A staged implementation

If you have a very large number of CICS® systems, or if you have decided to create multiple CICSplexes, you might want to consider implementing CICSPlex SM in stages.

You can install CICSPlex SM on a subset of your systems and use it to manage a single CICSplex or, if you have defined a single CICSplex for the enterprise, you can use it to manage particular system groups. Additional CICS systems can be added to the configuration gradually.

If you opt for the gradual approach, you will need to revisit your final map of the enterprise CICS systems and identify those you plan to start with. For example, if a staged implementation were adopted for your example map, you could decide to begin by implementing CICSplex 2 only. The CMAS-to-CMAS links would be much reduced in number (two CMAS-to-CMAS links, rather than 12), but the other decisions made about CICSplex 2 are still valid. That is, the same CICS system groups can be defined, and the CMAS installations are still required.