YAST and SMP are very different animals, but they fit similar niches, for essentially the same reasons. One major difference is that there is no equivalent to RECEIVE; YAST and zypper install packages directly from the repositories. I assume that apt also fits that niche, but there's probably someone here that can give a definitive answer.
-- Shmuel (Seymour J.) Metz http://mason.gmu.edu/~smetz3 ________________________________________ From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [[email protected]] on behalf of Steve Thompson [[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2023 2:57 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RPMs for installs and Maint: [WAS SMP/E needed for installs?] With Linux distros there are a few maint systems. The one I am most familiar with is RPM. To me YAST (the Linux equivalent of SMP/E) handles upgrades and user changes (if you know how to do them, I don't because I'm a SU in Linux -- Stupid User). Each product/component has its own main entry and then dependencies. You can override them if you dare. If you are a developer you would probably know if the override is a good idea. So you decide to download an ISO. If you have a fat pipe and the time, you download a NETWork install ISO. You fill in all the stuff (Upgrade install or "NEW" INSTALL are the primary options). The system loads and boots and if this is a "NEW" install, formats and load partitions etc. etc. Then it gets into all the stuff you said you want installed so it pulls down all the related/needed repositories and packages and goes to work. At a certain point it reboots to the system it has built and then continues with the applications level stuff. From time to time you get notified, or you just check it yourself, and see if there is maint to be added..... Yast handles it. I thought it was a fairly good replacement for SMP/E for the Linux side of things. I can see how it could be used to do z/OS and related..... Thoughts, and comments? Oh, and I still only do programming on IBM type Mainframes. Steve Thompson On 8/24/2023 2:34 PM, Jon Perryman wrote: > > On Thursday, August 24, 2023 at 11:06:43 AM PDT, Colin Paice > <[email protected]> wrote: >> But this fix management would be done by IBM (or product owner). > > I'm guessing that IBM is still on a 2 year release cycle and they still have > a custom-built offering so you're not dealing with a lot of tapes and files. > With as many products that IBM deals with, packaging would be a nightmare. > IBM's RHEL and other Linux distros exists solely to simplify the process and > they don't deal with anywhere near the number of IBM z/OS products. SMP/e is > a good compromise that guarantees everything was performed correctly for your > needs. OEM vendors can easily provide choices because they don't deal with > the magnitude of IBM. > > > > On Thursday, August 24, 2023 at 11:06:43 AM PDT, Colin Paice > <[email protected]> wrote: > > ITSchak, > But this fix management would be done by IBM (or product owner). We should > be able to download the image which has been tested by IBM Consolidated > Service Test in POK. > Only if you need >additional< fixes before the next download - do you need > to do any SMP/E work. It would still be there if you need it. > Colin > > On Thu, 24 Aug 2023 at 17:08, ITschak Mugzach <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Kurt, >> >> I think the power of SMP/E is not the initial install, but the fix >> management (ptf chain management). Actually many deliveries from IBM have >> SMP/E already populated and technically this is a kind of DSS dump (or can >> be). >> >> ITschak >> >> >> ITschak Mugzach >> *|** IronSphere Platform* *|* *Information Security Continuous Monitoring >> for z/OS, x/Linux & IBM I **| z/VM coming soon * >> >> >> >> >> On Thu, Aug 24, 2023 at 6:48 PM Kurt Quackenbush <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Yes, thanks for asking, we have thought about an alternative. And an >>> alternative exists in z/OSMF Software Management and Portable Software >>> Instances. In this form you can package, deliver, and install software >>> whether it is SMP/E managed or not. If it is SMP/E managed, as much of >> the >>> software on the z/OS platform is, then the package includes the SMP/E >>> artifacts like CSIs so you can install PTF fixes. You can of course >> choose >>> to ignore the SMP/E artifacts and just repeat the process to install an >>> updated Portable Software Instance in 3 months as you suggest. >>> >>> Kurt Quackenbush >>> IBM | z/OS SMP/E and z/OSMF Software Management | [email protected] >>> >>> Chuck Norris never uses CHECK when he applies PTFs. >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <[email protected]> On Behalf >>> Of Colin Paice >>> Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2023 10:37 AM >>> To: [email protected] >>> Subject: [EXTERNAL] Is SMP/E needed for installs? >>> >>> This week, I did my first SMP/E install since my previous one over 40 >> years >>> ago! The process hasn't changed much. It took me about half a day to >>> download the files and configure the jobs - making the same changes in >>> several jobs. >>> For people new to z/OS "installation" is hard to get into, understand, >> and >>> get working properly. >>> >>> Has anyone thought about alternative ways of shipping products? For >>> example many products are now Web downloads, which you just restore. >>> I would like to see a DFDSS dump of the CST level of all objects and a >>> matching dump of the SMP/E datasets of the product. >>> I can just restore the product stuff,and not the SMP/E stuff, or I can >>> install the SMP/E stuff as well. If you want to install a fix, then >> apply >>> it to the SMP/E libraries. >>> In 3 months time, repeat the whole process. >>> >>> I think we have to do something before all those with the knowledge and >>> experience retire! >>> >>> Colin >>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
