Hello,
I am one of the many that want to learn more about Mainframe, but didnt have a chance to "touch" this platform during the work:)
So why i searched in Google to find some info, and found many.. Some of them were not working because of corrupted files, another ones did not started.
Here is one working example for running z/OS on your own computer/server.
I have installed virtual server with Windows and started this emulator on it.
more information about zOS emulating:
https://famicoman.com/2018/06/28/emulating-a-z-os-mainframe-with-hercules/
1: Required Programs and Files
You will need to download and install:
- Hercules (http://www.hercules-390.org/)
- 3270 terminal emulator (http://x3270.bgp.nu/)
2: Configure your 3270 Terminal Emulator
Open the wc3270 Session Wizard and create a new session with the host set to localhost and the TCP port number set to 3270. Be sure to save your session by hitting ‘[Enter]’ at the menu. You may want to create a desktop shortcut to be used later.
3: Configure hercules.cnf
Ensure that your hercules.cnf file references your DASD devices correctly. The paths from the configuration file may be relative. However, in my case, I’ve provided absolute paths. I downloaded the files and shared them to virtual machine.
Here you can find the hercules.cnf file
4: Starting Hercules
Start hercules on the same directory as your hercules.cnf file. In my case:
Z:/OS/ibm>"C://Program Files/Hercules/hercules.exe"
Press ‘ESC’ to switch to the graphic mode. Start two instances of the 3270 terminals that was made and configured in Step 2. The first will be the console terminal, the second will be the TSO terminal. If everything works, you should see two terminals binded to Hercules.
- DSP 127.0.0.1
- DSP 127.0.0.1
To start Z/OS, press ‘L’ for IPL, then F for the first Z/OS disk device (as highlighted above). Z/OS should begin loading.
The terminal console should halt and prompt whether to initialize sysplex ADCDPL or to reinitalize XCF. Enter ‘r 00,r’
It will then prompt asking for the couple system parameter. Enter ‘r 00,couple=**’
5: You are ready to start
The login screen should appear on the second terminal. You may login as ‘IBMUSER’ with the password ‘SYS1′.
You can search and find commands and info in the internet in order to learn how to work with this kind of platform :)