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 to be monitored per second. See the hardware requirements for x86-64 and s390 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 requirements | Small (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 on x86-64 architecture (Xeon E5-2600 series) | 2 | 4 | 8 | 16 |
Required IFL processors on s390 architecture | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Required memory | 4GB | 6GB | 8GB | 16GB |
Required disk space | 20GB | 20GB | 20GB | 20GB |
The hardware requirements are for the case when the zRemote module and its ActiveGate are used for mainframe monitoring only.
- Multiple zDC subsystems can be connected to a single zRemote as long as the number of monitored transactions matches the hardware requirements.
System requirements
- The zDC subsystem and the zRemote module to which it connects must be located within the same data center to avoid performance and security issues.
- zRemote module version 1.251+ We recommend installing the zRemote on an IBM Z or LinuxONE mainframe, on an supported Linux operating system for s390.
The zRemote will write a warning to its logs after a connection latency of 3 seconds.
The zRemote will drop the connection after a connection latency of 10 seconds.
- The zRemote only supports a host-based ActiveGate installation configured for a single environment.
- Monitoring of the host running the zRemote with OneAgent is only supported in full-stack monitoring mode.
Supported operating systems
You can install the zRemote module on any Linux operating system (except Amazon Linux) and Windows operating system listed below.
| Linux distribution | Versions | CPU architectures | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux | AMI 2018.31, 21, 20232 | x86-64 | |||||||||
| CentOS | 7.9 | x86-64 | |||||||||
| Oracle Linux | 7.9, 8.8, 9.2 | x86-64 | |||||||||
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux | 7.9, 8.6, 8.8, 9.0, 9.2 | s390, x86-64 | |||||||||
| Rocky Linux | 9.2 | x86-64 | |||||||||
| SUSE Enterprise Linux | 15.4, 15.5 | s390, x86-64 | |||||||||
| Ubuntu | 16.04, 18.04, 20.04, 22.04 | x86-64 | |||||||||
| 20.04, 22.04 | s390 | ||||||||||
1 Not supported for the zRemote module 2 Not supported for the zRemote module. To run ActiveGate extensions, the ActiveGate needs the "libcrypt.so.1" library from the "libxcrypt-compat.rpm" package, which is not installed by default on Amazon Linux 2023. | |||||||||||
| Windows distribution | Versions | CPU architectures |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | 10, 11 | x86-64 |
| Windows Server | 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019, 2022 | x86-64 |
Installation
The zRemote module is downloaded and installed automatically during the ActiveGate installation procedure on Linux or Windows.
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Sign in to Dynatrace, select Deploy Dynatrace from the navigation menu and select Install ActiveGate.
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On the Install Environment ActiveGate page, select Linux or Windows.
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Dynatrace version 1.251+ Linux only: Select installer type s390 (recommended) or x86/64.
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Select the purpose Install the zRemote module for z/OS monitoring, download the installer, and start the installation procedure.
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optional zRemote module version 1.237+ Customize the ActiveGate user via the ActiveGate
USERoption. -
optional zRemote module version 1.253+ Customize the ActiveGate log directory via the ActiveGate
LOGoption. Recommendation: keep the default directory to simplify troubleshooting. -
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
zdclistenerportparameter to your port in theruxitagent.conffile. You must ensure that this port is not blocked by a firewall. -
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.
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If you want to connect the zRemote module to any other ActiveGate with enabled OneAgent routing module, set the
enableURLSwitchingparameter totruein theruxitagent.conffile. 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
Serverparameter to the IP address or DNS of your ActiveGate in theruxitagent.conffile.
Both ActiveGates must be located in the same subnet.
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 (
oneagentzprocess) 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/logto/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
- If you have customized the installation, back up the
zremoteagentuserconfig.conffile of the zRemote module and thecustom.propertiesfile of the ActiveGate. The installer should not overwrite these files, but we recommended backing them up for safety. - Uninstall the zRemote module.
1/opt/dynatrace/gateway/uninstall.sh
- Install the zRemote module.
1./bin/bash Dynatrace-ActiveGate-Linux-<arch>-<version>.sh --enable-zremote
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:
1service zremote status
To stop, start, or restart the zRemote module:
1service 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.