Mainframe Integration

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Mobile Application and

Mainframe Integration

Russell Bonner

IBM

04/11/2015

Session MH

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Agenda

Business drivers for the API Economy

• Mobile, Cloud and Improving consumability and

governance

• Leveraging z Assets as APIs

End-to-end Architecture and Roles

• z/OS Connect and REST enablement

Demonstration

Discovery of z based Services

Session feedback – Do it online at http://conferences.gse.org.uk/feedback

Discovery of z based Services

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Integrate mobile across the Enterprise

• Mobile technology leaders

know they must

integrate

know they must

integrate

mobile applications with

back-end systems such as IMS

& CICS

74% of CIOs

say mobile solutions

are part of their vision

for increasing

competitiveness

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APIs represent a new,

fast-growing channel

opportunity

Business models

are evolving

Branch

Toll-free

Website

Web APIs

APIs are a path to new business

opportunities

By 2018,

68%

_{of all mobile apps will be powered by API’s}

By 2016,

50%

of

B2B collaboration

will take

place through

Web APIs

Sources: Gartner, Predicts 2012: Application Development, 4Q, 2011; Gartner, Govern Your Services and Manage Your APIs with Application Services Governance, 4Q 2012; Gartner, Open for Business: Learn to Profit by Open Data, 1Q 2012

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77% of the Top 50 apps connect to a

backend service

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Business Drivers for API Management for

z Systems

A. Mobilizing mainframe assets

• Mobile app requires access to backend services

• IBM z Systems clients have made a

significant investment

over a

long period of

time

in developing many valuable application assets.

• Irrespective of the starting point, the same APIs will be effective for all scenarios

• Business requires the

ability to publish

these services to mobile app developers

• Business requires the ability to monitor and manage usage of backend services by new mobile applications

B. Cloudifying new applications

• Cloud app requires access to backend services

• Business requires the ability to publish these services to (internal and external) app developers

• Business requires the ability to monitor and manage usage of backend services by new cloud applications

C. Improving consumability and access control to existing assets

controlling workload gaining visibility for chargeback and accountability

• Business requires controlling workloadand gaining visibility for chargeback and accountability

• Business requires agility in modifying existing assets without having to “regression test” the entire set of applications

• Quick access to data trapped in mainframe assets

D. Participating in the API Economy

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Businesses are transforming themselves to

participate in the API economy

Expose business services

securely as APIs to developer

IBM API Management

How do you rapidly and

securely expose your

business to this

developer ecosystem?

Provide self-service API

portals to external/internal

app developers

securely as APIs to developer

communities, and analyze API

usage

Manage & monitor the entire

API platform

On-premise private Off-premise SaaS Off-premise private Hybrid

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Why API Management?

Business challenges addressed with APIM in exposing z based services/assets

E n t e r p ri On-Premise Enterprise APIs Mobile Applications Cloud-based Services ri s e S e r v i c e s

CICS

IMS

WAS

TPF

Cloud APIs

Mobile, Cloud and Third-party Applications invoking z Services using APIs

1. Consumability of the APIs is Key:

Easier creation and assembly of API from existing assets/services

Visibility of APIs to internal and external developers

Easier registration (by consuming applications) and set up including managing entitlement

2. Retaining business control (e.g., enforcing entitlement, accountability/chargeback) and gaining

business insight in API invocation

Securing APIs using a secure GW from unwanted external invocations (mapping to application level security) and enforcing workload entitlement

Business Monitoring of API access in gaining business insight on the use of APIs by external applications, and for accountability/chargeback

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Exposing Enterprise Services as APIs

SOA efforts have been driven by achieving developers’ productivity

gain and enabling reuse of functions, i.e., focused on development of

services.

• Improving consumability includes listing APIs in a

browsable/searchable catalog, and making it easy to register

applications with the right entitlement level

API Management, on the other hand, is driven by consumption of

these services, i.e., improving consumability of these services for both

external and internal developers of applications accessing these APIs,

while also retaining control by the providers of these APIs

applications with the right entitlement level

• Retaining control includes not only enforcing entitlements and

managing workloads, but also providing insight based on access

history and accountability for chargeback.

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Roles in Three-tier Architecture for API

Creation and Consumption

1. Bob: Development of Enterprise services from existing z assets,

making it easy to invoke these applications

• z application environments (CICS, IMS, WAS) provides tools and runtimes to develop and invoke

Web and REST based services from applications based on COBOL and PL/I

• IT role (Bob) is knowledgeable about this SW stack

2. Sharon: Development and management of Enterprise APIs for

exposing existing enterprise services

• Addressing consumption and governance of APIs

• Create an API, discover a suitable existing service, and assemble this API from this service

3. Jane: Development of Mobile, Cloud or Third-party Applications

consuming APIs

• Browse catalog and identify APIs to consume

• Register an application that will consume a specific API at a specified entitlement level

• Use of developer portal to test APIs

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End-to-End Architecture for Mobile, Cloud

and Third-party Applications accessing z

Assets/Services using APIs

On-Premise API Management

Mobile Applications Cloud-based Services E n t e r p ri Access to systems of

records and enterprise data via APIs

Create, Publish, Manage & Socialize APIs

(IBM API Management)

1. Develop Services

(Web or REST)

Cloud APIs Enterprise Transaction Processing ri s e S e r v i c e s

CICS

IMS

WAS

TPF

2. Develop

Enterprise API s

3. Mobile/Cloud

App Enablement

Enterprise APIs

Security & Integration API Gateway

(IBM DataPower Appliance)

APIM Communication with GW

Processing

Jane -

Mobile app developer

Uses APIs to access Back-End services

Bob –

developer of z based Services

Develops services from CICS, IMS and other z applications

Service Enablement

•Enables invocation of z applications by remote applications using standard protocols (WSDL, REST)

•Converts SOAP or JSON into application specific (e.g., COBOL, PL/I) data and invokes applications

API Management

•Consumability by internal and external developers (creation and look up)

•Entitlement Management (securing, workload enforcement)

•Usage monitoring & Analytics

Mobile/Cloud/Third-party

Application Development

•Invokes APIs for accessing SOR

Sharon –

API developer

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Life-cycle of APIs and Services

Identify

API Life-cycle

_{Service Life-cycle}

Identify business need for an API Define, Discover assets & Assemble an API Consume & Provide feedback by communities Identify a Service Implement a Service Consume & provide new requirements

Asset

Discovery

New asset

requirements

Manage as a product

Test & Publish an API Publish to Catalogs/ Developer communities

Manage as an asset

Test, Deploy and Publish a service Integrate with Business Processes

Discovery

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Invocation of z Systems based Services

CICS

API

Invocation

Create, Publish, Manage & Socialize APIs

Web

Services

E n t e r p

z/OS

Connect

JSON

WAS Liberty

Security & Integration API Gateway

IBM DataPower Appliance

On Premise

API Management

REST

Services

WOLA based services

Web

Services

IM S S O A P G a te w a y p r i s e S e r v i c e s

z Systems

Service Development Tool and Enablement Runtimes

Web Services

CICS and IMS provides separate tools and runtimes; TPF provides runtime libraries

REST/JSON

CICS and IMS use common z/OS Connect runtime z/OS Connect can be stand alone or embedded

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Very High Level View of z/OS Connect

It provides a REST/JSON interface handler on z/OS, based on Liberty Profile z/OS

z/OS Logical Partition (LPAR)

1. Liberty Profile z/OS

Mobile Access

Backend

Systems

REST(JSON)

3. z/OS

Connect

2. WOLA

17

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z/OS Connect – More Detail

It’s about getting REST and JSON into your mainframe environment in a

way that enables you to best take advantage of the assets that exist there:

CICS

Where z/OS

Connect fits

Mobile

Ecosystem

IMS

Batch

Other

REST

– Representational State Transfer …

Connect fits

• Liberty Profile Server

• Function IBM wrote to run in Liberty Profile

z/OS

Connect

Other

REST

– Representational State Transfer …

the use of HTTP URLs that map to a ‘service’,

such as ‘query account’ or ‘update data’

JSON

– JavaScript Object Notation … a

standard of representing data as a set of

name/value pairs. This is passed back and

forth along with REST request/responses

Liberty Profile

• No charge function provided with license entitlement to WAS z/OS, CICS or IMS

DB2*

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z/OS Connect – Summary in One Picture

Liberty Profile for z/OS

z/OS

CICS

IMS

Data Transform

1 4 3 6 8

z/OS

Connect

Servlet

IMS

DB2

Interceptors

Service Providers

RESTful

JSON

3 5 7

z/OS Connect is software function that

server.xml

2

One part of z/OS Connect is _{‘Interceptors’ are callout points}

1 ₄

7 Batch

z/OS Connect is software function that runs in Liberty Profile for z/OS.

z/OS Connect is described and configured in the Liberty

server.xml file

z/OS Connect is designed to accept RESTful URIs with JSON data payloads

A ‘Service Provider’ is software that provides the connectivity to the backend system

One part of z/OS Connect is a servlet that runs in Liberty Profile z/OS.

z/OS Connect provides the ability to transform JSON to the layout required by backend

‘Interceptors’ are callout points where software can be invoked to do things such as SAF

authorization and SMF activity recording

Backend systems supported are CICS, IMS, Batch, and DB2 (in-plan)

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

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What is Service Discovery?

Identifying an existing service for performing a specific

intended business function, and getting detailed

definition of the service

1. Identifying: Searching, browsing, understanding and eventually,

selecting a service from a set of services

Querying to retrieve a list of matching services

Browsing information on retrieved services

Getting additional details as necessary in understanding a service

Selecting a service when a service is deemed a good match

2. Getting detailed service definition: Retrieving various details

of a selected service

Service schema and description (e.g., WSDL or JSON) for API definition

Getting additional technical details for API assembly including details on

runtime invocation and security protocols

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Why is Discovering a Matching Service

Challenging?

Identifying a service or code for reuse

Need to ensure that the code performs the intended functions for

the consuming application

A good service documentation needs to include

• not just the technical details on the interface,

• but also the semantics of the terms, constraints on use,

• and description of business functions it performs

Even for code reuse by the same development organization, needs

to look back at the associated business requirements, unless key

information is codified as associated business metadata, e.g.,

business classification of transactions, such as Payment, credit,

etc.

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Discovery and Invocation of z Systems

based Services

CICS

API

Invocation

Create, Publish, Manage & Socialize APIs

Web

Services

E n t e r

z/OS

Connect

JSON

WAS Liberty

Security & Integration API Gateway

IBM DataPower Appliance

On Premise

API Management

Discovery

services

Services

REST

Services

WOLA based services

Web

Services

IM S S O A P G a te w a y r p r i s e S e r v i c e s NEW NEW

z System

API Management

Services

IM

S S O A P G a te w a y

CICS

Discovery of z Services for API Development

1. Get a list of deployed services (Service Identification)

-Filter based on technical and business service attributes

2. Get schema for a specific service (API Definition)

3. Get additional deployment details for a service (API Assembly)

-E.g., security protocol support, invocation uri

Service Development Tool and

Enablement Runtimes

Web Services

CICS and IMS provides separate tools and runtimes; TPF provides runtime libraries

REST/JSON

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APIM and z Systems Service Discovery

z/OS Connect (IMS, etc..)

API Management

_{System z}

1. Discover z SOR SOAP Service

IMS

ES IMS SOAP Gateway

etc…

SOAP ServiceSOAP Service REST ServiceREST ServiceREST Service 2. Create API Cloud / Bluemix apps

Development Time

Run Time

API

Session feedback – Do it online at http://conferences.gse.org.uk/feedback Mobile apps API API Web apps apps Others… :

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Step 1: Define Service Registry in APIM

Add SOAP Gateway as a custom

registry in APIM

Specify host, port and the

context root of the SOAP

Gateway service registry

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Step 2: Discover, search and add API for z

System services

2a. Specify text to search for specific service or leave blank for

With the SOAP Gateway registry selected, discover services by clicking

the search icon

2b. A list of service containing the search text “IMS” is returned 2c. Select the desired

service to create API

specific service or leave blank for

all services Click icon to Search

the search icon

You can specify a text string to search for specific service. Or leave the

search field blank to retrieve all services.

Once the list of matching services returned, select check box for the

desired service to create API.

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Step 3: API for z Service is created

A new API is created for the IMS SOAP service. It is added to the list of APIs managed by

APIM

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Summary

• The "API economy” has changed how developers think

about building apps, and how organizations deploy software

in the cloud:

– Mobile technology leaders know they must

integrate

mobile applications

with back-end systems

– By 2018,

68%

_{of all mobile apps will be powered by API’s}

• Managing APIs is essential for:

– Enabling z Systems assets for mobile

– Improving consumability and access control to existing assets

– Participating in the API Economy

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