directory entirely, or copy the contents of this directory to another directory you have created. If you choose another directory, ensure that it does not contain any other files.
- Example directories on Windows are as follows:
  C:\Program Files (x86)\CICS_Explorer
  
  C:\Users\my_user_name\CICS_Explorer_V5.2
- An example directory on Linux or OS X is as follows:
  ~/CICS_Explorer
For the OS X 10.10 Yosemite operating system, the CICS Explorer download does not include a Java runtime environment (JRE). Therefore, ensure that you have installed the Java SE Development Kit 7 from the Oracle website.

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Starting CICS Explorer

To start CICS Explorer, double-click the file cicsexplorer.exe (cicsexplorer on Linux or OS X), in a subdirectory called CICS_Explorer. The first time CICS Explorer starts, the welcome screen is displayed.

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Getting started

The CICS Explorer help documentation is integrated with the product and also available with the CICS TS product information. The help includes a basic tutorial and instructions to configure a connection. To display the CICS Explorer basic tutorial, use one of the following methods:

From the welcome screen, click the Tutorials icon. The icon names are displayed when you hover over them.
From the menu bar, click Help > Help Contents > CICS Explorer User Guide > Getting Started > Basic tutorial.

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Known issues and limitations

The following limitations exist in CICS Explorer Version 5.2.0:

Important: It is a limitation of Eclipse that before you can revert to a previous version of CICS Explorer, you must have access to an update site that contains the source code for the previous level. You can download the update site source code from the IBM Fix central website, at http://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral.
The Eclipse software update function does not fully support Eclipse Update-Sites secured with HTTP Basic Authentication. If you are connecting to an Eclipse update site that prompts for a user name and password, do not select the option to save your password when prompted because CICS Explorer does not provide a method to change your password after it is set. If the password is not saved, it must be entered each time the CICS Explorer connects to the update site. If a password is saved and later needs changing, manual editing of configuration files would be required.
If you are running CICS Explorer SDK on Windows 7, with Java 7, and the Windows firewall enabled, the following error might occur:
```
java.net.SocketException: Connection reset
```
You can use one of the following methods to resolve the issue:
- Use Java 6
- Add a firewall exception for the Java binary
- Add the following vm arg to your eclipse.ini file:
```
-Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true
```
  .

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