Product Overview PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Preface

About This Publication

This manual introduces ThruPut Manager® SE (Standard Edition) and its facilities for automated batch workload management. It will be of most interest to technical services and datacenter management who are responsible for providing effective batch management and service in their installation.

Senior management will find the first section of this manual to be a suitable introduction to the batch issues still being grappled with in today’s datacenter, notwithstanding the latest z/OS and Workload Manager technology.

About This Edition

This edition applies to Version 7 Release 1.0 of ThruPut Manager®, and to all further releases until otherwise indicated.

Additional copies of this publication may be requested from:

8300 Woodbine Avenue Phone: 905-940-9404 4th Floor Fax: 905-940-5308 Markham, ON E-mail: [email protected] Canada L3R 9Y7 Web: www.mvssol.com

Trademarks and Copyright

ThruPut Manager is a registered trademark of MVS Solutions Inc.

Other trademarks and registered trademarks used in this publication are the property of their respective owners and are to be regarded as appearing with the appropriate ™ or ® symbol at their first mention.

Table of Contents

The Automation of Batch Management Tasks ��1 Introduction ��1 Task Automation Examples ��1 Datacenter Impact Areas ��5 ThruPut Manager and ISV Software Costs ��5 ThruPut Manager and JES2 Exits ��6 ThruPut Manager and the Batch Window ��7 ThruPut Manager, Job Schedulers and Batch Management ��8 ThruPut Manager SE Highlights ��10 Job Classing and Standards Services �� 10 Job Binding Services (JBS) �� 11 Job Limiting Services (JLS) �� 12 Dataset Contention Services (DCS) �� 12 Job Setup Services (JSS) �� 13 SYSOUT Services (SOS) �� 13 Multi-Hold Services (MHS) �� 14 User Control Services (UCS) �� 14 ISPF User Display Facility �� 15 ISPF Systems and Operator Facility �� 15 SMF Data Collection �� 15 Technical Concepts ��16 Design Goals �� 16 Batch Job Lifecycle �� 17 Job Analysis and Profile �� 18 Job Action Language, or JAL �� 18 ThruPut Manager SE Benefits ��19 Who Can Benefit �� 19 Conclusion �� 19 PRODUCT OVERVIEW

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview The Automation of Batch

PRODUCT OVERVIEW Management Tasks

This section describes how ThruPut Manager SE (Standard Edition) tackles the broad issues dealing with batch workload management and how specific batch workload management tasks can be addressed using this product.

Introduction

ThruPut Manager is the software product of choice for optimizing and automating batch workload management in a z/OS JES2 environment. It comes in Standard Edition (SE) and Automation Edition (AE).

Automation Edition

ThruPut Manager AE automates batch workload management and service as a whole. It is suitable for datacenters ready to embrace a strategic approach to attain the highest level of batch service management and automation. ThruPut Manager SE is a pre-requisite for, and included with, ThruPut Manager AE. For further information, see the ThruPut Manager AE Product Overview.

Standard Edition

ThruPut Manager SE automates many batch workload management tasks. It is suitable for datacenters that need to address a number of specific issues or problems within a consistent framework that is both robust and flexible.

Customers tell us that running their datacenters without ThruPut Manager SE would incur a significant investment in additional staff, software licenses, and hardware upgrades. Others tell us how they have implemented ThruPut Manager SE to solve one problem and ended up using it for several others.

Task Automation Examples

There are a number of batch workload management tasks that justify acquiring ThruPut Manager SE. Most datacenters can identify multiple of these that cause problems and cost significant time or money.

For a good introduction to the product, we suggest you review three or four of the following topics that are of most interest to you, and then proceed to the next chapter.

1. Categorize And Classify Jobs 2. Route Jobs 3. Manage Dataset Contention 4. Reduce ISV Software Costs 5. Manage and Enforce Standards 6. Prevent Non-Production Users From Monopolizing Resources 7. Optimize HSM Recalls 8. Provide Job Execution Control for Users 9. Run JES3 Workload On JES2

These are some of the more common applications for ThruPut Manager SE. Customers have also used the product to solve many other problems unique to their situation.

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview 1 PRODUCT OVERVIEW

1. Categorize and Classify Jobs

Categorize jobs and ensure they are classed according to your standards, regardless of the class or other JCL parameters submitted.

ThruPut Manager SE generates a job profile which consists of over 500 job descriptors for every job submitted. The datacenter builds rules to test any job descriptor and set appropriate job parameters, including the Job Class. All downstream processing is based on the newly set parameters, which correctly reflect the attributes and resource requirements of the jobs.

2. Route Jobs

Route jobs to the same system as a required started task (STC), say a DBMS or mail server, even if the started task is moved temporarily.

With ThruPut Manager SE, the datacenter defines a binding agent associated with the started task. It also creates a rule to identify jobs, which are dependent on the started task, and “binds” them to that binding agent.

ThruPut Manager SE then ensures all those jobs are routed to the “started task system”. When the started task moves to another system, all relevant jobs are automatically redirected without JCL changes or other intervention.

When WLM’s Scheduling Environment mechanism is used to route jobs, the datacenter can use ThruPut Manager SE rules to set the Scheduling Environment based on the job profile values.

3. Manage Dataset Contention

Ensure a job can only start if all its datasets are available. This avoids tying up an initiator waiting for the dataset and prevents a started job from holding onto a dataset while it is waiting on another unavailable dataset.

ThruPut Manager SE automatically verifies that all the datasets for a job are available. If not, the job is held until they become available. The datacenter can add a rule to set the DCS priority for the jobs. When a dataset becomes available, the job with the highest priority will be released first.

The datacenter can also add a rule to notify TSO users when they are holding a production job’s dataset. The TSO user will receive a message to release the relevant dataset.

4. Reduce ISV Software Costs

Limit the number of systems that need to have licensed software, and direct all the jobs that need the software to those systems in a manner that is transparent to users.

With ThruPut Manager SE, the datacenter defines a binding agent associated with the licensed software. It also creates a rule to “bind” jobs that use the software to that binding agent. ThruPut Manager SE automatically identifies all jobs which invoke that software and routes them to the licensed system(s), therefore keeping the datacenter in compliance with its licensing obligations.

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview 2 PRODUCT OVERVIEW

When the workload for the licensed system needs to be moved to another system, an operator command is used to associate the binding agent with the new system. All the relevant jobs are directed to the new system, automatically, without JCL changes or other intervention.

In addition, the TSO component of the Software Access Control facility intercepts all product invocations from within ISPF and TSO, ensuring no unauthorized access is possible. The installation can fail the particular invocation with an appropriate message that informs the user which systems are to be used.

5. Manage and Enforce Standards

Contend with users not understanding or not complying with the datacenter standards for JCL and job submission.

A challenging aspect of standards management is combining datacenters with differing job classing, print, and other standards. Without ThruPut Manager SE, the datacenter must decide on the new set of standards and modify all the JCL throughout the different stakeholder departments.

As noted earlier, ThruPut Manager SE generates a job profile that consists of over 500 job descriptors for every job submitted. The datacenter builds rules to test job descriptors and set appropriate job parameters, such as Job Class, Job Priority, and WLM Service Class. All downstream processing is based on the reset parameters.

Whether the datacenter is changing its standards because of a merger with another datacenter, or because of some other improvement, it is not dependent on the users’ training and acceptance of those standards. Furthermore, the users are not inconvenienced by a request to adjust their JCL.

ThruPut Manager SE also provides rules to interrogate the SYSOUT DD statements and set the print destination accordingly. It automatically routes jobs according to the reset destinations, without any JCL changes or other intervention.

6. Prevent Non-Production Users from Monopolizing Resources

Limit the number of jobs a non-production user (or department) can run concurrently to ensure other users get fair access to resources.

The datacenter uses rules to categorize the relevant jobs and to establish a limit for that category.

ThruPut Manager SE automatically ensures that the number of jobs that are running concurrently is no more than the limit for that category. The ‘excess’ jobs are held until the number of jobs running falls below the limit for that category.

The operator can use commands to adjust the limits for the different categories. For instance, a limit can be adjusted up to allow for an urgent test job, or set to zero to hold all non-production jobs during a system degradation.

A job can fall into more than one category and may be held due to any of its limits. It will only be released for execution when no limits are exceeded.

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview 3 PRODUCT OVERVIEW

7. Optimize HSM Recalls

Improve initiator throughput by starting HSM recalls as soon as the job enters the queue.

The datacenter uses a rule to activate the HSM recall feature. Once the rule is implemented, ThruPut Manager SE determines which jobs have HSM recalls and initiates them as soon as they are in the queue.

At the datacenter’s option, the job can be held until its recalls are complete. The recalls are overlapped, rather than being done serially, as in standard z/OS, which can significantly shorten the run-time.

ThruPut Manager SE can be configured to bypass HSM recalls and tape allocations for IEFBR14-type job steps where the dataset is simply to be deleted.

8. Provide Job Execution Control for Users

Allow users to run production-like test streams and other dependent job streams without the rigid setup of a Job Scheduler.

With ThruPut Manager SE, users have a dynamic, JCL-based mechanism to group a set of jobs and specify the sequence, job dependencies, and start time. There are ISPF panels for users to get feedback on the progress of their job streams.

ThruPut Manager SE automatically runs the jobs in order, at the right time, and makes the results available to the submitter.

9. Run JES3 Workload on JES2

Allow JES3 worloaed to run on JES2 without the need for complex, manual analysis. In order to run former JES3 workload in a JES2 environment, without ThruPut Manager SE, one would have to embark on a project to analyze the JES3 statements, decide on JES2 equivalents and then train the users to convert all their JCL to the new format.

ThruPut Manager SE automatically interprets JES3 statements and substitutes JES2 statements and/or ThruPut Manager SE functionality to accomplish the same result.

The datacenter need not rely on user compliance, nor inconvenience the users to update their JCL. No JCL changes or other interventions are needed.

A common theme of all the nine examples above is the flexibility of the product and the ease of implementing a ThruPut Manager SE solution for a particular batch issue. Once the approach to a problem is determined, for example a new set of job classing standards has been decided, the implementation can be done with a few simple rules – quickly and easily.

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview 4 Datacenter Impact Areas PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Rather than the automation of specific tasks, this section focuses on the different datacenter areas that ThruPut Manager SE has the capability to improve and impact in a positive way. The particular areas covered are ISV Software Costs, JES2 Exits, the ‘Batch Window’, and Job Schedulers/Batch Management.

ThruPut Manager and ISV Software Costs

ThruPut Manager SE provides the Software Access Control (SAC) feature to control access to ISV-licensed software. With this feature, installations can reduce the number of systems/LPARs and MIPS for which software is licensed, have the convenience of the licensed software available on all systems/LPARs, and still ensure license compliancy for batch and TSO users – all with a fully automated facility that is completely transparent to users and their JCL. The reduction in ISV software costs can be significant and some ThruPut Manager SE users have reported savings in excess of $1 Million every year.

Reduce the Systems/LPARs Licensed

Traditionally, installations licensed all their systems at a site for a particular product, often because that was a requirement of the vendor. These days, most ISVs will allow licensing of their software by LPAR, and their licensing and maintenance fees are less as the total MIPS/MSUs of the licensed LPARs are reduced. This creates an opportunity to lower ISV software costs, which are a major budget item for z/OS datacenters. Simply reduce the number of LPARs licensed, and license smaller LPARs if possible.

Some datacenters have taken that idea to the extent where they have one small LPAR dedicated to a set of ISV software products and just run jobs on that LPAR that uses the particular software products.

But there’s a conflict of objectives …

From a convenience perspective, it is desirable to have software installed on all LPARs, even those that are not licensed. First, it’s more complicated to have a non-symmetrical setup. Software usually gets propagated from a QA environment to production systems, and it’s just easier if the target of the propagation is all systems, rather than a subset of the systems. Secondly, if software is installed on all systems, when a licensed system is unavailable, deployment of a non-licensed system in its place can be done much more quickly if the software is installed, albeit on a “stand by” basis.

However, from a compliancy perspective, it is essential that jobs only run the licensed software on a licensed system. How can that be ensured if software is installed everywhere? SYSAFF, or Scheduling Environments, or any kind of routing technique that depends on the user to i) know their job uses a particular product, ii) know what system/LPAR is licensed for that product, and iii) specify the correct routing is not adequate. There is too much opportunity for users to accidentally, or otherwise, run a job on a system that isn’t licensed.

Software Access Control (SAC)

The Software Access Control (SAC) feature of ThruPut Manager SE is the only solution that ensures compliancy, while allowing the convenience of the software being installed everywhere. This is accomplished as follows:

•• ThruPut Manager SE’s comprehensive job analysis automatically determines at job submission, with certainty, that a job will execute a particular ISV product, for example, COBOL.

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview 5 PRODUCT OVERVIEW

•• The SAC table specifies a “binding agent”, say, COBOL.LICENSE, that represents the licensed product. (SAC is built on the Job Binding Services (JBS) feature of ThruPut Manager SE.) •• The COBOL.LICENSE agent points to the system(s)/LPAR(s) that are eligible to run the software. •• ThruPut Manager SE dynamically controls the system affinity of the job to ensure it only runs on a licensed LPAR. For example, there is no way a user can circumvent ThruPut Manager SE control and accidentally or otherwise, run a COBOL job on a non-licensed system. •• If a licensed system is down temporarily, or if it is to be changed permanently, a simple operator command can point the controlling binding agent to another system. Virtually all software license agreements allow for this. When the system is available again, redirect the binding agent back to its normal system(s). •• Lastly, SAC works for TSO as well. If a TSO user runs a product on an ineligible system, the invocation is blocked (ensuring compliancy) and the user is told what system to log on to where the product can be run. In conclusion, the Software Access Control feature is a complete solution. First and foremost, it ensures software product license compliancy. It is user/JCL transparent – the users don’t have to do anything special and they don’t even have to know what software their job will run. It allows for the convenience of the software being installed in all LPARs. And it allows for very simple redirection of jobs when the normal system for a product is changed, whether temporary or permanently.

With the Software Access Control of ThruPut Manager SE, a small LPAR for certain ISV products can yield very large software license savings.

ThruPut Manager and JES2 Exits

With each z/OS upgrade, datacenters with exits have to consider the impact of JES2 control block and service changes on their exits. The problem is all the more serious given the aging and retirement of those with the specialized skills to maintain the exits.

This has necessitated a movement to eliminate exits. However, the reasons for creating the exits in the first place may still be relevant and valid. What alternative is there? For many datacenters, ThruPut Manager SE is the way out of JES2 mods and exits, including the once popular Mellon Mod. They have eliminated exits and use ThruPut Manager SE rules and functionality to achieve comparable results and benefits. They realize the following:

JES2 is volatile

JES2 releases now occur typically every two years. Testing exits and, in some cases, re-writing them can elongate the upgrade project time. With ThruPut Manager SE it’s not a problem, since the rules are independent of the JES2 level. We release a compatible maintenance version before GA of the JES2 release. We can do this because of our “Partner in Development” status with IBM.

Skills are becoming scarce

The generation of workers with the requisite skills is approaching retirement. Furthermore, developing and maintaining assembler code exits is not typically the career of choice for younger programmers. The most prudent management tactic is to remove the vulnerability.

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview 6 PRODUCT OVERVIEW

With ThruPut Manager SE, the support and maintenance responsibility shifts from an experienced assembler coder with little or no back-up to a datacenter analyst who writes high-level rules and who is supported by a professional customer service department.

User impact constrains the datacenter

Many JES2 exits provide extended functionality to users and job submitters. The datacenter is cornered into maintaining such functionality in perpetuity, or they must make the hard choice to withdraw customer functionality that users have come to depend on.

With ThruPut Manager SE the choice is much easier. The functionality can be retained, but implemented as high level rules that are simple to change and maintain.

Exits have limited potential

Any strategy that relies on exits is necessarily constrained. They can only be placed at certain points and only manipulate specific data safely, thwarting the optimal solution to the original problem. With ThruPut Manager SE, you have access to more than 500 job descriptors with high level rules to manipulate them. Not only easier to maintain, it affords a better way of attacking the original reason for the exits.

ThruPut Manager and the Batch Window

For most installations, the ‘batch window’ is the time between the end of the online day and the beginning of the next online day, during which the regularly scheduled batch such as consolidation, balancing, reporting and database maintenance tasks must be completed. This window gets increasingly shorter, due to such factors as geographic expansion that incorporates more time zones, increases in the variety, complexity, and volume of data, and longer retail or service hours.

The above factors are beyond the datacenter’s control. However, with the help of ThruPut Manager SE, there are numerous ways in which the datacenter can improve the elapsed time of batch processing and complete the necessary work within the available batch window.

Eliminate Interference It frequently occurs that important and even ‘critical path’ jobs get delayed because the resources they require are being consumed by less important jobs. ThruPut Manager SE can:

•• ensure that job priorities and classes reflect their true business importance •• minimize dataset contention and ensure that priority jobs get next access to the dataset •• delay or limit the number of lower priority jobs during the batch window, to ensure that processing resources are available to the important work

Eliminate Unnecessary Queue Delays Accurate and automatic assignment of Job Classes, and WLM Service Classes, based on the true characteristics and resource requirements of each job, will reduce the average time a job waits in the execution queue. If even a few seconds of unnecessary delay per job can be eliminated, there will be significant improvement over the whole batch stream.

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview 7 PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Minimize Execution Delays The overall throughput of a system will improve if each process waits until conditions are ready and then completes as quickly as possible. ThruPut Manager SE applies this approach to batch workload, and the result is a significant improvement to the ‘batch window’ problem.

ThruPut Manager SE knows when a job needs manual mounts, HSM recalls, or virtual tape recalls. It can initiate action before the job is passed to an initiator and hold the job until resources are ready. Dataset contention problems are avoided and are resolved according to your priorities before the job initiates. Similarly, ThruPut Manager SE can ensure that required tape drives are available, avoiding allocation recovery situations.

ThruPut Manager SE speeds up processing by helping use your initiators more efficiently, thus reducing the overall number. The limiting facilities can control the number of jobs allowed to run that require concurrent access to, for example, DB2 threads and ensure that more jobs don’t execute than threads are available. ThruPut Manager SE minimizes initiator “road blocks” and shortens the length of your critical path.

Minimize Reruns With ThruPut Manager SE, JCL errors are caught as soon as the job is submitted, giving you more time to make corrections. Jobs requiring access to a DBMS or CICS server are only allowed to run when and where the server is available, thus eliminating abends and resultant reruns.

ThruPut Manager, Job Schedulers and Batch Management

ThruPut Manager SE is often confused with Job Schedulers and a common initial response to the product is “our scheduler does that”. In fact, ThruPut Manager SE and schedulers are very different, but complementary, products. Virtually every ThruPut Manager SE installation has a conventional Job Scheduler. Job schedulers are primarily a ‘pre-submission’ facility whereas ThruPut Manager SE is primarily a ‘post-submission’ facility.

•• Schedulers are an automated job submission facility for production batch, and are concerned with date/time dependencies such as “this job must run every Friday at 5:00 pm” and predecessor dependencies such as “this weekly job must run after all daily jobs have successfully completed”. Schedulers are typically ‘applications’, which limit their ability to control resource management and queue management for jobs they have submitted. •• ThruPut Manager SE, on the other hand, comes into the picture once a job has been submitted. It does not matter whether the job has been submitted manually by a user, by a traditional scheduling product, or whether a job stream has been built dynamically and submitted through the internal reader. ThruPut Manager SE sees all incoming jobs, scheduled or unscheduled, and its primary concern is to manage the entire batch workload from a resource, service, and throughput perspective. ThruPut Manager SE is tightly coupled with JES2 and other operating system components, which makes it the ideal solution for queue management of submitted jobs. ThruPut Manager SE does not manage timing and sequencing of execution, except to a limited degree as provided by user JCL statements, and not at all on the scale needed to successfully manage the scheduling of typical production batch workloads.

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview 8 PRODUCT OVERVIEW

In contrast to the pre-submission role of schedulers, ThruPut Manager SE enhances JES2 and WLM to manage jobs during the interval between submission and execution. To complete the picture, the operating system manages aspects of batch performance during execution through such components as RMF, SRM, and WLM.

Ad-hoc Batch

Ad-hoc, test, development, desktop batch – installations know this workload by many different names. For purposes here, “ad hoc” is simply any batch not submitted by a Job Scheduler. This kind of batch is typically unpredictable, except for some historical patterns of arrival. Users submit jobs any time at will, and the datacenter is expected to provide the necessary service on demand. The users are frequently ‘non-technical’ and the jobs often don’t conform to datacenter standards. This kind of batch is difficult to manage, and datacenters often fail to give it the service it requires and deserves.

ThruPut Manager SE is the ideal solution. Its automated controls and management provide an effective way for the datacenter to control ad-hoc batch and make things easier for the user at the same time.

Production Batch

Production batch, being in the control of datacenter staff, is typically ‘cleaner’ than that of ad-hoc batch. Nevertheless, there is still much benefit to be realized withThruPut Manager SE. Some features of ThruPut Manager SE, which are particularly relevant to scheduler-submitted production batch, include:

•• Automated classing and standards management. For example, certain classes are commonly based on the number of tape drives required, which is subject to change as datasets are moved between tape and DASD devices, and may even vary from run to run of the same job. ThruPut Manager SE computes the required number every time the job is submitted, so it is always accurate and the assigned class will always be correct. •• Job Binding. ThruPut Manager SE determines the status and location of a resource immediately prior to job execution. Schedulers that attempt to manage such dependencies may not be accurate, because the resource status can change between submission and execution. Also, ThruPut Manager SE determines resource dependencies automatically and with every submission of the job. This is always correct and complete, which may not be the case with dependencies manually defined in the scheduler’s job data base. In the case of software licensing, for example, the accurate identification of software used by a job not only prevents possible abends, were the job to run on a wrong system, but also ensures license compliancy. •• Dataset Contention Prevention. Dataset contention is often more of a problem for production batch than for ad-hoc batch. ThruPut Manager SE’s improved handling of dataset contention can provide significant relief to the ‘batch window’ problem. The above facilities of ThruPut Manager SE work together to prevent ad-hoc batch from interfering with production batch or, for that matter, lower-priority production batch from interfering with higher-priority and critical-path production batch. Such interference might be caused by a tape job in a non-setup class, by dataset contention, by tying up resources such as tape drives, and the like. While Job Schedulers are very limited in their ability to manage these issues, ThruPut Manager SE can proactively prevent all such situations, to the benefit of production batch throughput.

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview 9 ThruPut Manager SE Highlights PRODUCT OVERVIEW

This section describes the highlights of each ThruPut Manager SE feature.

ThruPut Manager SE is comprised of the following features, which are largely independent of each other. The installation only needs to implement those that solve batch issues or bottlenecks in their environment.

•• Job Classing and Standards Services •• Job Binding Services (JBS) •• Job Limiting Services (JLS) •• Dataset Contention Services (DCS) •• Job Setup Services (JSS) •• SYSOUT Services (SOS) •• Multi-Hold Services (MHS) •• User Control Services (UCS) •• Dependent Job Control (DJC) •• Job Timing Services (JTS) •• User Hold Services (UHS) •• ISPF User Display Facility •• ISPF Systems and Operator Facility •• SMF Data Collection

The remainder of this section provides an overview of each feature, and summarizes the highlights and benefits of each.

Job Classing and Standards Services

This feature addresses standards management and enforcement, the foundation for effective batch control. Highlights include:

Automated Job Classing In both the JES2 and Workload Manager world of batch, the Job Class is a critical parameter. With ThruPut Manager SE, classes are assigned automatically, based on job characteristics and resource requirements – all according to your installation’s rules. The execution class is not specified by the user so it is always correct. Furthermore, classing standards can be easily changed, avoiding outdated, sub-optimal classing and eliminating JCL conversions.

JCL Modifications ThruPut Manager SE can dynamically modify a job’s JCL based on installation rules. This is applicable to most JOB statement parameters and SYSOUT DD parameters as well as many DD statement parameters. This feature helps keep JCL current during business and datacenter consolidation without user involvement.

Comprehensive Batch Standards Management Batch workload standards and resource utilization standards (including but not limited to JCL standards), which can be verified, are almost limitless. Almost anything that could be done in a JES2 exit with respect

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview 10 PRODUCT OVERVIEW

to standards enforcement can be done more easily and safely with ThruPut Manager SE. Jobs in violation can be failed, or a warning message can be issued.

Workload Manager Support With ThruPut Manager SE, WLM Service Classes can be based on a richer set of job characteristics than WLM itself makes possible. For example, Service Classes can be based on the number of tape drives required. The installation can change the arrival time of jobs to be serviced by WLM initiators to adjust the queue sequence within each service class.

Resource Affinity Scheduling Support WLM Scheduling Environment parameters can be identified, validated, and automatically assigned or overridden. You can implement Resource Affinity Scheduling in a completely JCL-transparent manner, and have the flexibility of changing your Scheduling Environment setup without impacting users.

Job Binding Services (JBS)

With this feature, jobs with resource dependencies (real or abstract) are only allowed to execute on a system where the resource is available and active. Resources can be moved and datacenter configurations can be changed without user impact. Furthermore, users do not need to know details such as the system on which a resource is located. Highlights include:

Automated, User-Transparent Facility Resource dependency management is completely automated, in a user-independent manner. JAL rules can detect resource requirements of each job, automatically and accurately, thus ensuring every dependent job ‘binds’ to its required resources.

Database Dependency Management The problem of jobs requiring ‘binding’ to a database region is automatically solved. Operator intervention is no longer necessary to direct batch work when a region starts, stops, or moves to another system.

Automated Workload Routing Jobs can be routed automatically to those system(s) where they should run. Test, production, applications, and user departments and other work categories can be isolated for efficiency or safety reasons. The routing configuration can be re-arranged either permanently, such as when a processor/LPAR is added to or removed from a JESplex, or temporarily, such as during an outage or off-prime hours, all transparently to users.

Software Licensing Management Software Access Control (SAC) is a set of services that facilitates the control of access to software. While primarily intended to reduce license and maintenance fees and ensure compliance with licensing terms, it can also restrict access to other software. For batch, SAC can automatically route jobs to the licensed system. For TSO, it intercepts TSO and ISPF invocation of programs, locks non-licensed operations and notifies the user of eligible systems. This feature can interface with the site security system.

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview 11 PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Job Limiting Services (JLS)

Initiator resources can be protected from over-utilization by automatically limiting how many jobs of a given type can execute in parallel. Limits can be set at either the system level, or a global MAS (Multi- Access Spool) level. Highlights include:

Eliminate Initiator ‘Hogging’ You can limit the number of jobs a user and/or user-group can have in concurrent execution. Users get fair access to initiators, because no individual can ‘hog’ them. This is particularly applicable to ad-hoc batch, and application development productivity is improved.

Database Threads The number of batch jobs concurrently accessing a database region can be restricted. Job abends and degradation of online service due to excessive batch against a database region can be prevented.

Load Balancing Across Systems Any limit can be established at the system level. For example, an installation may choose to allow only one backup or defrag job to execute at the same time per system. Load balancing can be improved and manual intervention is eliminated.

Dataset Contention Services (DCS)

This feature solves the operational and throughput problems that result when two or more jobs need the same dataset, and at least one of the jobs requires the dataset exclusively. This frequent situation, which is called ‘dataset contention’, exacerbates batch window problems, and poses problems for production and ad-hoc batch management.

With ThruPut Manager SE, jobs with contention conflicts are automatically identified when they are selected for execution. They are put back in the queue with a special DCS hold, and are automatically released when the dataset becomes available. Dataset conflicts are resolved under control of your programmable rules with no operator inter-vention. Batch throughput is improved and ‘batch window relief’ is a definite result. Highlights include:

Priority Levels You can ensure that higher priority work gets first access to datasets as they become available. Contention delays are minimized for your important workload.

Notification TSO users are informed if they are holding a needed dataset. Production control operators are informed if a critical job is held because datasets are unavailable. Manual intervention, when needed, can be taken in an intelligent and informed manner.

Dataset Re-claim In certain circumstances, instances of contention are eliminated by automatically freeing TSO-held datasets.

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview 12 PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Contention Reporting Specialized reports identify which datasets and jobs are impacted by contention. This information is not available from standard sources, such as SMF.

Job Setup Services (JSS)

The Job Setup Services feature ensures that setup jobs are ‘ready to run’ as soon as they are initiated. Advance preparation maximizes batch throughput by enabling the individual jobs to be executed as quickly as possible. Highlights include:

HSM Early Recall Datasets that are migrated to tape are identified and the recall can be initiated when the job is submitted. The job is held until all recalls are complete and then automatically released. Recalls can be completed in parallel while the job is waiting execution, reducing actual execution time.

IEFBR14 Optimization ThruPut Manager SE can be configured to bypass HSM recalls and tape allocation for IEFBR14-type job steps, where the dataset is to be deleted.

VTS Support Virtual Tape Server support identifies the number of VTS scratch tapes used, the maximum number of VTS units used by any one job step, and the total number of VTS volumes requested by the job.

VTS Early Recall/Staging Datasets that are stored on virtual tape volumes can be staged when the job is submitted. The job is held until all staging is complete and then automatically released. Staging can be completed while the job is waiting execution, reducing actual execution time. Oracle (formerly StorageTek) and IBM VTS systems are supported.

Non-JES2 Hold Job Setup Services uses its own ‘JSS’ hold. There is no interference with JES2 holds and other ThruPut Manager SE holds.

SYSOUT Services (SOS)

The SYSOUT Services feature extends the standards management of ThruPut Manager SE to SYSOUT parameters, simplifying SYSOUT standards enforcement. Highlights include:

SYSOUT Standards Management Virtually every parameter of SYSOUT DD and OUTPUT JCL statements can be validated, simplifying operational handling of print tasks, forms management, and the like.

SYSOUT Parameter Assignment Parameters can be assigned/overridden to conform to installation standards. JCL conversion can be eliminated or simplified, if standards change due to batch workload consolidation.

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview 13 PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Multi-Hold Services (MHS)

ThruPut Manager SE can hold jobs independently of JES2 holds and neither hold can be released inadvertently. With the Multi-Hold Services function, jobs can be held for multiple reasons and by multiple sources, such as operators and the system, without interference of one from another. Highlights include:

Operator and Automated Rule Holds In addition to operator holds, installations can use ThruPut Manager SE to hold and release jobs and to provide annotation of the reason for the hold. Users are informed via the User Display Facility—reducing calls to your hotline services for assistance.

System Holds If ThruPut Manager SE detects a problem, such as a needed DASD volume not being available, the job is automatically held and released as soon as the volume is available. Throughput is maximized and job abends and reruns are reduced.

User Control Services (UCS)

This feature provides job submitters with job execution control that is more powerful than JES2. UCS comprises three functions: Dependent Job Control, Job Timing Services and User Hold Services. Controls for these functions are specified through JCL-based parameters.

As well, an ISPF dialog allows the user to display and add, change, and remove controls for jobs awaiting execution. UCS is based on a proprietary hold technology that is independent of the JES2 hold mechanism. Both traditional JES2 initiators and WLM-managed initiators are supported.

Dependent Job Control (DJC) DJC services allow users to dynamically define groups of related jobs and control the interdependencies among them. Condition-code tests, abend checking and event dependencies can be specified. DJC is simple for any job submitter to use, yet is a very powerful facility for use in structuring jobs for testing before production. DJC can simulate almost any set of production conditions without the rigid setup required by Job Schedulers. Highlights include:

•• DJC Job Groups. All jobs that are interrelated are assigned to a group for simplified control. •• Predecessor and Successor Dependencies. Conditions for a job to execute are specified as predecessor jobs, with optional return codes or abend conditions. Multiple jobs can be designated as predecessors. Furthermore, certain events can be established as a dependency, allowing jobs to be held until an event occurs, which is not necessarily job or job-step related. A successor job can be released by completion of a step in a job, without the entire predecessor job needing to complete.

Job Timing Services (JTS) JTS gives users control over the eligibility of a job for selection by JES2, based on date and time conditions. For example, a user can submit a job with a two-hour hold.

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview 14 PRODUCT OVERVIEW

User Hold Services (UHS) UHS allows users to hold jobs, attach annotating comments and release the jobs as desired. Users can place multiple holds, with reasons, and control them independently.

ISPF User Display Facility

Users can access job status information related to ThruPut Manager SE without contacting your hotline services with UDF, an ISPF-based facility that provides information to end users regarding their jobs. ThruPut Manager SE activity is reported, with additional explanatory information.

ISPF Systems and Operator Facility

ThruPut Manager SE provides an ISPF-based facility that simplifies certain operational and support requirements of the product. Productivity is improved and training is reduced.

SMF Data Collection

Data from ThruPut Manager SE’s job analysis phase can be extracted and logged to SMF, including original job characteristics and characteristics changed or potentially changed. Sophisticated data analysis and, to some extent, ‘what if’ simulations are possible. Batch performance tuning and the best implementation rules for ThruPut Manager SE can be determined from factual data. Guesswork is eliminated.

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview 15 Technical Concepts PRODUCT OVERVIEW

This section discusses the design goals and high level architecture behind ThruPut Manager SE, which allows the product to be flexible and address changes in an effective manner. When confronted with a new datacenter dilemma, ThruPut Manager SE can help out quickly and easily.

Design Goals

ThruPut Manager SE is purpose-designed for batch. It relieves the limitations of the 50 year-old architecture of JES2 and the more recent batch enhancements to Workload Manager. Furthermore, it knows how batch management is different from online management and addresses those differences directly with features that suit batch.

Goal #1: Buffer the Users from the Datacenter •• Make the datacenter a ‘black box’ to the user. Users should be able to submit their jobs with a minimum of fuss and complexity. They shouldn’t need to know and conform to arbitrary datacenter rules that deliver no direct benefit to them. •• Relieve the user from the burden of providing technical details, such as the resource requirements of his job. All the user needs is a simple mechanism to specify the degree of urgency for his job. ThruPut Manager SE provides a buffer between the datacenter and the user. The user can submit jobs without worrying if the datacenter standards have changed.

Without ThruPut Manager SE, users must learn the standards and update their JCL accordingly. Jobs may be cancelled for seemingly minor infractions.

Goal #2: Buffer the Datacenter from the Users •• Allow the datacenter to make changes and enforce standards without relying on the users. •• Determine/derive job information from the jobs directly. For instance treat a job with no tape requirements with other express jobs, even if the user has coded a “tape” job class in the JCL. ThruPut Manager SE provides a buffer between the user and the datacenter. It can determine information about resource requirements, processing characteristics and, in some cases, the business importance of a job. The installation can change its environment without retraining users and updating all the affected jobs.

Without ThruPut Manager SE, datacenters are at the mercy of their users’ goodwill, diligence, and patience. Changing standards incurs the time-intensive project of publishing the changes and updating JCL. Operators must manually re-class or cancel jobs submitted in the wrong category. Overall service objectives and individual service objectives are at odds with one another.

Goal #3: Prepare jobs while in the queue •• Batch jobs may have many external resources that take a relatively long time to stage or fetch, especially if they are offline or in use by some other job. ThruPut Manager SE starts all these operations as soon as the job enters the queue. This improves the throughput of a job by fetching external resources as early as possible. The throughput of other jobs is also improved as initiators will be more available since they are not tied up waiting for external resources.

Without ThruPut Manager SE, external resources are not considered until the job is initiated by JES or WLM initiators. Therefore, the initiator is tied up until the dataset is allocated, the tape is pulled, the HSM recall is completed, and so on, and may be tied up again in subsequent steps.

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview 16 PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Goal #4: Select jobs only when ready •• Throughput is improved by ensuring jobs are ready, then running them as quickly as possible. ThruPut Manager SE will hold jobs until all their external resources are available.

Without ThruPut Manager SE, a job initiates and then ties up the initiator waiting for the external resources to become available, which delays other jobs that are ready to execute.

Goal #5: Route jobs to where they can run •• Provide a logical way to route jobs to the correct system that is easily changed when the workload needs to be redistributed. ThruPut Manager SE binds jobs to the system(s) on which they can run. When that workload needs to be shifted to another processor, an operator command changes the binding agent to point to the new location, and all the jobs associated with that binding agent will now execute at the new location.

Without ThruPut Manager SE, the datacenter without Scheduling Environments relies on users classifying their jobs properly, with the operator starting and stopping initiators to control the flow and canceling jobs that attempt to run in the wrong place. With Scheduling Environments, the onus is still on the user to understand and select the correct Scheduling Environment for his or her job.

Goal #6: Control the flow of jobs •• Provide a logical way to limit the number of jobs running concurrently, to prevent over initiation or to prevent less important workload from overloading the system. ThruPut Manager SE will limit how many jobs of the same category can run concurrently. That limit can be adjusted with an operator command. Limits can be set for more than one category and a job can belong to more than one category.

Without ThruPut Manager SE, arbitrary system loading instructions and standards must be set up and the datacenter must have operators monitor and adjust these on the fly.

Batch Job Lifecycle

As seen in the diagram on the next page, a batch job is submitted by a Job Scheduler, TSO, or CICS, to the JES2 Reader/Converter. ThruPut Manager SE Job Analysis then takes place before it is assigned to a JES2 or WLM execution queue. (Without ThruPut Manager SE, it would go directly to the JES2 or WLM queue.) ThruPut Manager SE is also active before the jobs are selected for initiation.

With ThruPut Manager SE, the job is analyzed and a job profile created for each job. Datacenter- specified rules can test and reset job parameters. As a job enters the JES2 or WLM execution queue, ThruPut Manager SE starts staging the external resources needed for the job.

Without ThruPut Manager SE, the jobs will get initiated in the order they are in the queue. Once initiated, the job will wait for any external resources, tying up its initiator. Furthermore, if the associated started task has been moved, then the job will fail and have to be manually restarted on the correct system.

With ThruPut Manager SE, the job is held until all the resources are available, allowing other jobs to execute in the meantime. The job will only be started on the correct system, even if the associated started task or licensed software has been moved. Monopolizing of initiators is prevented.

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview 17 PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Job Analysis and Profile

ThruPut Manager SE analyses every job and produces a job profile for each job. This profile contains over 500 job descriptors that provide a basis for ThruPut Manager SE downstream decision making. The datacenter can test the values of any descriptor and set the value of many job parameters. These values are used in all downstream processing.

Some of these descriptors provide information traditionally provided by the JCL, so the burden on users is greatly reduced. The job descriptors are always correct, regardless of the JCL provided. Other descriptors provide information that is only available to the system in a ThruPut Manager SE environment. The additional “intelligence” is used by ThruPut Manager SE to optimize service and throughput.

Job Action Language, or JAL

Some batch workload management tasks are automated by simply activating the relevant ThruPut Manager SE component. Others are driven by information provided with ISPF dialogs. The third approach is realized using ThruPut Manager SE’s rules language – Job Action Language, or JAL.

JAL was designed for batch and has batch-oriented statements. It allows datacenters to construct sophisticated conditions and execute high level actions. The ThruPut Manager SE runtime module analizes every job and evaluates the rules for every job, implementing the high-level actions as appropriate.

There are some rules that refer to DD Statements, rather than jobs as a whole. These are realized using a form of the rules language called Detail Action Language, or DAL.

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview 18 ThruPut Manager SE Benefits PRODUCT OVERVIEW

This section identifies situations in whichThruPut Manager SE is particularly helpful, and identifies benefits that have been commonly reported by users.

Who Can Benefit

Virtually every JES2 installation can benefit from the automated batch management facilities of ThruPut Manager SE. Whether an installation runs a thousand, a hundred thousand, or more jobs per day, ThruPut Manager SE’s standards enforcement and resource management will improve batch throughput and resource utilization.

JES2 installations will findThruPut Manager SE to be of particular benefit if they are dealing with batch issues such as:

•• Batch Window Problems •• Workload or Datacenter Consolidation •• Parallel Sysplex Implementation •• Workload Manager Implementation •• Resource Affinity Scheduling Implementation •• JES2 Mods and Exits •• Software Licensing •• Abends and Reruns

Conclusion

Batch workload is not going away. IBM has provided significant system enhancements in this area, and batch is getting increasing attention in the datacenter and in the public arena.

Workload Manager has taken some good and necessary steps in this direction. But as an automated batch management solution, suitable for the demands of today’s datacenter, it is incomplete. The separation of submission classes (service level requests) from execution classes, together with the automatic job analysis and determination of resource requirements, as provided by ThruPut Manager SE, is fundamental to any attempt to automate batch workload management.

ThruPut Manager SE has a place in your datacenter today. It enhances and modernizes the functions of JES2 and Workload Manager and delivers the technology to automate many of batch’s most vexing problems and issues. In all respects, ThruPut Manager SE excels.

ThruPut Manager® SE – Product Overview 19 8300 Woodbine Avenue, 4th Floor Markham ON Canada L3R 9Y7 Tel: (905) 940-9404 Fax: (905) 940-5308 Email: [email protected] www.mvssol.com