PopUp Architecture & Integrations

PopUp Mainframe is available with various options to suit your individual requirements. PopUp supports multiple architectural patterns and provides deep integration with other software to enable on-demand provisioning, CI/CD, data compliance. See below for more details.


How PopUp Works

The stand-alone PopUp Mainframe forms the foundation of our offering.

diagram showing the z/OS environment, apps and masked data coming from Z hardware, going the the PopUp (which can run on-prem, in the cloud or IFL). Then a gold copy is created and used to populate the child instance PopUps. Teams push code changes back to the physical mainframe as needed, with UAT happening on the physical mainframe.

  1. Once the use cases have been identified, the required data and applications can be migrated from the physical mainframe to the PopUp, to build a "PopUp server gold copy". Data can be masked/sanitised in the prod zone. The PopUp server gold copy can run on Z or X hardware.
  2. Once an approved "gold copy" PopUp image is ready, it is easy to create working copies in any non-production environment.
  3. A working instance of the "PopUp server gold copy" can be stood up in the any non-prod environment, running on Z or X, and provides capacity to address the use case.
  4. Code changes can be managed using the existing SCM, or an alternative.
  5. Once the use case is complete, the code changes can be promoted via the preferred mechanism (e.g. automation or manual deploy) to the physical mainframe test environment.

The below diagram shows the networking required for a standard PopUp Mainframe deployment.

diagram showing data coming from Z hardware going to the PopUps, the PopUp server gold copy and child copy VMs, all connected to the PopUp license server and optionaly a 3270 emulator or IDE

Note:

  • PopUps can run on Z or X, and can be sent between the two using FastTrack.
  • A connection to the PopUp license server is required from any running PopUp.
  • To connect to the PopUp z/OS, a 3270 emulator or any z/OS-compatible IDE can be used.

For full details on network requirements, see System Requirements.


Imagine being able to turn back time, and restore a previous version of your PopUp in seconds. FastTrack offers a guaranteed way to go back to the last working version of your PopUp environment, no matter how badly it's broken.

FastTrack is an optional extra which can be used with PopUp. It provides the ability to take snapshots on your entire z/OS system at any time, rollback to one of those snapshots or send a snapshot to a remote PopUp. For more details, see FastTrack.

See FastTrack in action below.


PopUp Mainframe integrates fully with Delphix Continuous Data (virtualization) and Delphix Continuous Compliance (masking).

Delphix Continuous Data provides virtualisation capabilities. Delphix Continuous Compliance provides masking and compliance capabilities for your mainframe data. PopUp can be used with either or both, depending on your requirements.

How PopUp & Delphix Works

Delphix Continous Data enabes you to create virtual copies of your PopUp, which can then be shared with teams for dev, test and training activities. It works in a similar way to stand-alone PopUp (described here), with these added advantages of using Delphix:

  • A web-based UI to manage your "gold copy" PopUps and all child PopUps, take and schedule snapshots, rewind or refresh to any snapshot across the timeline and administer your PopUp environments
  • The ability to spin up or tear down a cloned version of an existing PopUp in seconds (as no data transfer needs to take place).

Find out more about Delphix configuration here.


Delphix Continuous Compliance (Data Masking)

Delphix Continuous Compliance in conjunction with PopUp Mainframe offers data masking solutions for mainframe data sources including VSAM, variable-length files, Db2 and IMS. For further information on masking data on the PopUp with Delphix, see this video.

There are multiple options for masking your data with Delphix and PopUp Mainframe. Some of the common scenarios are detailed below, but we can work wth you to build a solution to match your unique requirements.

1. Masking occurs in the production zone

Data will not leave the production zone until it is masked. Masked data is generated in the production zone, and placed on a "gold copy" PopUp running on Z hardware (utilising IFL processors). Then the PopUp can be cloned into the dev / test zone for use by teams.

diagram showing the masking process (explained above)


2. Masking occurs outside the production zone

A selected subset of data is copied to a "gold copy" PopUp running outside the production zone (this might be on Z hardware, or x86 in the cloud or on-prem). Once the data is masked, the PopUp can be cloned for use by teams.

diagram showing the masking process (explained above)


DataVantage Data Masking Express (DME) offers data compliance and is compatible with most mainframe data sources, including VSAM, Db2 and IMS. DataVantage is a native z/OS-based tool and comes with the PopUp Mainframe, fully installed and configured, ready for masking to take place.

Options for masking with DataVantage

There are multiple options for masking your data with DataVantage and PopUp Mainframe. Some of the common scenarios are detailed below, but we can work wth you to build a solution to match your unique requirements.

1. Masking occurs in the production zone

Data will not leave the production zone until it is masked. Masked data is generated on a "gold copy" PopUp running on Z hardware (utilising IFL processors). Then the PopUp can be cloned into the dev / test zone for use by teams.

diagram showing the masking process (explained above)


2. Masking occurs in the production zone, the PopUp is installed in the dev / test zone

Data will not leave the production zone until it is masked. Masked data is generated with DataVantage in the production zone. The masked data is then copied to a "gold copy" PopUp in the dev / test zone (this PopUp can be running on Z or x86 hardware). Then the "gold copy" PopUp can be cloned as needed for use by teams.

diagram showing the masking process (explained above)


3. Data is masked outside of production

Data is masked using DataVantage in a non-prod environment. The masked data is then copied to a "gold copy" PopUp in the dev / test zone (this PopUp can be running on Z or x86 hardware). Then the "gold copy" PopUp can be cloned as needed for use by teams.

diagram showing the masking process (explained above)


We provide the BMC AMI DevX software suite pre-installed and configured on the PopUp.

image showing the BMC tools which are shipped with the PopUp

Here is a video demonstrating the power of using BMC's development and testing tools on PopUp Mainframe, orchestrated with a GitHub Actions pipeline:

This is an example of a common CI/CD pipleine scenario:

image showing the BMC AMI DevX tools integrated into a CI/CD pipeline


From leading cloud marketplaces, you can launch your own PopUp Mainframe in minutes.

The PopUp virtual machine is pre‑built, configured, and performance‑tested to run optimally on modern cloud infrastructure. It delivers the high performance and reliability you expect from enterprise‑grade platforms.

PopUp is at the forefront of mainframe modernization. With offerings across Azure and AWS, PopUp enables on‑demand mainframe environments that accelerate projects and bring cutting‑edge practices to life.

Deploying PopUp Mainframe in the Cloud


Page last revised on: 2026-06-10