To be able to run z/OS on my laptop I need the zD&T software plus a hardware dongle which has a license on it. This license expires every year and needs to be renewed.
I had messages like the following in the ZD&T terminal window
Warning: CPU 2 zPDTA will expire on 06/27/2021 (MM/DD/YY)
Current date & time: 06/11/2021 (MM/DD/YY) 14:51
The instructions on how to renew the key are obscure. If you know the secret, then it is easy. If you do not know the secret, then all the searching for it will not find it!
The portal to getting your key renewed is here Enabling a license key. You may think I already have a license – I just want to renew it I have already enabled it. That is just to confuse you. The page has links to
- Obtaining an update file from Rational License Key Center
Learn about the steps to obtain an initial update file from the Rational® License Key Center. - Returning an existing license key
For perpetual license entitlements, USB hardware device activations are set to expire one year from the date that an update file is generated. For this type of entitlement, you can return previously generated update files at any time, and generate a new update file.
Did you spot the secret? reread it For this type of entitlement, you can return previously generated update files at any time, and generate a new update file. To make it clearer I would have said. To generate a new update file, return the previously generated file, and (re-)obtain an update file.
Once you know the secret just
- Return the existing license key
- Obtain a file from the Rational Key Center
Return the existing key
Go to the rational site, logon and select View keys by host from the navigation window.
Make a note of the key number. (If you return the key, and did not make a note of the number, you’ll have to crawl round the back of your server to extract the dongle and read the key number).
The page has
License Management Get Keys Return Keys View keys by host View keys by user License Availability Repor
You can then use return keys, and follow the pages, and finally click on the return button.
Obtain a file
You can then use “get keys”, if you follow the process and get
IBM Z Development and Test Environment Personal Edition Authorized User Single Install License
0 Available
You have no spare licenses – you need to return one.
You need to download the file. For me the file name was like RDT-xxxxx-202405302359-3CP-1I-0.zip. Where the file name has a combination of your key number and the date and time.
Install it
Follow the documentation to download and install it.
I used
cd /usr/z1090/bin
sudo ./Z1091_token_update -status
sudo ./Z1091_token_update -u /u/colin/RDT-12345-202206122359-3CP-1I-0.zip
This has the serial number of the dongle 12345, the expiry data, and the number of CPs licensed.
Instead of taking the dongle out etc, I shut the machine down for the night. Next morning I used
cd /usr/z1090/bin
sudo ./Z1091_token_update -status
to display the status before I started zD&T.
ColinPaice 