Z/OS is famously untouchable as a production engine – but sometimes the resources allocated for R&D, DevOps, even training, can be scarce. Yet elsewhere on the mainframe there is fantastic technology, and processors, waiting to be utilized. Which is why we announced PopUp Mainframe Z Edition recently – to enable mainframe teams to leverage IFL and Linux resources to accelerate key elements of the mainframe SDLC and their application delivery cycle. 

Furthermore, we introduced a new FastTrack facility, too, which enables mainframe teams to bookmark, share, and reset entire z/OS environments, to further accelerate mainframe productivity with a highly flexible approach to implementing change.

We’re often also asked then how best can PopUp Mainframe support which mainframe delivery use cases. Let’s explore some typical use cases we hear from clients and explain how PopUp can help, including the new FastTrack facility.

A People Perspective

The best approach to looking at typical scenarios is to consider the people undertaking mainframe change – and the capabilities that would resolve their current predicament.

• QA Leaders:
  • Testing a new feature? Taking a z/OS environment snapshot before you start testing then means it can be used time and time again to provide a clean test environment for test reruns, with no test setup activities required.​ Condensing multiple test-runs into a finite time window is no longer an impossible task.
• DBA/AppSupport/Admin:
  • Upgrading a subsystem release? Snapshot the current state before you upgrade so that you can compare the old and new versions of that subsystem but leaving the rest of the environment the same. FastTrack’s snapshot and export features enable teams to run 2 PopUps side by side, aluxury in normal mainframe environments. ​
• Development Leaders:
  • Working on a new feature in development or R&D? Snapshot before and during that development activity, enabling innovation new ideas – without the worry about breaking your z/OS environment. Because if you do, it is just a simple reset to a previous snapshot, before continuing to innovate. In the move fast and break things generation, there has never been the freedom to “take chances” using mainframe resources. Freedom and flexibility are now part of the mainframe team kitbag.
• Operations/Admin/Development Support
  • Need a consistent, managed environment for everyone? Want to move ahead with a more unified process across your teams? FastTrack can enable you to replicate precisely the same z/OS environment (and data, and application instances, and subsystem versions) to ensure you adhere to consistent standards. A process that might take weeks now is possible within moments.

Of course, this list is nowhere near exhaustive – the concept of traveling back in time whenever required is a facility most mainframe technicians would find useful for all manner of situations.

High Speed Innovation with FastTrack

In each of the cases above, using the FastTrack facility within PopUp Mainframe offers a potentially revolutionary breakthrough for productivity to help achieve important technical objectives in a mainframe change program faster than ever.

FastTrack can keep a history of data and configuration changes to enable self-service snapshot, reset, and export of PopUp instances to other virtual machines​. Users can share and revert to baseline configurations flexibly and simply.

With FastTrack you can:

• ​Refresh PopUp instances with the latest mainframe data​

• Create multiple snapshots at any time (baseline code/data, delta code, delta code/data, etc.) ​
• Restore back (reset) to any snapshot in minutes​
• Export any PopUp instance with snapshots to new virtual machines running PopUp Mainframe X or Z Editions​
• FastTrack’s semi-automated command line driven scripting dramatically reduces admin effort​

We are certain that the time saved in avoiding rework and configurations – as enabled by this capability – could be a game-changing productivity benefit for mainframe teams.

Summary

The PopUp Mainframe FastTrack facility (available for both Z and X editions) is a brand-new capability to enable mainframe teams to significantly accelerate mainframe productivity and help meet strategic objectives:

• ​Speed of Delivery​ – Automatic sharing and resetting of environments across teams reduces effort and accelerates throughput​
• ​Flexibility​ – Rapidly-available pre-configured environments enables more resources to support peak project activities​
• ​Risk Management– Sharing data and delegating access stays within data compliance policy

For more details,look at the FastTrack product documentation.