Z Open Automation Utilities

[Analisa Wisdom]

Intoday's IT environment, integrating mainframes with modern development poses challenges due to legacy interfaces and specialized skills, creating operational silos. IBM Z Open Automation Utilities addresses these issues with:

ZOAU simplifies mainframe integration through z/OS UNIX System Services. It enables rapid skill transfer from UNIX environments, fostering seamless collaboration between mainframe and distributed teams while optimizing resource allocation and operational efficiency.

ZOAU offers straightforward programming libraries to access MVS resources like datasets and jobs directly from Python. Enable native development on-platform, empowering custom application creation that enhances MVS facility management with Python's versatility.

Enhance your mainframe environment with Red Hat Ansible Certified Content for IBM Z. Seamlessly integrate and leverage Ansible to streamline operations and automate tasks across your mainframe infrastructure.

Two editions of Z Open Automation Utilities are available. The PAX download format is popular in z/OS UNIX System Services and allows users to get started with ease. The SMP/E software installation and maintenance tool on z/OS can manage SMP/E installable images and their fix packs. Take advantage of IBM support to open service requests addressed in documented turnaround times with optional S&S.

The SMP/E (CBPDO, ServerPac) installable format allows for easy update management. It is recommended for production deployments. Both the base content and optional service PTF content are available through Shopz.

Explore how Credit Suisse, a large European bank, achieved success by leveraging Python on IBM z/OS. Discover their journey and insights into enhancing operational efficiency and innovation within mainframe environments.

Explore how to optimize your workflow by integrating Generation Data Groups (GDGs) with Zowe Open Automation on IBM Z and LinuxONE. Learn practical tips and best practices from Oscar Fernando Flores Garcia to streamline your operations and enhance productivity.

Learn from Mike Fontanetta in this Ansible User Spotlight series about his experiences and insights into leveraging Ansible on IBM Z. Discover practical tips and strategies for optimizing automation and enhancing operational efficiency in mainframe environments.

The Internet of Things isn't just a buzzword, it's a reality that's expanded rapidly since we last published a review article on home automation tools in 2016. In 2017, 26.5% of U.S. households already had some type of smart home technology in use; within five years that percentage is expected to double.

With an ever-expanding number of devices available to help you automate, protect, and monitor your home, it has never been easier nor more tempting to try your hand at home automation. Whether you're looking to control your HVAC system remotely, integrate a home theater, protect your home from theft, fire, or other threats, reduce your energy usage, or just control a few lights, there are countless devices available at your disposal.

Security concerns are among the many reasons why open source will be critical to our future with connected devices. Being able to fully understand the programs that control your home means you can view, and if necessary modify, the source code running on the devices themselves.

Calaos is designed as a full-stack home automation platform, including a server application, touchscreen interface, web application, native mobile applications for iOS and Android, and a preconfigured Linux operating system to run underneath. The Calaos project emerged from a French company, so its support forums are primarily in French, although most of the instructional material and documentation have been translated into English.

Domoticz is a home automation system with a pretty wide library of supported devices, ranging from weather stations to smoke detectors to remote controls, and a large number of additional third-party integrations are documented on the project's website. It is designed with an HTML5 frontend, making it accessible from desktop browsers and most modern smartphones, and is lightweight, running on many low-power devices like the Raspberry Pi.

Home Assistant is an open source home automation platform designed to be easily deployed on almost any machine that can run Python 3, from a Raspberry Pi to a network-attached storage (NAS) device, and it even ships with a Docker container to make deploying on other systems a breeze. It integrates with a large number of open source as well as commercial offerings, allowing you to link, for example, IFTTT, weather information, or your Amazon Echo device, to control hardware from locks to lights.

MisterHouse has gained a lot of ground since 2016, when we mentioned it as "another option to consider" on this list. It uses Perl scripts to monitor anything that can be queried by a computer or control anything capable of being remote controlled. It responds to voice commands, time of day, weather, location, and other events to turn on the lights, wake you up, record your favorite TV show, announce phone callers, warn that your front door is open, report how long your son has been online, tell you if your daughter's car is speeding, and much more. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows computers and can read/write from a wide variety of devices including security systems, weather stations, caller ID, routers, vehicle location systems, and more

OpenHAB (short for Open Home Automation Bus) is one of the best-known home automation tools among open source enthusiasts, with a large user community and quite a number of supported devices and integrations. Written in Java, openHAB is portable across most major operating systems and even runs nicely on the Raspberry Pi. Supporting hundreds of devices, openHAB is designed to be device-agnostic while making it easier for developers to add their own devices or plugins to the system. OpenHAB also ships iOS and Android apps for device control, as well as design tools so you can create your own UI for your home system.

OpenMotics is a home automation system with both hardware and software under open source licenses. It's designed to provide a comprehensive system for controlling devices, rather than stitching together many devices from different providers. Unlike many of the other systems designed primarily for easy retrofitting, OpenMotics focuses on a hardwired solution. For more, see our full article from OpenMotics backend developer Frederick Ryckbosch.

These aren't the only options available, of course. Many home automation enthusiasts go with a different solution, or even decide to roll their own. Other users choose to use individual smart home devices without integrating them into a single comprehensive system.

Now it's your turn: Do you already have an open source home automation system in place? Or perhaps you're researching the options to create one. What advice would you have to a newcomer to home automation, and what system or systems would you recommend?

Thanks Don, and thanks for all of the great Raspberry Pi related home automation things you've been cc'ing me on via Twitter - I'm hoping to do a follow up to this piece just on the Raspberry PI part of the home automation puzzle.

The world of home automation is a changing. I spent a good deal of my adult life in the home automation field. I have seen it change from a few controlled light in the home theater to controlling most everything in the home. Most of the stuff I dealt with was proprietary software, such as Elan, Crestron, Lutron Radio Ra2, and RTI Remote.

I have worked some with LinuxMCE. It was once considered the Crestron killer but never really took off.

Really nice article. A few years back I worked on a project using open remote. It has an open source version as well as a commercial one. Opensource one meets the basic needs of any home automation enthusiast.

I've been researching home automation for *months* now for my new home, and was kind of resigned to spending a lot of money on proprietary hardware. But in looking at OpenHAB, I think it'll do the trick just fine! It's so nifty, and I'd not even heard about it. I've submitted a Nooks & Crannies article on OpenHAB for April, in fact...

pimatic is an open source (GPLv2) home automation framework that runs on node.js. It provides a common extensible platform for home control and automation tasks and it is backed by a vivid and quickly growing user community.

EventGhost It has over 300 available device/software plugins. as an example. MicasaVerde Vera, Domoticz, RTI, Denon/Marantz, Harman Kardon, JVC, Samsung, Pioneer, Sony, Epson, Weather Underground, MQTT, TP-Link, Google Voice, Lutron, Kodi, VoxCommando, PushBullet, Global Cache. It is open source. allows for installing and uninstalling plugins without the need to restart the software. drag and drop event/action based solution. You can also use a variety of available IR remotes. It also incorporates just about full control of a windows based computer for things like moving the mouse. or keyboard emulation.

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There customer support was the best I have experienced across all software applications. Technical support was readily available, incredibly knowledgeable, polite and followed up to make sure everything was working properly. I had a couple of calls, and interacted with different support techs. Each was fantastic but more importantly the handoff between them was seamless. Resolution was fast and the tech's provided training so I learned while getting help. FANTASTIC CUSTOMER SUPPORT>

The suite is extremely comprehensive. It provides easy preconfigured access to all standard automation systems as well as great IOT support. Our application required Modbus, Bacnet, MQTT, and standard HTTP and API access. OAS did them all, right out of the box. There are a number of wizards that make set up and use of the software fast and simple. It was by far the easiest to get up and running productively.

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