Knowledge Center Installer for IBM Explorer for z/OS Aqua

Overview

Knowledge Center Installer for IBM Explorer for z/OS Aqua (KC Installer) is an application that enables you to install a locally hosted IBM Knowledge Center (local KC) on a workstation for local access.

The pre-built local KC includes not only the documentation of IBM Explorer for z/OS (z/OS Explorer), but also the documentation of the products that are built on z/OS Explorer, such as IBM CICS Explorer and IBM z/OS Connect Enterprise Edition.

KC Installer provides you with the following benefits:

• Install documentation of multiple products into one single local KC on your workstation.
• Access the local KC that is hosted on an intranet server.
• Access the installed product documentation with a limited Internet connection.
• Access the installed product documentation from Eclipse applications.

• IBM Explorer for z/OS
• IBM Z Open Development
• IBM Z Open Unit Test
• IBM Application Discovery
• IBM MQ Explorer
• IBM CICS Explorer
• IBM CICS Configuration Manager for z/OS
• IBM CICS Performance Analyzer for z/OS
• IBM CICS Transaction Gateway
• IBM CICS Transaction Server for z/OS
• IBM Developer for z System

• IBM Explorer for z/OS
• IBM Fault Analyzer for z/OS
• IBM File Manager for z/OS
• IBM Application Performance Analyzer for z/OS
• IBM CICS Configuration Manager
• IBM CICS Explorer
• IBM CICS Performance Analyzer
• IBM CICS Transaction Gateway
• IBM Developer for z System
• IBM IMS Enterprise Suite for Distributed Systems
• IBM Rational Programming Patterns
• IBM z/OS Connect Enterprise Edition

User's Guide

• Installing the local KC
• Configuring the local KC
• Starting the local KC
• Stopping the local KC
• Updating the local KC
• Uninstalling the local KC

Installing the local KC

KC Installer is installed through IBM Installation Manager. The local KC can be installed on Windows and Linux platforms by taking the following steps:

1. Download and install IBM Installation Manager V1.9.1 or later with the instructions below. The download listed in the table is for IBM Installation Manager for the z/OS Explorer Aqua release train which you can also use to set up the KC Installer.

   Install options	Windows (32/64-bit)	Linux (32/64-bit)
   IBM Installation Manager v1.9.1	Windows	Linux

   
   
   • Download one of the installation packages.

   • Unzip and install IBM Installation Manager (IM) using one of the following options.

     OS	User Install	Administrator Install
     Windows	imLauncherWindowsUser.bat	imLauncherWindows.bat
     Linux	imLauncherLinuxUser.sh	imLauncherLinux.sh

     • User Install uses the home directory of the current user
     • Administrator Install requires administrative privileges and typically uses a common install directory that is accessible to all users
   • Important: after the installation has completed, instead of clicking "Restart Installation Manager" button, please exit the application instead by clicking the "Close" button on the top right corner (typically denoted as "X"). This is to allow manually adding the KCCI repository URL in the next step.
   • For offline installation: if installing in an offline environment, a repository zip file is available for download to complete the installation:

     Knowledge Center IM Repository	Download
     Aqua 3.1	Aqua 3.1 KC IM Repo
     Aqua 3.2	Aqua 3.2 KC IM Repo

2. Launch IBM Installation Manager, click File > Preferences > Add Repository, and enter the URL to the KC Installer repository:
   • Aqua 3.1: https://public.dhe.ibm.com/ibmdl/export/pub/software/htp/zos/tools/aqua3.1/kc/
   • Aqua 3.2: https://public.dhe.ibm.com/ibmdl/export/pub/software/htp/zos/tools/aqua3.2/kc/
   • Offline repository: Extract the downloaded zip to a directory of your choosing an enter it as the repository
3. On the main panel of IBM Installation Manager, click Install. The list of product documentation displays.
4. Select the product documentation you want to install and follow the instructions provided.

   Note: IBM Explorer for z/OS Documentation must be selected because the documentation of all other products requires components from it.

5. Click Finish after the installation is completed.

Note: For enterprise users who have a limited internet connection, you can install the local KC on an intranet server to enable your group members to access the installed documentation without installation.

Configuring the local KC

• Hosting the local KC on an intranet server

  After you install the local KC on an intranet server, start the local KC and send the link (for example: http://localhost:port/kc/) in the browser and to your group members so that they can access the installed documentation directly.

  Note: If the server is restarted, you must firstly start the local KC by clicking the startKC.bat (Windows users) or startKC.sh (Linux users) file in the /bin folder. Then start the local hosted IBM Knowledge Center by clicking the IBM Knowledge Center icon on the desktop or from the Start menu.

• Configuring the local KC into an Eclipse application

  You can access the installed documentation from an Eclipse application after configuration. To do so, take the following steps:

  1. In z/OS Explorer or other Eclipse client, click Window> Preferences > Help> Content.
  2. Click New.
  3. Enter a name for the help and URL to the product documentation. Follow the exact format of the URL: http://1.11.111.1111:9090/kc/SSBDYH_3.1.0 where 1.11.111.1111 is your server address, 9090 is the KC Installer port, SSBDYH is the KC taxonomy of the product, and 3.1.0 is the version number.

     Note: To access the documentation of multiple products, repeat this step.

  4. To ensure that the URL is valid, click Test Connection.
  5. Click OK.
  6. Click Help > Help Content to access the local product documentation.

Starting the local KC

To start the local KC, take one of the following actions:

• If you start the local KC immediately after installation, click the IBM Knowledge Center icon on the desktop or from the Start menu to start.
• If the local KC is stopped by the server shutdown or running the stopKC.bat (Windows users) or stopKC.sh (Linux users), take the following steps:
  1. Start the local KC by clicking the startKC.bat (Windows users) or startKC.sh (Linux users) file in the /bin folder under the directory where the local KC is installed.
  2. Click the IBM Knowledge Center icon on the desktop or from the Start menu.

Stopping the local KC

To stop the local KC, click the stopKC.bat (Windows users) or stopKC.sh (Linux users) file in the /bin folder under the directory where the local KC is installed.

Updating the local KC

To update the local KC after the last installation, click the Update button on the main panel of IBM Installation Manager. IBM Installation Manager detects the available updates. Follow the instructions provided.

Uninstalling the local KC

To uninstall the local KC or partial documentation, click the Uninstall button on the main panel of IBM Installation Manager.

Note: If you want to uninstall partial documentation, make sure to keep IBM Explorer for z/OS Documentation because the documentation of all products requires components from it.

Change history

Q: The local KC cannot be launched successfully upon restart.

A: After restarts, run the startKC.bat (Windows users) or startKC.sh (Linux users) file in the /bin folder as administrator, and then click the KC icon or type http://localhost:9090/kc/ in the browser.

Q: Test connection fails when I configure the URL of the local KC in an Eclipse client.

A: Ensure that you include the KC taxonomy in the URL, for example, SSBDYH_3.1.1. The correct format should be something like localhost:9090/kc/SSBDYH_3.1.1/.