Empowering z/OS businesses to deliver changes faster, cheaper, and better with on-demand environments for Dev and Test

Mainframe Modernisation in Hyperdrive

Brand New PopUp Handbook

Your guide on your mainframe modernisation journey

The PopUp Handbook covers:

the future of mainframe
how to eat the elephant of mainframe modernisation
shift left testing
increasing agility
accelerating batch testing

… and much more

View Handbook

DevOps Dozen 2023 – Vote Now!

We are very proud that PopUp Mainframe is listed as a finalist in two categories:

Best DevOps for Mainframe Solution
Best New DevOps Tools/Service Provider

The winner depends on a public vote. Please vote for us now!

Vote Now

Provision z/OS Environments with APIs

Use automation pipelines to provision and scale z/OS “Gold Copy” environments instantly

Mainframe in the Cloud

Modernise your organisation strategy with z/OS in the cloud

Mainframe Self-service

z/OS test environments are now a commodity

Data Compliance & Data Masking

Fully data-compliant z/OS environments with state-of-the-art data masking

Agile z/OS Projects

z/OS environments created on-demand accelerate projects dependent on z/OS

Dedicated z/OS Environments

Create isolated environments for development, use with desktop IDE, testing, R&D, training & more!

Reduce Hardware Costs

z/OS test environments run on x86 commodity hardware and in the cloud

Reduce Total Cost of Ownership

Turn off z/OS test environments when not needed, reducing energy usage and CO₂ emissions

MAINFRAME WITHOUT LIMITS

1. TECHNOLOGY

PopUp Mainframe delivers Red Hat Enterprise Linux distribution with IBM’s zD&T mainframe emulator pre-installed, preconfigured and ready for work on any enterprise hardware you choose.

2. USE CASES

PopUp Mainframe enables the instant rollout of a mainframe for testing, development, R&D, software evaluation or training – integrated seamlessly with your IT estate.

3. BENEFITS

PopUp Mainframe enables organisations to include mainframe in their cloud strategy. It removes the need for siloed mainframe skills, making mainframe environment self-service a reality.

Which software runs on PopUp?

PopUp supports z/OS 2.4 and 2.5, TSO/ISPF, DB2, CICS, IMS, MQ and ANY 3rd party z/OS software.

It is a fully provisioned z/OS and runs real z/OS code.

How quickly can you setup a PopUp?

PopUp can be up and running in under 2 hours. PopUp can be installed and run instantly like an app on desktop, server (in VMs and containers) and the Cloud.

Can I connect PopUp to a physical mainframe?

YES. You can copy application data, executables and source libraries onto the PopUp using an IBM utility, FTP or Connect Direct. If you use a desktop IDE (e.g. Topaz) to connect to your mainframe, you can also use it to connect to your a PopUp.

What can I do on PopUp?

Anything that you might already do on a z/OS – testing and development, R&D, third party software evaluation, training for testers and developers.

What can I NOT do on PopUp?

Volume testing or live production work is not allowed, as the zD&T license forbids it. Performance testing is not allowed, and the disk is different between a physical z/OS and the PopUp so would give different results.

Certain kinds of encryption are not available in PopUp.

What is the difference between PopUp and ZD&T?

Our explainer video describes the differences between PopUp and ZD&T.

How many PopUps can I have?

As many as you need. You can have one or multiple Linux servers running PopUp and you can save PopUp’s config, system and application data at any point in the PopUp’s life and restore it at will.

How do I maintain my PopUp?

To keep maintenance to an absolute minimum, it is recommended to restore your PopUp back to the beginning of its life for each new use. For ad hoc problems that may crop up, you can use your own z/OS system admin to resolve them.

Do I need to have z/OS or green screen skills in order to use a PopUp?

No! In fact PopUp enables developers with absolutely no z/OS experience to connect with, configure and develop z/OS systems with zero risk to the physical z/OS. See this blog for more information.

COVID-19 has dramatically accelerated the need for organisations to digitally transform and to find ways to save time and money. Until now, mainframes have been hugely expensive to upgrade or change with niche skills required to manipulate managed environments.

This has led us to develop PopUp Mainframe, harnessing the power of IBM’s zD&T mainframe emulator to enable you to spin up as many mainframe environments as you need, cheaply and quickly. Development teams or individuals can now have their own mainframe to boost project performance to a new level.

Note

PopUp Mainframe should be used only for development, testing, employee education, or demonstration of Licensee’s applications that run on z/OS. It cannot be used for production workloads of any kind, including without limitation, production module builds, pre-production testing, stress testing, or performance testing. Additionally, PopUp Mainframe is not authorized to be used for code refactoring or re-engineering with the intention to re-platform existing z/OS based applications, for processing production workloads, simulating production workloads or testing scalability of any code, application, or system. For additional information, please refer to IBM ZD&T License Information.