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  • Install the zRemote module

Install the zRemote module

The zRemote module processes monitoring data received from the zLocal and routes that data, compressed and encrypted, via its local ActiveGate to Dynatrace. Hence, the zRemote module offloads much of the processing work from the CICS, IMS, and z/OS Java code modules incurred in instrumenting subsystems and applications to an open system.

You can customize the zRemote module to enable optional features like Host groups and DB2 SQL statement fetch.

Hardware requirements

The hardware requirements of the machine where the zRemote module runs depend on the number of anticipated CICS and IMS transactions that should be monitored per second. See the hardware requirements for x86-64 architecture machines below.

  • For CICS and IMS development environments: a small or medium-sized machine.
  • For CICS and IMS production environments: a large or extra-large machine.
  • For z/OS Java environments: a small or medium-sized machine.
Hardware requirementsSmall (DEV)Medium (DEV)Large (PROD)X-Large (PROD)

Anticipated monitored CICS/IMS transactions per second

4,000

7,500

15,000

30,000

Required CPU cores (for example, Xeon E5-2600 series)

2

4

8

16

Required memory

4GB

6GB

8GB

16GB

Required disk space

20GB

20GB

20GB

20GB

Multiple zDC subsystems can be connected to a single zRemote as long as the number of monitored transactions matches the hardware requirements.

System requirements

You can install the zRemote module on any Linux or Windows operating system that ActiveGate supports.

zRemote module version 1.251+ We recommend that you install the zRemote module on an IBM Z or LinuxONE mainframe within your data center, on a supported Linux operating system, to avoid performance or security issues in z/OS monitoring.

The zRemote module only supports a host-based ActiveGate installation configured for a single environment.

Installation

The zRemote module is downloaded and installed automatically during the ActiveGate installation procedure on Linux or Windows.

  1. Sign in to Dynatrace, select Deploy Dynatrace from the navigation menu and select Install ActiveGate.

  2. On the Install Environment ActiveGate page, select Linux or Windows.

  3. Dynatrace version 1.251+ Linux only: Select installer type s390 (recommended) or x86/64.

  4. Select the purpose Install the zRemote module for z/OS monitoring, download the installer, and start the installation procedure.

  5. optional zRemote module version 1.237+ Customize the ActiveGate user via the ActiveGate USER option.

  6. optional zRemote module version 1.253+ Customize the ActiveGate log directory via the ActiveGate LOG option. Recommendation: keep the default directory to simplify troubleshooting.

  7. optional By default, the zRemote module listens on port 8898 for connections from the zLocal running as part of the zDC. To listen on a different port, set the zdclistenerport parameter to your port in the ruxitagent.conf file. You must ensure that this port is not blocked by a firewall.

  8. optional zRemote module version 1.247+ By default, the zRemote module connects to its local ActiveGate for routing the monitoring data encrypted and compressed to your Dynatrace server endpoint.

    • If you want to connect the zRemote module to any other ActiveGate with enabled OneAgent routing module, set the enableURLSwitching parameter to true in the ruxitagent.conf file. The network zone will automatically assign an available ActiveGate to the zRemote module.

    • If you want to connect the zRemote module to a specific ActiveGate with enabled OneAgent routing module, set the Server parameter to the IP address or DNS of your ActiveGate in the ruxitagent.conf file.

    Both ActiveGates must be located in the same subnet.

    zRemote module versions older than 1.247

    For z/OS monitoring, you need both of the following:

    • An ActiveGate with enabled zRemote module. This ActiveGate is responsible for installing the zRemote module, updating the zRemote module, and providing the network interface.
    • An ActiveGate with enabled OneAgent routing module. This ActiveGate is responsible for routing the monitoring data received from the zRemote module encrypted and compressed to Dynatrace.

Security

  • zRemote module version 1.237+ The zRemote module (oneagentz process) starts as the ActiveGate default user or the customized user.
  • zRemote module version 1.237+ Access to log and configuration directories and files is restricted to that user. Common access has been removed (750 for directories, 640 for files).
  • To access log and configuration directories and files, elevated permissions (sudo) are required. This might affect custom scripts.

Log directory

  • zRemote module version 1.253+ The log directory on Linux platforms changed from /var/lib/dynatrace/zremote/log to /var/log/dynatrace/zremote.
  • All existing log files are moved to the new directory during the zRemote module update. The existing log directory structure is kept for compatibility.

Logging

The zRemote logs are created on the machine where the zRemote is installed, in the standard Dynatrace log locations. You can view the zRemote logs either directly on the machine hosting the zRemote or by requesting them from Dynatrace via the OneAgent diagnostics workflow.

The actual zRemote log should contain the following messages:

  • Log messages that are sent from all CICS/IMS code modules and the zDC.
  • Log messages that are sent from the zLocal.

Update and maintenance

To stay current, you can update the zRemote module automatically to a newer version by using the ActiveGate auto-update procedure.

To manually update the zRemote module

  1. If you have customized the installation, back up the zremoteagentuserconfig.conf file of the zRemote module and the custom.properties file of the ActiveGate. The installer should not overwrite these files, but we recommended backing them up for safety.
  2. Uninstall the zRemote module. 
    plaintext
    /opt/dynatrace/gateway/uninstall.sh
  3. Install the zRemote module. 
    plaintext
    ./bin/bash Dynatrace-ActiveGate-Linux-<arch>-<version>.sh --enable-zremote
  1. If you have customized the installation, back up the zremoteagentuserconfig.conf file of the zRemote module and the custom.properties file of the ActiveGate. The installer should not overwrite these files, but we recommended backing them up for safety.
  2. Uninstall the zRemote module via the Windows Control Panel.
  3. Install the zRemote module by executing the installer.

Operations

To stop, start, or restart the zRemote module, you can use the following commands.

You need root privileges to execute these commands.

To query the current status of the zRemote module:

bash
service zremote status

To stop, start, or restart the zRemote module:

bash
service zremote stop|start|restart|forcestop

The difference between stop and forcestop is that the stop command instructs the process to execute its controlled shutdown routine, while forcestop forces the process shutdown.

You need admin privileges to execute these commands.

On Windows, the zRemote module can be maintained using the Services tab of the Windows Task Manager. You can also use the following command:

bash
sc stop|start|restart "Dynatrace zRemote"

The sc command is asynchronous, so you need to query the status of the service, to determine when it has fully stopped:

bash
sc query "Dynatrace zRemote"