The Open Mainframe Project (OMP) has announced that Zowe, an open source software framework for the mainframe, is now production-ready less than 6 months after launching.
Hosted by The Linux Foundation, the Open Mainframe Project is comprised of business and academic leaders within the mainframe community that collaborate to develop shared tool sets and resources. OMP launched Zowe, an open source project based on z/OS, last August to serve as an integration platform for the next generation of tools for administration, management and development on z/OS mainframes.
Zowe 1.0 consists of core technologies enabling modern interfaces for web applications on z/OS, a new command line interface and expansion of platform REST API capabilities to help make the z/OS environment more “cloud-like” and improve integration in hybrid cloud environments.
The Zowe framework provides interoperability and uses the latest web technologies among products and solutions from multiple vendors. It helps enable developers to use the familiar, industry-standard, open source tools to access mainframe resources and services. Since launch, there has been a huge community response with more than 1,700 beta downloads, 700 +members of the project’s communication tool (220+ daily active users) and more than 50 committers.
According to the OMP, with the increasing deployment of hybrid architectures, mainframes need to manage a bigger volume, variety, and velocity of data and transactions. The OMP is focused on modernizing the platform for mission-critical apps and blockchain where fast data access, transactional scale, and trust are required.
“Mainframes are the foundation of businesses in every industry,” said John Mertic, director of program management for the Linux Foundation and Open Mainframe Project. “Zowe breathes new life into mainframes and offers innovative possibilities for next generation applications. With Zowe 1.0, we’re developing secure, reliable and scalable computing that will ensure sustainability of mainframes for many years to come.”
Key features for the release include:
- Functional extensions, integration between different third-party products and applications
- Updated docs that define extension points and provide sample applications and tutorials on how to integrate with or extend the Zowe framework
- New pre-install scripts that can help identify and verify the appropriate pre-reqs prior to beginning the Zowe installation process
- A Zowe API Mediation Layer that provides the foundation for a single point of access for mainframe service REST APIs and an optional single sign-on experience that leverages an organization’s existing System Authorization Facility, or SAF protocols, enabling programs and applications to use system authorization services to control access to different resources