The business issue

Mobile, cloud and Web-based applications are making new demands on Release

Management tooling. The changes impact the downstream phases of software

delivery and deployment, and in particular the boundary between development

and operations departments.

Agile: the origins

Fifteen years ago, the software development lifecycle revolved around fixed

requirements to be implemented by local in-house development teams,

and delivered as “big bang” projects. Hundreds of modules were delivered

at distant intervals, and then review/acceptance by stakeholders was performed

at the final delivery. This waterfall approach to development resulted in the

majority of software projects failing to deliver in terms of cost, timeliness, and

end-user satisfaction.

Today, IT projects deal with evolving requirements, geographically dispersed

development teams, ongoing stakeholder engagement, and incremental delivery.

To stay ahead, massive software changes must be delivered with increasing

frequency and at higher levels of quality. Agile methods were born to deal

with these needs. Agile development allows organizations to react more quickly

and deal with ever-changing requirements, while assuring quality with fewer

resources.

Development and Operations: conflicting goals

Yet as Agile shortens development cycles, operations teams have struggled to

keep up. Faster delivery increases complexity as well as dependencies of enterprise

applications, thus raising the risk in each software release as multiple teams push

their “change sets” in the heterogenious world. The goal of operations – to

keep applications available – conflicts with development that is measured on

the speed and reactivity of their upgrades.

To balance these conflicting interests, “dev” and “ops” need common tools to

cooperate closely and become more proficient in rolling changes into production.

For this reason, both agile methods and, in turn, the DevOps lifecycle are now

central to Release Management, reconciling pragmatism, accountability, and a

“need for speed.”

Mixed platforms and technologies

At the same time, the introduction of Web and mobile components has made

application architectures more complex. Information systems span multiple

platforms, with often a legacy business application at the core. Release

Management tooling must therefore manage the dependencies between diverse

technologies and facilitate collaboration between disparate teams.

DROPS Release Management

August 2016

IBM – SYSchange is a validated

tool by IBM and is published on

the IBM Global Solutions Directory

Authorizedz Systems

A unique and multi-platform

solution for the management

and automation of software

deployment (Windows, UNIX,

Linux, IBM i and z/OS)

Deployment Processes

Deployment using DROPS is simple, and deployment processes are easily defined from a powerful visual interface. Processes can be associated with an application, or an environment.

A deployment process follows a configurable deployment map, which can itself contain several environments.

Deployment Process using DROPS

Deployment Execution

Deployments can be executed:

n Sequentiallyn In paralleln In dependency order

Transport is via web or local connection. An application can be deployed in full, or by cumulative (patches). Compatibility checks are made with previously deployed releases.

Execution Tracking

Tracking of deployment execution is made easy from a web console. Deployment stages are validated and visible in real time.

A full deployment log is provided.

The solutionDROPS offers a unique solution for the management and automation of application and systems software deployment across multiple platforms — including IBM i, Windows, UNIX, Linux, and z/OS.

In support of DevOps, DROPS is production-oriented, shifting the bias from development to operations.

Unlike other solutions in the market, DROPS focuses on the deployment of functions, rather than on technical components. This makes the solution intuitive and easy- to-use, assisting development and operations teams in working closely together to smoothly manage an accelerated delivery schedule.

At the same time, DROPS supports continuous integration and delivery, so teams can use agile methods efficiently and deliver value to customers faster.

DROPS deploys by process, to maximize automation and give real-time transparency on release status for all parties.

Using DROPS, you can automatically or selectively create Change Packages on any environment and then “drop” it on the appropriate target environments.

DROPS does not rely on any specific ALM tool. On the z/OS you may use any desired development tool such as SERENA ChangeMan ZMF, CA Endevor, or, any in-house development tools.Yet, DROPS will be able to identify the developed codes in the staging libraries and package them for deployment.

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DROPS ArchitectureArtefact Repository

DROPS makes it easy to work with heterogeneous applications developed on different platforms and technologies. For this, it uses a multi-platform artefact repository, structured by application and component, and loaded by “strategy.”

Infrastructure Loading

Each infrastructure element in DROPS is loaded with specific properties (e.g. Tomcat, JBoss, IBM Websphere, ORACLE Weblogic, etc.). Infrastructures are defined in terms of environments and deployment groups.

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Installation Phase

Following the deployment process, DROPS is able to manage the installation of delivered software.

For greater flexibility, the deployment and installation phases can be separated. Warehouses are used to contain releases in order to defer installations if necessary.

As for deployment, DROPS can rollback any installation according to one of several “strategies.”

Installation execution is logged in a centralized journal.

Actors and Roles

Certain functions are common to all DROPS processes. Actors are defined for each configuration, together with their Role in the Approval process.

History

Full traceability is now a regulatory requirement in any IT organization. DROPS keeps a history of all Actions, executions, and transition times.

DROPS architecture

About Pristine Software

The talented team at Pristine Software has been providing corporations around the world with leading edge software solutions for many years. They bring well over thirty years of development experience on the IBM z/OS, with the primary focus on Software Configuration Management (SCM) for tracking, controlling, managing changes in software, and synchronizing software environments.

Products or company names used in this whitepaper are for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks of their respective owners. 08/16

Corporate Office:

Pristine Software PO BOX 74111 Davis, California 95617

Tel: 530-758-4484Fax: 530-758-4344

support@pristineusa.comwww.pristineusa.com

European Distributor:

IST Innovative SoftwareTechnology GmbH

Pastorsbusch 28 D-47918 Toenisvorst Germany

Tel: +40 2151 651700Email: info@is-technology.de

Supported PlatformsDROPS is an Enterprise Release Management software that supports multiple platforms including: IBM i, Windows, UNIX, Linux, and IBM z/OS. All levels of z/OS, including the latest release 2.2, are supported (DROPS for z; Powered by Pristine Software).

Note: “DROPS for z/OS” is a DROPS extension used to deploy artifacts that come from an IBM z/OS server. This extension has been enabled by SYSchange “Advanced Deployment” by Pristine Software.

StrengthsThe real power of DROPS is derived from its comprehensive management capabilities, automation, and diversity of the supported platforms. The deployed software on the open systems, as well as on the z/OS platforms, can be traced at any time enabling operations mangers to closely watch inflow of systems and application software changes at all times, and to respond to all regulatory requirements.

Specialized in automation and release management in multi-platform environments

Delivering Compliancy, Enterprise Deployment, and Change Management Solutions for z/OS