Vertali zTrust for SMP/e

Manage and install software patches more quickly and easily

To help you to better protect your systems and data, zTrust^® for SMP/e is a browser-based security and compliance solution that eases the installation and maintenance of mainframe software and subsystems.

Browser-based user interface – ease of use, enabling greater visibility
Automatic download of Authorized Program Analysis Reports (APAR)
Automatic detection of Consolidated Software Inventories (CSIs)
Centralised repository provided for all products and product features
Automatic product detection
Reports and alerts

Why you need zTrust^® for SMPe

Software vendors regularly publish Authorized Program Analysis Reports (APARs) that highlight critical software updates needed to maintain the stability and security of operating systems and subsystems. Downloading APARs then determining their target systems or where they are already installed is a time-consuming and error-prone manual task.

SMP/e is the mandatory tool used in IBM z/OS environments to manage the installation and maintenance of software patches. Its Consolidated Software Inventory (CSI) holds the maintenance status for products and optional features, and is the primary source to determine if critical maintenance has been applied to a system. Tracking and maintaining up-to-date status across tens or hundreds of CSIs for compliance and reporting, across multiple systems, becomes almost impossible for large mainframe site.

How zTrust^® helps

zTrust^® for SMP/e means you can interrogate SMP/e and gain a centralised view of the status and applicability of all critical APARs across your entire mainframe estate.

When supported by vendors, zTrust^® automatically detects and downloads new APAR information. APARs can also be ingested into zTrust or entered manually via the user interface. The software immediately detects the systems where the APARs apply and if action is needed to install recommended maintenance.

Browser UI

zTrust^® for SMP/e provides a centralized view of the status of all critical APARs across your entire mainframe estate. Powerful Search and Filter features provide multiple view options to zoom-in on what is most important by APAR, Severity, Product or LPAR. Administrators can instantly see the status of any APAR across all systems.

Auto APAR download

zTrust^® for SMPe detects and downloads new APARs published by vendors who support remote access via an API. For vendors who do not support remote access, APARs can be ingested into zTrust or entered manually via the user interface.

Auto CSI detection

zTrust^® for SMPe finds all Consolidated Software Inventories using one or more customer-supplied dataset name masks, reducing the need for administrators to maintain and define lists of CSI datasets. Specific CSI datasets that do not meet typical naming standards may also be defined.

Centralised repository

zTrust^® for SMPe holds a summary of all product and product features implemented within the mainframe estate, and on which LPARs those products are installed. This ensures high performance and low overheads for search and display.

Auto product detection

zTrust^® for SMPe uses published APIs to extract the details of all products and product features installed on a specific system. Regular analysis detects newly installed products and any products uninstalled. Administrators can determine the products and features available to each system in their mainframe estate without maintaining manual records.

Reports & alerts

zTrust^® for SMPe can provide summary reports of critical APARs and their status, or downloaded into CSV files for ingestion into external reporting tools. APAR status and alerting for missing maintenance can be forwarded to SIEMs or external systems management tools such as ServiceNow.