IBM® Z NetView™ Plug-ins for Zowe Command Line Interface (CLI)

The IBM Z NetView plug-ins extend Zowe CLI to allow you to perform NetView operations leveraging the REST APIs available with the NetView REST Server in a familiar, off-platform manner. The functional areas include Canzlog, task management, automation table management, and network management, along with the ability to issue most NetView commands.

• Overview of the NetView Plug-ins
• Software Requirements
• NetView Plug-in Installation
• NetView Plug-in Migration
• Team Profile Configuration
• Version History

Overview of the NetView Plug-ins

NetView provides three plug-ins to allow you to select which capabilities you want to use:

Base Plug-in

• Allows you to access core NetView information, as well as issue most NetView commands. The specific categories of data are:
  • Canzlog messages
  • Task utilization information
  • List of NetView domains to which commands can be sent
• Provides authentication to NetView through the NetView REST Server
• Note: You must install this plug-in if you want to use the network and automation plug-ins

Automation Plug-in

• Allows you to manage automation table members by:
  • Activating a member
  • Downloading a member
  • Listing active members
  • Running a simulated test of a member
  • Uploading a member
  • Validating a member
  • Displaying Statistics

Network Plug-in

• Allows you to monitor your network by:
  • Displaying distributed DVIPA (DDVIPA) health information
  • Displaying distributed DVIPA (DDVIPA) statistics

Software Requirements

The following software is required for the NetView plug-ins:

• Zowe CLI V2.16 or a V2.x later release
  • Download page: https://www.zowe.org/download
• IBM Z NetView v6.5 with the NetView REST Server running
  • (Optional) Zowe with the API Mediation Layer for authentication
    • For the NetView Rest Server, see the IBM Z NetView Installation: Configuring Additional Components and Security Reference books. For the Zowe CLI documentation see: https://docs.zowe.org/v2.16.x/user-guide/cli-using-initializing-team-configuration#connecting-profiles-to-api-mediation-layer

NetView Plug-in Installation

• To install the NetView plug-ins from NPM registry:

  zowe plugins install <my-plugin>

  Note: Replace <my-plugin> with the installation command syntax in the following table: | Plug-in | Installation Command Syntax | |-----------|-----------------------------| | IBM NetView Base Plug-in for Zowe CLI | @ibm/znetview65-base | | IBM NetView Automation Plug-in for Zowe CLI | @ibm/znetview65-automation | | IBM NetView Network Plug-in for Zowe CLI | @ibm/znetview65-network |
• To install the NetView plug-ins from a local package downloaded from FixCentral:
  1. Open a command-line window, such as Windows Command Prompt. Go to the directory where you downloaded the Zowe CLI installation package (.zip file). Issue the following command, or use your preferred method to unzip the files:

     unzip <plugin-name>-v.r.m.zip

  2. Issue the following command to install each available plug-in:

     zowe plugins install <plugin-name>-v.r.m.tgz    

  Note: Replace <plugin-name> with the Plug-in Name listed in the following table: | Plug-in | Plug-in Name | |-----------|-----------------------------| | IBM NetView Base Plug-in for Zowe CLI | ibm-znetview65-base | | IBM NetView Automation Plug-in for Zowe CLI | ibm-znetview65-automation | | IBM NetView Network Plug-in for Zowe CLI | ibm-znetview65-network |
• To uninstall the NetView plug-ins, issue the command:

  zowe plugins uninstall <my-plugin>

• The plug-in name can be found by issuing:

  zowe plugins list

NetView Plug-in Migration

Use the following migration method to update the plug-ins:

• Uninstall all the NetView plug-ins currently installed
• Install the latest package of the NetView plug-ins
• Note: Consider updating node.js if you haven't done that in a while

Team Profile Configuration

Zowe CLI (V2) introduces the concept of team profiles which helps to improve the initial setup of Zowe CLI by making service connections details easier to share and easier to store within projects.

Note: After the configuration file is in place (by using either the zowe config init command or a file provided by a system administrator), the zowe profile commands used in Zowe V1 no longer function. Zowe CLI returns errors when deprecated profile commands are issued.

Configuration Needed to Authenticate with NetView REST Server

Complete the following steps to add NetView team profiles (see Zowe documentation for more information on creating team/user profiles):

1. Issue the following command after the NetView base Zowe CLI plug-in is installed:

   zowe config init --global-config

   • Enter the hostname/IP address of the system where the NetView Rest Server is running
   • Optional: Enter the userid and password (if you don't enter a userid and/or password, you will be prompted for them each time you authenticate)

   The zowe config init --global-config command adds the NetView plug-in profile to the configuration file in the .zowe home directory

2. Open the zowe.config.json file and confirm that the NetView plug-in profile (znetview) is included

   • Depending on your setup, you may need to change rejectUnauthorized from 'true' to 'false' under znetview and base.

Note: As an application developer, you can optionally generate a user-specific configuration file that overrides the values defined in the global zowe.config.json file.

Configuration Needed to Authenticate with Zowe APIML

Complete the following steps to add NetView team profiles (see Zowe documentation for more information on creating team/user profiles):

1. Issue the following commands after the NetView base Zowe CLI plug-in is installed:

   zowe config auto-init --global-config --ru false

   • Enter the hostname and port number of where the API Mediation Layer is running and enter the credentials for the desired user.

   zowe config set "profiles.znetview.type" "znetview" --global-config

   zowe config set "profiles.znetview.properties.basePath" "/netviewrestserver/api/v1" --global-config

   zowe config set "defaults.znetview" "znetview" --global-config

2. Open the zowe.config.json file and confirm that the NetView plug-in profile (znetview) is included

Version History

| IBM Shopz* or Fix Central | npmjs.org | Comments | |---------------------------|-----------|---------------------------------------------| | v6.5.0* | v1.0.0 | GA level |