Last Updated: 14 May 2025

z/VM Continuous Delivery News

Upcoming and available new function for z/VM 7.3 and 7.4.

Introduction

Not all enhancements to z/VM are part of a new release or even a formal IBM announcement letter. This page is a resource to learn about enhancements going out through continuous delivery for z/VM. It's also different from formal announcements as it shows work in progress. Think of it as a living preview announcement for z/VM. As significant changes take place, this page will be updated. Check back often or subscribe. Note: The z/VM Web site subscription service is intended to provide email alerts when specific z/VM pages are updated. If you are interested in receiving APAR updates, click the link for the individual APAR and subscribe to updates on that page.

We invite you to shape the future of z/VM by submitting and voting for ideas that matter most to you with the IBM Z Hardware and Operating Systems Ideas Portal.

You may notice that some new functions are actively seeking sponsor users. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor user for a particular function, visit the z/VM Sponsor User page for more details. Also important, these and other ideas from customers and vendors are frequently discussed at the z/VM Council. For more information and details on how to join, please see the z/VM Council web page.

New z/VM Features

 

 

Active Drain for PAGE Volumes
Name	Active Drain for PAGE Volumes
Description	A new Active Drain feature will allow moving all pages from in-use PAGE slots off a volume marked DRAIN to other, non-draining, PAGE volumes. This allows PAGE volumes to fully drain and be removed without a system outage.
Status	Currently in development.
Target availability	TBD
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	TBD
Effect	No known side-effects when not being used. Does require resources to determine page slot content to move and additional I/O proportional to the number of allocate slots that must be drained. IBM intends to provide more details in performance report in the future.
ISV impact	No known impacts at this time.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction at this time.
Environment variable name	TBD
Release(s)	TBD
Service details	TBD
APAR	TBD
PTF	TBD
RSU	TBD
Sign up	Contact Kerry Wilson - kerryw@us.ibm.com to become a Sponsor User.

 

Allow TRSOURCE to cause a SNAPDUMP
Name	Allow TRSOURCE to cause a SNAPDUMP
Description	This enhancement allows a TRSOURCE trap to cause a SNAPDUMP.
Status	Currently in development.
Target availability	TBD
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	This support will be enabled after z/VM is IPL'd with the APAR. It cannot be disabled.
Effect	There is no effect to systems that do not use the new TRSOURCE capability.
ISV impact	No known impacts at this time.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction at this time.
Environment variable name	CP.FUNCTION.TRSOURCE.SNAPDUMP
Release(s)	z/VM-next
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	TBD
PTF	TBD
RSU	TBD
Sign up	Contact Kerry Wilson - kerryw@us.ibm.com to become a Sponsor User.

 

CSM fixpack
Name	Centralized Service Management (CSM) fixpack
Description	Enhancements are planned for the Centralized Service Management (CSM) and is a collection of multiple follow-on functionality improvements. There are four specific enhancements planned each as described below. Improvements to the SERVMGR QUERY command which will allow queries specific to individual components in a service level rather than output for all components being given on every command invocation. The SERVLVL QUERY command will be expanded to allow wildcard (*) support, allowing mutilple service levels in a CSM to be queried together under one command. Adding the ability to query CSM managed systems for current PUT2PROD state. If a Pending Service Level has stalled during PUT2PROD, CSMQUERY now allows a query option to retrieve the $PRODS file and display the contents in human-readable format. A modification to the way localmods are output during a query.
Status	Available September 16, 2022
Target availability	September 2022
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	Apply PTFs and re-IPL z/VM to activate the code.
Effect	No known effect.
ISV impact	No known impacts at this time.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	N/A
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 Base
Service details	N/A part of z/VM 7.3 base
APAR	N/A
PTF	N/A
RSU	N/A

 

CMS Tape Block Size Increase
Name	CMS Tape Block Size Increase; Increase the block size that CMS supports for tape devices
Description	This enhancement increases the block size supported by CMS native tape I/O functions from 64K-1 (65,535 bytes) to roughly 1 Megabyte (1,114,094 bytes).
Status	Available November 14, 2023
Target availability	November 2023
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities. However, the block size supported by CMS OS simulation does not increase beyond the current 64K-1 (65,535 bytes) limit.
Enablement	This support will be enabled after the APAR is applied. It cannot be disabled.
Effect	There is no effect on systems that do not exploit the new capabilities.
ISV impact	This may enable ISV software to take advantage of larger tape block sizes.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	N/A
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	VM66724
PTF	UM90377
RSU	TBD

 

CPU Measurement Facility Host Sampler Exploitation
Name	CPU Measurement Facility Host Sampler Exploitation
Description	A z/VM system programmer can exploit existing hardware sampling to help IBM Service shed light on an LPAR's performance behavior. System programmer uses IBM Z CPU Measurement Facility to capture data associated with the performance experience of processors, caches, and memory System programmer sends collected data to IBM for analysis
Status	Currently in development.
Target availability	TBD
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	A new CP command to initialize and control data collection Directory statement to authorize access to the Sampler-specific DCSS for data capture To be used only under IBM direction
Effect	While the capability is not in use, there should be no performance effects. Real memory must be temporarily reserved for use during the measurement and data extraction process, and can then be returned to general use. Performance impact during this period is to be studied during development.
ISV impact	No known impacts at this time.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux interaction. CMS tools to dump and pack experiment data. z13 or later hardware is required.
Environment variable name	TBD
Release(s)	TBD
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	TBD
PTF	TBD
RSU	TBD
Sign up	Contact Kerry Wilson - kerryw@us.ibm.com to become a Sponsor User.

 

Crypto Stateless-Command Filtering
Name	Crypto Stateless-Command Filtering
Description	The Crypto Stateless-Command Filtering enhancement provides support for the Stateless-Command Filtering (SLCF) facility available on CEX8C adapters. z/VM's exploitation of this new hardware capability will replace the crypto stateless command filtering performed by z/VM for APVIRT crypto users, thus eliminating the need for future z/VM updates to allow new stateless CCA operations.
Status	Available May 12, 2023.
Target availability	June 2023
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	Apply PTFs and re-IPL z/VM to activate the code.
Effect	APVIRT crypto users can exploit new stateless CCA operations.
ISV impact	No known impacts at this time.
Linux or hardware interaction	A CEX8S adapter configured in CCA Coprocessor mode is required to exploit this enhancement.
Environment variable name	CP.FUNCTION.CRYPTO.HW_CCA_FILTERING
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	VM66423
PTF	UM90279
RSU	TBD

 

Diff and Patch Utilities for CMS
Name	Diff and Patch Utilities for CMS
Description	The Diff and Patch tool for CMS is an implementation of the unified DIFF and PATCH using the unified diff format. The DIFF utility generates a diff file from two input files, while the PATCH utility applies the changes from an input diff file to an input source file. Diff files can be distributed and applied to other copies of the original source file to apply these changes, much like the XEDIT update facility.
Status	Currently in test; soliciting sponsor user feedback.
Target availability	September 2025
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	Apply PTF and re-IPL to activate the code.
Effect	No known effect.
ISV impact	Vendors will need to use the Diff and Patch tool to implement code changes for their products that are integrated with z/VM. In a future release, z/VM will be removing sequence numbers and adopting full-part replacement. Note: z/VM 7.4 will still include sequence numbers.
Linux or hardware interaction	The intent is to provide a platform-agnostic solution to update z/VM parts, which may be executed on either the CMS operating system or on UNIX/Linux.
Environment variable name	N/A
Release(s)	z/VM 7.4 Feature Pack
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	TBD
PTF	TBD
RSU	TBD

 

Digital Signature Verification (DSV) of z/VM Service Packages
Name	Digital Signature Verification (DSV) of z/VM Service Packages
Description	Tool provided to verify the authenticity and integrity of the z/VM Service packages.
Status	Available March 9, 2024
Target availability	First Quarter 2024
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	With the PTF for the APAR installed, the verification will be done by GetShopz. GetShopz option to be provided to verify service packages transferred to z/VM without GetShopz.
Effect	The verification will now be done by default with GetShopz.
ISV impact	No known impacts.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	N/A
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR
Service details	See below for the IBM service information
APAR	VM66732
PTF	UM90411
RSU	TBD
Additional information	GetShopz Utility

 

DirMaint Automatic Sensing of Disk Volume Sizes
Name	DirMaint Automatic Sensing of Disk Volume Sizes
Description	DirMaint uses volume sizes when managing minidisk allocation. Prior to this support, the size of a volume was defined based solely on the device type. The device type and its size were defined either in a DEFAULTS DATADVH data file maintained by IBM or within the DEFAULTS section of the EXTENT CONTROL file when updated by the installation. Basing size solely on the device type can lead to incorrect assumptions for maximum size of a volume and lead DirMaint to fail minidisk allocation because the size of the device type does not match the actual size of the volume.   This support enhances DirMaint to use CP QUERY DASD DETAILS to obtain the maximum size of volumes. DirMaint queries the DASD details when it builds the VCONTROL file for the volume. The VCONTROL file is used during minidisk allocation. DirMaint performs this query for volumes defined in the EXTENT CONTROL file or the source user directory. The size is obtained for volumes attached to the system on which the DIRMAINT server is running and in an SSI environment from the systems where satellite servers are defined. If the size of the volume cannot be obtained then the device type size as specified in the DEFAULTS DATADVH data fle or the DEFAULTS section of the EXTENT CONTROL file is used.
Status	Available September 16, 2022
Target availability	September 2022
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	This support is automatically enabled.
Effect	The construction of VCONTROL files as part of reload the EXTENT CONTROL file (RLDEXTN command) will take a little bit longer in an SSI environment as the DIRMAINT server performs the CP queries on the SSI members. The construction is performed when the RLDEXTN command is issued on once a day as part of new day processing.
ISV impact	No known impacts.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	N/A
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 Base
Service details	N/A part of z/VM 7.3 base
APAR	N/A
PTF	N/A
RSU	N/A

 

ESM Authorization and Auditing of SMAPI Requests
Name	ESM Authorization and Auditing of SMAPI Requests
Description	When an ESM is present, programs can use the ESM for all SMAPI authorization decisions at the same granularity used with the SMAPI existing authorization mechanism. The ESM logs the decision (or not) that is based on its active policy, without SMAPI knowledge or intervention.   When an ESM defers its authorization decision to SMAPI, one of the following actions are taken based on a configuration option:   SMAPI's authorization decision uses the existing authorization process. SMAPI calls the ESM to log the decision in the ESM-managed security log. SMAPI has no knowledge if the ESM audit logging is enabled or disabled. SMAPI treats the request as unauthorized.
Status	Available September 27, 2018
Target availability	September 2018
Compatibility	Properties in the DMSSICNF COPY file control the ESM authorization setting. If you are migrating from a release prior to z/VM 7.1, the contents of your DMSSICNF COPY file will include duplicates of properties found in the IBMCNF COPY file. You can remove from DMSSICNF COPY any properties that are also found in IBMCNF COPY.
Enablement	First, configure your ESM to control system APIs by (a) enabling the FACILITY class and (b) creating new ESM profiles which map to your desired security policy. Your ESM will not need to be restarted; however, a REFRESH may be necessary for updated policy to be detected.   Then, update DMSSICNF to indicate either Authorization_Policy = Authorization_Policy_EsmList (default) or Authorization_Policy = Authorization_Policy_EsmOnly.   For details, refer to the z/VM 7.1 System Management Application Programming manual
Effect	Security policy for control and/or audit of API usage will now be handled by your ESM, if available.
ISV impact	This function is available with non-IBM External Security Manager programs; refer to local documentation for instructions on ESM set-up.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	N/A
Release(s)	z/VM 7.1 New Function APAR
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	VM66167
PTF	UM35358
RSU	TBD

 

ESM Control of DEFINE MDISK Command
Name	External Security Manager (ESM) Control of DEFINE MDISK Command
Description	Addition of CP and RACF support to allow CP DEFINE MDISK to be a command controlled by an External Security Manager.
Status	Available September 16, 2022
Target availability	September 2022
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	After application of the PTFs, security administrators may define controls upon the DEFINE MDISK command, and permit users to access same. In the case of RACF/VM, this would be accomplished via:   RDEFINE VMCMD DEFINE.MDISK AUDIT(ALL,(READ)) UACC(NONE) PERMIT DEFINE.MDISK CLASS(VMCMD) ID(SYSOP1) ACCESS(UPDATE) SETROPTS REFRESH RACLIST(VMCMD)
Effect	A z/VM user not authorized to use this support will receive pertinent error messages from the ESM when attempting to execute DEFINE MDISK.
ISV impact	If using an External Security Manager from Broadcom (formerly CA), consult with their support for availability of a PTF.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux interaction.
Environment variable name	CP.ESM.CONTROL.DEFINE.MDISK
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 Base
Service details	N/A part of z/VM 7.3 base
APAR	N/A
PTF	N/A
RSU	N/A

 

GetShopz ServiceLink Support
Name	GetShopz ServiceLink Support
Description	Provide support in GetShopz for direct to host transfer of service packages from IBM ServiceLink. GetShopz currently has the function to securely transfer z/VM service packages directly from Shopz. This new function APAR will provide the same ability for orders from ServiceLink.
Status	Available April 3, 2025
Target availability	March 2025
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	With the PTF for the APAR installed, the GetShopz program will support direct to host transfer of service packages from ServiceLink.
Effect	No known effect.
ISV impact	No known impacts.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	N/A
Release(s)	z/VM 7.4 Feature Pack
Service details	z/VM 7.4 CMS Feature 01 Fix 00
APAR	VM66834
PTF	UM90516
RSU	TBD
Additional information	GetShopz - Direct to Host Service Download information

 

Greater than 1TB Guest Support
Name	Greater than 1TB Guest Support; >1TB Guest Support
Description	Support guests that are defined with more than 1TB of memory, subject to a set of documented guidelines and considerations.
Status	Available August 28, 2023
Target availability	September 2023
Compatibility	This support is upward compatible. While there is no associated code change, it is advisable to apply the PTF UM90339 for the APAR associated with the "Large Guest LOGOFF Reset Time Mitigation" function prior to exploiting this capability.
Enablement	Enabled when such a guest is defined.
Effect	Guests can exploit larger memory, subject to some considerations.
ISV impact	To exploit large memory effectively with Oracle, patch 33787325 should be applied.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction at this time.
Environment variable name	N/A
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR
Service details	No code changes. Once finalized, follow the guidelines and considerations.
APAR	None
PTF	None
RSU	N/A

 

Guest Secure-IPL
Name	Guest Secure-IPL
Description	Provide support to allow guest secure IPL (load and dump) for both ECKD and SCSI devices. A z/VM user can request that the machine loader validate the signed IPL code by using the security keys that were previously loaded by the customer on the HMC certificate store. The validation ensures that the IPL code is intact, unaltered, and originates from a trusted build-time source.
Status	CP and DirMaint support available May 18, 2023; SMAPI support available June 30, 2023.
Target availability	June 2023
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	The program to be loaded must be signed and at a level that supports secure IPL. The HMC certificate store must be loaded with any necessary matching security certificates. Then the SET LOADDEV or SET DUMPDEV command must be issued to set the appropriate LOADDEV or DUMPDEV parameters that includes the SECURE option. The IPL command is then issued to request a secure list-directed IPL.
Effect	The machine loader will use the certificates in the HMC certificate store to validate that the signature of the code being loaded matches the signature on the program.
ISV impact	Directory maintenance products like DirMaint and SMAPI may be affected although the changes made are upwardly compatible. Check with your vendor for updates.
Linux or hardware interaction	New levels of both hardware and Linux are required if the guest is to do a secure IPL.
Environment variable name	CP.FUNCTION.SECURITY.IPL
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR
Service details	CP	DirMaint	SMAPI
APAR	VM66434	VM66424	VM66650
PTF	UM90281	UV99435	UM90300
RSU	TBD	TBD	TBD

 

Include Current TERSE Utility With z/VM
Name	Include Current TERSE Utility With z/VM
Description	This enhancement ships the TERSE compression tool with the z/VM product as part of CMS.
Status	Available December 4, 2023
Target availability	December 2023
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	Apply PTF to access the utility.
Effect	TERSE can be used to compress or decompress CMS files and may be useful for submitting problem determination information such as dumps to IBM.
ISV impact	No known impacts at this time.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	N/A
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR.
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	VM66725
PTF	UM90383
RSU	TBD
Sign up	Contact Kerry Wilson - kerryw@us.ibm.com to become a Sponsor User.

 

Key Vault Utility
Name	Key Vault Utility, CMS Password Vault
Description	A new CMS password/key management utility -- KEYVAULT -- is planned to allow applications to securely store and retrieve user ID keys (logon passwords) that are needed for data transfers (such as using FTP/FTPS) or automated login procedures.
Status	Available May 30, 2023
Target availability	May 2023
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	Apply PTF and re-IPL z/VM to activate the code.
Effect	No known effect.
ISV impact	No known impacts at this time.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	N/A
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR
Service details	CMS	SES	TCP/IP
APAR	VM66453	VM66457	PH51239
PTF	UM90280	UM90289	UI91775
RSU	TBD	TBD	TBD

 

Large Guest LOGOFF Reset Time Mitigation
Name	Large Guest LOGOFF Reset Time Mitigation; Mitigate Effects of Guest Memory Reset Time on Logoff
Description	Reduce the amount of time that a large guest is unavailable for LOGON because of memory reset during LOGOFF.
Status	Available August 28, 2023
Target availability	August 2023
Compatibility	Once a guest enters the memory reset phase, its virtual devices have been released and it can be logged on again. The old instance of the guest is still in memory reset, but its user ID has been translated to lower case and it cannot be observed except by the QUERY NAMES, INDICATE PAGING, and LOCATE VMDBK commands, all of which will report its status as "LOGOFF" or, for QUERY NAMES, "LOF". The response to INDICATE PAGING has a new column appended to report the guest status (either "LOGOFF" or "---").
Enablement	Apply PTFs and re-IPL z/VM to activate the code.
Effect	Because the memory reset process is underway for the old guest, its memory demand will still exist but will decrease over time. Restarting a memory-intensive workload on the guest may not be advisable unless there is adequate real memory configured to accommodate that. The intention is to allow a new instance of the guest to be activated prior to the completion of memory reset so that configuration, operating system or application maintenance can be applied without delay.
ISV impact	No known impacts at this time.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	CP.FUNCTION.FAST_GUEST_LOGOFF
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	VM66673
PTF	UM90339
RSU	TBD

 

Linear Service Environment Variables
Name	Linear Service Environment Variables; Linear Service Version Query; Query Service
Description	Establish z/VM environment variables To provide the ability to easily determine the latest service installed on a z/VM 7.4 system. z/VM environment variables allow administrators or automation to view the linear service level from CP, CMS or a Linux guest.
Status	Currently in development.
Target availability	June 2025
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	TBD
Effect	In addition to new environment variables, the Service Status command will add a new option to display the levels.
ISV impact	No known impacts at this time.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	TBD
Release(s)	z/VM 7.4 Feature Pack
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	TBD
PTF	TBD
RSU	TBD

 

Memory Overcommitment Control
Name	Memory Overcommitment Control
Description	Memory Overcommitment Control provides mechanisms to detect and control memory overcommitment. Its objective is to enhance automatic system resource management to enable memory overcommitment to be limited to a client-defined acceptable level. Its value is that guest instantiations that affect memory overcommitment can be detected, reported, and, if desired, prevented, keeping system performance and availability within acceptable ranges.
Status	Soliciting sponsor users to assess feasibility and help refine the design.
Target availability	TBD
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	Disabled by default; enabled via system configuration statement or command; dynamically controllable via command.
Effect	Some settings can alert or prevent instantiation of guests that would cause excess memory overcommitment.
ISV impact	No known impacts at this time.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	CP.FUNCTION.MEMORY.OVERCOMMIT.DETECTION
Release(s)	z/VM 7.4 Feature Pack
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	TBD
PTF	TBD
RSU	TBD

 

MONWRITE CLOSE Option Enhancement
Name	MONWRITE CLOSE Option Enhancement
Description	This enhancement allows the file mode of the Monitor data file collected by MONWRITE to be specified so that they are no longer restricted to being written to the A-disk.
Status	Available November 14, 2023
Target availability	December 2023
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	This support will be enabled after the APAR is applied. It cannot be disabled.
Effect	There is no effect on systems that do not use the new option. MONWRITE will continue to write Monitor data files to the A-disk unless the command invocation is changed.
ISV impact	No known impacts at this time.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	N/A
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	VM66726
PTF	UM90376
RSU	TBD
Sign up	Contact Kerry Wilson - kerryw@us.ibm.com to become a Sponsor User.

 

NVMe EDEVICE Support for z/VM
Name	NVMe EDEVICE Support
Description	This support allows Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) devices connected via PCI Express (PCIe) adapters to be defined and managed as Fixed-Block Architecture (FBA) emulated devices (EDEVICEs).
Status	Available September 16, 2022
Target availability	September 2022
Compatibility	FEATURES ENABLE PCI is no longer required - PCI support is always enabled and FEATURES ENABLE PCI and FEATURES DISABLE PCI are accepted but ignored.
Enablement	Install PCIe adapter and NVMe device. Define device with SET EDEVICE command. Customer is responsible for acquiring a supported NVMe SSD and for device monitoring and management. A sample CMS-based monitoring utility is provided.
Effect	TBD
ISV impact	Monitor records are enhanced and produced in new combinations, reflecting support for multiple HyperPAV bases and aliases associated with a single EDEVICE.
Linux or hardware interaction	LinuxONE hardware required.
Environment variable name	CP.FUNCTION.EDEVICE.NVME
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 Base
Service details	N/A part of z/VM 7.3 base
APAR	N/A
PTF	N/A
RSU	N/A
Sign up	Contact Kerry Wilson - kerryw@us.ibm.com to become a Sponsor User.

 

Performance Data Pump
Name	Performance Data Pump
Description	The z/VM Performance Data Pump extends Performance Toolkit with the ability to extract real-time performance data and send that to enterprise observability products for visualization and analysis, leveraging the customer processes for alerting and reporting. The Data Pump includes support for Splunk. For customers who can use open source, a solution is demonstrated using InfluxDB and Grafana. Sample dashboards for Grafana will be provided. The IBM Z Container Registry offers container images for use with Linux on z/VM.
Status	Available August 12, 2023
Target availability	August 2023
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	In addition to installing the PTF, customers will define an extra CMS virtual machine for the Data Pump and create a minimal configuration file. Splunk users need to define an event collector and index for the VM performance data and define the required reports and dashboards. To use Grafana dashboards, users need to deploy and configure InfluxDB and Grafana instances or use an existing installation.
Effect	The Data Pump is technically independent of the current PERFSVM function. Customers can run either PERFSVM or the Data Pump, or both, depending on the requirements.
ISV impact	No known impacts.
Linux or hardware interaction	The Data Pump runs in a CMS virtual machine. To run InfluxDB and Grafana containers in a Linux guest on z/VM, Podman or Docker is needed.
Environment variable name	N/A
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	VM66687 (Perfkit)
PTF	UM90334
RSU	TBD
Additional information	z/VM Performance Data Pump information z/VM Grafana dashboards View spotlight video View education and demo video

 

Root of Trust
Name	Secure Host IPL, KEYSTORE, and Root of Trust
Description	Provide support to allow host secure IPL of SAPL and CPLOAD for both ECKD and SCSI devices. A z/VM administrator can request that the machine loader validate the signed IPL code by using the security keys that were previously loaded by the customer on the HMC certificate store. The validation ensures that the IPL code is intact, unaltered, and originates from a trusted build-time source.   Additionally, provide support for a local code-signing facility which can securely maintain private keys for code signing purposes. This facility must be used to re-sign code after modification of the hypervisor kernel, either for local modifications or for the application of service.
Status	Currently in design.
Target availability	TBD
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	SAPL and CPLOAD must be signed and at a level that supports Host Secure IPL. The HMC certificate store must be loaded with any necessary matching code-signing certificates. A secure list-directed IPL must be issued to load the hypervisor kernel for validation. If CP is modified by local installations, updated by vendors, or extended via CPXLOAD, local signing with a customer-provided private key will be required. Recommendations and guidance on signing and validation will be provided by IBM.
Effect	The machine loader will use the certificates in the HMC certificate store to validate that the signatures of SAPL and CPLOAD match the signatures on the program.
ISV impact	For vendor products which provide new signed text decks for CPXLOAD, the vendor must provide a public key for inclusion by the customer on the HMC.
Linux or hardware interaction	IBM z16 or IBM LinuxONE 4 with appropriate service levels applied.
Environment variable name	CP.FUNCTION.SECURITY.IPL = 2
Release(s)	z/VM 7.4 Feature Pack
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	TBD
PTF	TBD
RSU	TBD

 

Query z/VM System Security Settings
Name	Query z/VM System Security Settings
Description	This item will provide a centralized 'collector' program which gathers security-relevant configuration information from the running z/VM system and its services and provides them to a system programmer or security administrator via a single pane of glass. This item will also provide an API (via SMAPI) by which z/VM management programs, or compliance programs, can collect this data if authorized.
Status	Available June 26, 2023
Target availability	June 2023
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	After application of PTF, an authorized virtual machine may execute the function via issuance of the relevant invocation string. Program will detect how (or if) security relevant features are enabled.   Configuration and control of SMAPI will be required in order to use the API functionality provided by this item.
Effect	TBD
ISV impact	Directory manager and/or security manager software provided by vendors may need additional enablement support in order to provide data via this interface.
Linux or hardware interaction	API support is intended for use by the IBM zSCC (Security & Compliance Center).
Environment variable name	N/A
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	VM66646
PTF	UM90295
RSU	TBD

 

Query SCPID
Name	Query SCPID
Description	This enhancement allows the control program identification provided by z/VM guests to be displayed, similar to the HMC Systems Management "Partitions" display. It also provides this information in Monitor domain 1 sample configuration record 15 (MRMTRUSR), "Logged on User" and in new domain 4 event record 14 (MRUSESCP), "SCP Identification". CMS is enhanced to provide its control program identification to z/VM.
Status	Available April 23, 2024
Target availability	April 2024
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	This support will be enabled after z/VM is IPL'd with the APAR. It cannot be disabled.
Effect	There is no effect on normal system operation.
ISV impact	No known impacts.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction at this time.
Environment variable name	CP.FUNCTION.QUERY.SCPID
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR
Service details	CP	CMS
APAR	VM66758	VM66759
PTF	UM90431	UM90430
RSU	TBD	TBD

 

REXX Sockets Enhancements
Name	REXX Sockets Enhancements
Description	This project augments REXX Sockets with additional IOCTL functions to support TLS, adds support for IPv6, improves Domain Name Server support, implements two new socket functions and enhances diagnostics. As a side-effect, it also removes addressability constraints, allowing code to be added easily and naturally in future.
Status	Currently in test; soliciting sponsor user feedback.
Target availability	TBD
Compatibility	TBD
Enablement	TBD
Effect	TBD
ISV impact	No known impacts at this time.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	N/A
Release(s)	TBD
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	TBD
PTF	TBD
RSU	TBD
Sign up	Contact Kerry Wilson - kerryw@us.ibm.com to become a Sponsor User.

 

SCSI IPL Alternate Path Support
Name	SCSI IPL Alternate Path Support
Description	Alternate paths can be defined for list-directed SCSI IPL via the SET LOADDEV command and the User Directory LOADDEV statement. If IPL fails using the primary path, alternate paths will be used automatically.
Status	Available December 7, 2023
Target availability	December 2023
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	TBD
Effect	No known side-effects.
ISV impact	No known impacts at this time.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	CP.FUNCTION.SCSI.IPL.ALTERNATE_PATH
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	VM66727
PTF	UM90384
RSU	TBD

 

SMAPI FCP EQID API Support
Name	SMAPI FCP EQID API Support
Description	A new z/VM System Management API (SMAPI) called System_FCP_EQID_Set is created to provide a SMAPI API to enable modification of device equivalency IDs (EQID) for real FCP Adapter devices. This new API is particularly beneficial for customers who use SCSI disks connected via FCP (not edevices) and desire to utilize Live Guest Relocation (LGR) in an SSI environment.
Status	Available September 23, 2022
Target availability	TBD
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	Apply PTFs and re-start SMAPI to activate the code.
Effect	No known effect.
ISV impact	No known ISV impacts.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction at this time.
Environment variable name	N/A
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	VM66626
PTF	UM36014
RSU	TBD

 

SSI Eight Member Clusters
Name	SSI Eight Member Clusters
Description	This New Function APAR increases the maximum size of a Single System Image (SSI) cluster from four members to eight members. Four-member clusters may be installed initially, and then additional members may be added to the cluster. This will allow customers to grow their SSI clusters to allow for more workload, and more flexibility in using live guest relocation (LGR) for non-disruptive upgrades and workload balancing.
Status	Available September 16, 2022
Target availability	September 2022
Compatibility	TBD
Enablement	TBD
Effect	TBD
ISV impact	No known impacts at this time.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	CP.LIMIT.SSI.MEMBERS
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 Base
Service details	Part of z/VM 7.3 base. See pre-requisisite service below.
APAR	N/A
PTF	N/A
RSU	N/A

 

Support Larger NVMe EDEVICE Page Space Allocations
Name	Support Larger NVMe EDEVICE Page Space Allocations
Description	Allow paging space to be allocated anywhere on an NVMe EDEVICE and to be of any size up to the available capacity. Requires a corresponding ICKDSF APAR to Enhance CPFMTXA to enhance FBA allocation.
Status	Available August 22, 2023
Target availability	August 2023
Compatibility	This support is upward compatible. It depends on an updated version of ICKDSF.
Enablement	Enabled when the PTFs are applied and NVMe EDEVICEs are allocated with large extents using CPFMTXA (ICKDSF).
Effect	NVMe FBA EDEVICEs can handle large paging workloads more effectively.
ISV impact	No known impacts. No impact to Broadcom products.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	CP.FUNCTION.EDEVICE.NVME
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR
Service details	ICKDSF	CP
APAR	PH52513	VM66675
PTF	UI92308	UM90336
RSU	TBD	TBD

 

System SSL 2.5 Uplift
Name	System SSL 2.5 Uplift
Description	An update of the cryptographic services library is planned to allow for enhanced certificate diagnostic enhancements, improved algorithmic support, and future enablement of TLS 1.3 for secure connectivity to the z/VM platform.
Status	Available October 4, 2023.
Target availability	Fourth Quarter 2023
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	Apply PTF and re-IPL z/VM TLS Server(s) or z/VM LDAP Server(s) to activate the code.
Effect	No known effect.
ISV impact	No known impacts.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	N/A
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	PH56199
PTF	UI93720
RSU	TBD

 

Thin Stack Adapter Interrupt Support
Name	Thin Stack Adapter Interrupt Support
Description	This enhancement updates the Thin Stack FCP SCSI device driver and associated IO routines to exploit adapter interruptions. It also provides improved error handling to the SCSIDISC command. Use of adapter interruptions is required for Thin Stack to be compatible with future models of the z processor.
Status	Available August 22, 2023
Target availability	August 2023
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	Required the use of an updated SALIPL (CMS command), SCSIDISC (CMS command), and CPLOAD. All three component may be used independently, however the full benefit of this line item is not achieved until all three items are installed and the IPL record for FCP SCSI based z/VM system has been re-written using the updated SALIPL. The new SALIPL will install an updated SAPL system loader program.
Effect	This enhancement impacts: IPL from FCP SCSI devices, dump to FCP SCSI devices using abend and SNAPDUMP processing, the SALIP and SCSIDISC commands.
ISV impact	No known impacts.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	CP.FUNCTION.THINSTACK
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	VM66654
PTF	UM90335
RSU	TBD

 

Timing Enhancements
Name	z/VM Timing Enhancements
Description	The z/VM Timing Enhancements line item will improve the current support of the Server Time Protocol (STP) by including leap seconds in several key interfaces where z/VM reports on civil time. When leap seconds are properly configured to the Central Processor Complex (CPC), this will mean that time generated by z/VM and time generated by other operating systems that support STP and are part of the same timing network, will be consistent.
Status	Currently in development; soliciting sponsor user feedback.
Target availability	TBD
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	TBD
Effect	TBD
ISV impact	TBD
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	TBD
Release(s)	TBD
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	TBD
PTF	TBD
RSU	TBD
Sign up	Contact Kerry Wilson - kerryw@us.ibm.com to become a Sponsor User.

 

TLS 1.3 Support
Name	TLS 1.3 Support
Description	TLS 1.3 Support will introduce support in z/VM for TLS 1.3. This enhancement will modernize the z/VM SSL offering, allowing customers to adhere to current requirements related to cryptographic algorithms and key usage.
Status	Currently in design.
Target availability	TBD
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	Apply PTF and configure SSL to exploit TLS 1.3.
Effect	No known effect
ISV impact	No known impacts at this time.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	N/A
Release(s)	z/VM 7.4 Feature Pack
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	TBD
PTF	TBD
RSU	TBD

 

Two-Speed Monitoring
Name	Two-Speed Monitoring
Description	Two-Speed Monitoring provides a mechanism for collecting z/VM Monitor data at two different sampling rates. The underlying requirement is to be able to allow some guests to collect detailed data for a relatively brief period so it can be preserved if a situation arises that requires it for analysis, while allowing other guests to collect data less frequently and over longer time periods for customary purposes such as real-time monitoring or feeding the z/VM Performance Data Pump. This avoids disrupting existing client processes that rely on Monitor data collection.
Status	Available April 3, 2025
Target availability	March 2025
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	Apply PTFs and re-IPL z/VM to activate the code. Change an existing MONWRITE guest or create a new one to use the new support.
Effect	No effect on current use of MONITOR command; current keywords will remain unchanged. Some changes to QUERY MONITOR responses.
ISV impact	No known impact but opportunity for exploitation by products that consume Monitor data.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	CP.LIMIT.MONITOR.SUBINTERVAL
Release(s)	z/VM 7.4 Feature Pack
Service details	z/VM 7.4 CP Feature 01 Fix 00
APAR	VM66829
PTF	UM90510
RSU	TBD

 

VM Pass-Through ESA Support
Name	VM Pass-Through ESA Support
Description	Eliminate VM Pass-Through dependencies on the 370 Accommodation facility and remove support for deprecated devices, enabling PVM to run on either CMS or z/CMS.
Status	Available February 9, 2024
Target availability	January 2024
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	Install PTF and restart the PVM facility.
Effect	No known side-effects.
ISV impact	No known impacts at this time.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	N/A
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	VM66733
PTF	UV99447
RSU	TBD

 

VMEVENT Enhancements
Name	*VMEVENT Enhancements
Description	Additional information is provided through the *VMEVENT CP system service: Events are presented for virtual-machine disconnection from and reconnection to a terminal session. Identification of the connected terminal session (e.g., device type, address, host virtual machine, and IP address, as appropriate) is included on the existing logon event and the new reconnect event. Full-precision timeout values are added to the logoff-timeout-started and logoff-timeout-service events, to represent times above 65535 seconds accurately. Redundant runnable-state-entered events are eliminated in cases where the virtual machine was already in runnable state.
Status	Available June 13, 2023
Target availability	June 2023
Compatibility	This support is upward compatible. Where existing event record formats are modified, the new information is appended at the end. Existing fields retain their prior content, with one exception: previously, a logoff-timeout value above 65535 seconds was incorrectly truncated to 16 bits; the maximum representable value, 65535, will be presented in this field instead.   Existing programs that consume *VMEVENT data must be able to tolerate (e.g., ignore) new record types as well as content appended to existing record types.
Enablement	Apply PTF and re-IPL z/VM to activate the code.
Effect	No known effects.
ISV impact	No known impacts.
Linux or hardware interaction	No known Linux or hardware interaction.
Environment variable name	CP.FUNCTION.VMEVENT
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR
Service details	See below for the IBM service information.
APAR	VM66679
PTF	UM90293
RSU	TBD

 

Warning Track Interruption Facility
Name	Warning Track Interruption Facility
Description	Warning Track Interruption Facility will be exploited at z/VM host level to receive warnings that PR/SM will undispatch a logical CPU from its backing physical CPU. With these warnings, CP can undispatch work running on said logical CPU to make it redispatchable elsewhere.
Status	Available November 8, 2023.
Target availability	December 2023
Compatibility	No known incompatibilities.
Enablement	Apply PTF and re-IPL z/VM to activate the code. The function will be enabled by default. The support will include a new SRM configuration statement option as well as a new SET SRM dynamic command option to enable/disable Warning Track exploitation in z/VM.
Effect	Warning Track intends to reduce suspend time and other poor performance symptoms observed when low entitlement LPARs consume more than their entitlement.
ISV impact	Some monitor changes will be included in the support. If you have a performance product, please see your vendor.
Linux or hardware interaction	Requires z14 or higher. No known Linux interaction at this time.
Environment variable name	CP.FUNCTION.SRM.WARNINGTRACK
Release(s)	z/VM 7.3 New Function APAR
Service details	CP	Perfkit
APAR	VM66678	VM66709
PTF	UM90375	UM90372
RSU	TBD	TBD

 

Request to become more involved

If you have interest in a project above and would like more information, feel free to contact Kerry Wilson - kerryw@us.ibm.com. Please understand that we may need to limit participation and there are other requirements that may vary from project to project.

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