SRM on IBM

Many applications, particularly in the banking area, require security to be integrated into their design. Generally, this security is best provided by adding hardware-based Host Security Modules (HSMs), such as Thales’ Payshield devices, as opposed to software solutions.

The Security Resource Manager (SRM) has been developed to allow a different type of approach to providing security.
The SRM software supports the Thales family of payShield devices on an IBM computer, running the z/OS operating system. These devices can be connected via either FICON(r) or Ethernet.

With one or more payShield devices attached, the SRM will support a number of different applications making calls to it, enabling any application running on the z/OS operating system to have access to the payShield devices’s security facilities. This effectively allows one or more payShield devices to be shared by a large number of applications.


The number of payShield devices required is dependent on the requirements of the system, e.g. throughput, system availability, etc. By using SRM, it is possible to manage the number of payShield devices to ensure redundancy and performance, in a way that is transparent to the applications accessing the payShield devices via the SRM.

SRM 2.7/4 is the latest version of the SRM on IBM product.