Getting Started with Hiperstation Tutorial

Hiperstation is a great tool for developing automated tests on z/OS. By recording common tasks performed on ISPF, Hiperstation saves the developer time and energy. In this tutorial, we are going to walk through the process of recording a task on Hiperstation. To keep things simple, we are going to record the process of shutting down a CICS region. To follow along with this tutorial, it is expected that you have a working knowledge of ISPF as well as having access to a CICS region that can be stopped. Let’s get started building an automated recording!

1 Accessing Hiperstation

First, open up ISPF. I’m using the ISPF emulator from Topaz on AWS, but any other emulator will do.

Accessing ISPF from Topaz on AWS

Now logon to the mainframe. Once you are done, you should see a screen similar to this.

The home page of ISPF

Navigate to Hiperstation on your system. For my system it’s under “=P.H”.

Navigating to Hiperstation

Now open the Hiperstation instance that is running on your system.

2 Creating a Profile

At this point, we are ready to start using Hiperstation! First, we will need a profile. If you don’t have a profile dataset already configured, leave it blank to configure one and define the profile name above it. If you already have a profile, you can skip this section.

Creating a Hiperstation Profile

Define the dataset name then press F3 to continue.

Creating Profile Dataset

On the Hiperstation Profile Screen, put an “All” on the line command and enter your email address. Once you are ready, press enter.

Hiperstation Profile

Either keep the defaults or update the settings for each Hiperstation feature. Once you are ready to continue, press F3. Continue through all the default screens until you reach the Hiperstation home screen.

Hiperstation Home Screen

Congratulations! You created your first Hiperstation profile. Now it’s time to create the recording.

3 Creating the Recording

After your profile is ready, enter 1 for “Hiperstation for VTAM”.

Accessing Hiperstation for VTAM

Now access Domain Traveler.

Hiperstation Main Menu

Put your CICS region as your Domain Destination then click enter. For this tutorial, my CICS region is H09SB006.

Domain Destination

On the command line, enter “RECORD” then click enter

Start Recording

Define your recording file name then click enter.

Define Record Member

Now access your CICS region by running the command “i {CICS_REGION}”.

Access your CICS Region

Now type “clear” on the command line and press enter.

Clear the Screen

Now type “CEMT PERFORM SHUTDOWN” to initiate the shutdown process, then click enter.

Perform Shutdown

This screen indicates that the shutdown has started.

Shutdown in Progress

After a few seconds, click enter. At this point, the recording should have completed.

Recording Completed

Great! Your first recording is completed. Now, let’s test that our recording is working correctly.

4 Testing the Recording

First, bring up your CICS region again. Navigate to the JES Explorer in Topaz.

Now right click the top job and select “Resubmit job”

Wait until the job shows executing (F5 will refresh the JES Explorer or click the refresh button).

Now it’s time to execute our recording. Head back to the Hiperstation home screen and select “Quick Play”.

Now enter the path to the recording file created in the previous section then click enter.

Now type “Go” on the command line and press enter.

After the recording is finished, you will see a message on the top saying “CICSDWN Finished”. Click enter to exit.

Now, go back to the JES Explorer and refresh it.

The CICS region has ended! Congratulations you created your first Hiperstation recording.