Common Commands used in OMVS

This article will cover basic commands used to traverse OMVS in order to install Assure Client and Visibility API, as well as set up communication between Assure & ACR. OMVS is the UNIX side of Mainframe (as opposed to the z/OS side, which is what ACR runs on). It is commonly referred to as "OMVS" or "USS" (Unix Systems Services).

To access the UNIX side of Mainframe, simply enter in the command "OMVS" at the ready prompt. You can also run the OMVS command from the ISPF Command Shell (commonly option 6 from the main ISPF menu).

Method 1: Ready prompt

Method 2: ISPF Command Shell

Once there, you should see this screen:

On this screen, you will use UNIX commands to navigate. Here is a list of some common ones that can be used:

ls -- Used to list all directories and files in your current location. Use "ls -l" to list extra information about a file or directory like its size and permissions.

cd -- Used to traverse through directories. Example: "cd directoryname" will go to a directory called "directoryname". To go back a directory, type "..".

mkdir -- Used to create a directory. Example: "mkdir directoryname" will create a directory called "directoryname".

oedit -- Used to edit files on the UNIX side of the Mainframe. Example: "oedit filename.properties" will edit a file named "filename" with an extension of ".properties".

unzip -- Used to unzip compressed files with the ".zip" extension. Example: "unzip file.zip" will unzip the compressed file "file.zip".

tar -- Used to unzip compressed folders with the ".tar" extension. Example: "tar file.tar" will unzip the compressed file "file.tar".