Implementing CA-CIS

Implementing CA-CIS

CA ACF2 for z/VM uses the following components of CA‑CIS, Common Infrastructure Services:

• CA‑ACTIVATOR
• CAICCI
• CAISSF
• Advantage™ CA‑Earl®
• CA‑ESM

Only CA‑ACTIVATOR is required to install or use CA ACF2 for z/VM. Advantage CA‑Earl is always installed, but you are not required to use it. You have the opportunity during your product's installation to indicate whether you want to install the CA‑CIS components. If you indicate that you do want to install the CA‑CIS components, CA‑ACTIVATOR automatically leads you through the installation process (unless you have already installed these components for use with other products).

See the CA‑CIS Getting Started and Reference Guide for more information about CA‑CIS.

This section contains the following topics:

CA-ACTIVATOR

CAICCI

CAISSF

Advantage CA-Earl Reporting Service

CA-ESM

CA-ACTIVATOR

CA‑ACTIVATOR provides better control over installation and maintenance procedures to ensure their successful completion.

Note: Only the CA‑ACTIVATOR Reference Guide contains instructions for installing the CA‑ACTIVATOR component. The CA‑CIS CA‑ACTIVATOR Supplement guides you in using CA‑ACTIVATOR to install all other CA‑CIS components.

The CA‑ACTIVATOR features include:

• Interactive, full‑screen dialogs and HELP panels
• Customization steps that let you keep control of software installation
• Automatic incorporation of options during installation
• Recording of all software‑solution and component tailoring
• Modifying software‑solution options whenever needed
• Validation and demonstration of software installation
• Error‑free maintenance.

CAICCI

CAICCI, CAI Common Communications Interface, is a communications facility that offers a simple yet flexible approach enabling CA solutions to communicate with one another. This facility provides a layer that isolates application software from the specifics of the communications environment. The routines that make this possible are grouped under the CA z/OS service code, W410. CAICCI features include:

• Single point of control
• Multiple platform support
• Performance optimization
• Peer‑to‑peer (program‑to‑program) communication
• Parallel conversations
• Dynamic installation configuration
• Ease of customization
• Error handling

CAISSF

CAISSF, CAI Standard Security Facility, allows CA software to offer standardized security interfaces, regardless of the underlying access control software. CAISSF offers user authentication and resource access validation facilities, and can interface with CA security products (CA ACF2 or CA Top Secret) or compatible non‑CA security products. Check your CA‑CIS documentation for the CAISSF service code. For CA security products, CAISSF features include:

• A single security mechanism
• Isolation of CA enterprise solutions from CA or vendor mechanisms.

For non‑CA security products, some of the CAISSF features include:

• Resource class translation
• Access level translation
• Selective logging of requests
• Request type control
• Message support for failed access.

Advantage CA-Earl Reporting Service

The Advantage CA‑Earl reporting component is a user‑friendly report definition facility with the power of a comprehensive programming system. Advantage CA‑Earl allows you to modify and print the contents and layout of a predefined CA product report using English‑like statements. Check your CA‑CIS documentation for the Advantage CA‑Earl service code. Some of the Advantage CA‑Earl Reporting Service features are:

• Page, user, and field headings
• Automatic subtotaling and totaling capabilities
• Automatic data editing
• Full arithmetic computational facilities
• High‑level capabilities
• Enhanced printed output control.

For more information about Advantage CA‑Earl, see the Reporting with Advantage CA‑Earl Guide.

CA-ESM

CA‑ESM release 1.1 is an External Security Manager that allows CA ACF2 for z/VM to provide security to other products with an ESM option that issue Racroute calls. Some of the CA‑ESM features include:

• Securing user's ability to manipulate SFS files. Through CA‑ESM, CA ACF2 for z/VM can secure the user's ability to create, delete, or change SFS files and directories.
• Consolidating violation reports. By tying ESM calls into your system security package, all security violations are consolidated into your CA ACF2 for z/VM reports.

There are definite benefits to using CA‑ESM at your site. These benefits include:

• Can eliminate the need for a product specific interface between another product and CA ACF2 for z/VM.
• Single security environment. CA‑ESM ties your other products with ESM options into your regular CA ACF2 for z/VM environment, so that there is only a single security environment. This helps to simplify security administration, because there are no new commands for administrators to learn.

  Greater degree of security protection. By having your other products with ESM options tied into CA ACF2 for z/VM, a greater degree of security protection is guaranteed than would be using only the product's security.