DROPS V25

You asked. We listened.

New Release: V25

1. DROPS Now Supports IBM z/OS Environments!

We are excited to announce that DROPS has been extended to support IBM z/OS environments, offering a seamless and integrated solution for managing and deploying mainframe applications.

2. Key Highlights

  • Integration with IBM DBB/zAPPBuild – Streamline your build and deployment process for z/OS applications.
  • JCL Script-Based Deployment & Rollback – Ensure controlled and automated deployments with rollback capabilities.
  • Automatic Artifact List Generation – Simplify environment management with automated artifact tracking.
  • Minimal Setup Requirements – No additional installation on IBMz, only Zowe is required.

  • Full Integration with DROPS – A unified approach to deployment across all platforms.

3. Main Features

Artifact Repository

Import IBMz Artifacts from:

  • IBM DBB/zAppBuild Build Process
  • JFrog Artifactory
  • Sonatype Nexus

Artifact Repository

Manage DROPS IBMz Packages:

  • Embedded Artifacts
  • Embedded Metadata (MANIFEST file), including:

    • Hash Code Generation
    • BUILD PDS Information
    • Build/Deployment User-Defined Properties

Deployment Setup

  • Dedicated IBM z/OS Infrastructure Item

    • Multiple Application Deployment Strategies

    • Target PDS Definition

  • JCL Script-Based Deployment

    • Centralized JCL Script Customization (Fragments & Templates)

    • Out-of-the-Box Fragments and Templates

  • Deployment Process Definition

    • Integrated into Standard DROPS Deployment Process

    • Predefined JCL Execution and Validation Scripts

Deployment Process Execution

  • Automatic Artifact List Generation – Based on Manifest Comparison
  • Automated JCL Script Generation & Execution
  • Artifact Transfer Capability
  • JCL Script Validation Before Execution

With these enhancements, DROPS delivers a powerful and automated approach to deploying IBM z/OS applications, ensuring efficiency, reliability, and security.

4. DROPS Dashboards – Grafana Integration

A new feature allows users to leverage Grafana for deploying and displaying activity dashboards based on the DROPS database.

  • Automated Grafana Server Configuration – DROPS connects with Grafana and extracts relevant data.
  • Preconfigured Dashboards – Out-of-the-box insights to measure and monitor OPS activities and performance.
  • Custom Dashboard Support – Easily build personalized views for deeper analysis.

5. DORA Metrics Tracking

DROPS now enables full tracking of DORA metrics by integrating with Grafana.

  • All DORA Metrics in One Place – Lead Time for Changes, Deployment Frequency, Change Failure Rate, and MTTR.
  • Automatic Dashboard Creation – DROPS generates all necessary Grafana dashboards for easy visualization.

6. Production Incident Management

A brand-new module has been introduced to manage and track production incidents efficiently.

  • Automatic Incident Creation – Incidents are logged when a deployment fails and resolved upon success.
  • Deployment Tracking for Resolution – Keep a complete history of deployment attempts linked to an issue.
  • DORA Metrics Integration – Enhance your reliability insights with automatic incident tracking.

With these latest enhancements, DROPS continues to simplify and optimize deployment processes across all environments while providing deep visibility into performance and operational efficiency.