Installing CA AP 11.7 Server on a Cloud VM

[james ruane]

As part of a zCloud data center move, I need to solution Operator access for to OPS/MVS Automation Point. Today the AP server is on the same raised floor as the Mainframe (both primary and DR locations), connecting via OSA ports over a client-owned dedicated router/switch. Does the AP server need to be proximate to the mainframe or can I install the AP Server on a VM in an on-prem private or public Cloud.  The new data center has limited space for client equipment, so I wanted to see how others have designed AP Server for this scenario.  

A related question is whether our user base could have the AP Server software installed on their workstation and run it as a thick client?  

any pros and cons for the above>

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JayM
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[Hennie Hermans]

Hi Jay,

Automation Point can run on a VM machine. It's no problem.. It can run on a Windows Server platform, or even on a WIndows 10 or 11 machine.
See this page in the manual: Requirements for the Automation Point Server Components

When running on a VM machine, there is only one issue, it's the Dialogic card.. This isnt supported by the VM installation. 
However, these Dialogic cards are old, and replaced by VOIP.. Automation Point can now use VOIP instead of the Dialogic card to send out voice messages.

This VM machine can run anywhere, it doesnt need to be at the same location as the systems to monitor.

See this chapter: Connections Under Automation Point and the Connection Types supported..

See if this answers your question, or let us know and we are happy to answer any further questions related to this matter.

Best regards
Hennie Hermans

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Principal Support Engineer
Broadcom Software
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[james ruane]

Thanks again for your help.  Is there a one to one relationship between the AP Server and the LPAR / Location?  We have DR location with their own set of physical servers.  We are moving both Primary and DR to new zCloud locations.   We would like to set up the VMs in a remote location and allow our operators to access any DC where we have our LPARs. Today our operators use APView client and point to either primary site physical server connected up to the LPARs or the DR site. In the future, we want to have the AP server run on VM in an on-prem DC, and allow our operators to connect to either primary or DR site.  We can install a 2nd VM instance of AP Server if that is a better architectural decision.   

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JayM
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[Hennie Hermans]

Hi Jay,

The AP servers can be located at any location as long as they can access via internet the LPARs/consoles... 
And with the session definition sets switching, or using all consoles in the same definition set and enabling and disabling sessions, you can switch between DR and primary sites... 

Hope this answers your question. If not, let me know... 

Best regards
Hennie Hermans

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Senior Principal Support Engineer
Broadcom, Mainframe Software
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[Paul Buchanan]

Jay, 
We run AP on 30+ VM's for production and just entering the DR space. We have seen no con's to this. We have seen a few pro's. The biggest is the extra layer of high availability that VM's can provide. We still have "twin" servers in separate physical locations. However if we were to loose a VM it can be replicated in less than an hour. As for performance. We connect 100's of LPARs spread across the servers. 

Keep in mind you may have network considerations and firewall access. AP is encrypted and supports all the latest security.  
Our users use the Alert Manager piece mainly. However you can do the remote connection which is in the setup and run remote viewer. We usually limit the server access to the admins.  

it is very viable and stable. Working through networks and security is probably the biggest hurdle with what you are describing. VPN is highly recommended.