Continuous Enhancements (post-GA service-level)

OA59957 – ProcOps Enhancements (Dec 2020)

• Faster PROFILE OPEN and CLOSE operations

  You can speed up PROFILE OPEN and CLOSE operations by setting the new global variable AOF_AAO_ISQ_APROF_AUTOOPEN to Y. With this setting, regular PROFILE OPEN and CLOSE commands can perform faster in your existing automation routines, as profiles are actually opened only once at the connection start.

• A new option to disable ICMP ECHO requests (PINGs)

  If ICMP ECHO requests (PINGs) are not allowed for security considerations in your company, you can disable them by setting the new global variable AOF_AAO_ISQ_DISABLE_ICMP_PING to Y. With this setting, Processor Operations has to try operations blindly in some situations, such as connection address switch, connection initialization and close operations.

  To switch IP addresses after ICMP PINGs are disabled, the ISQIPSWT FORCE (YES) command is required.

OA58410 – IBM z15 Exploitation and Toleration Support (July 2020)

With APAR OA58410, IBM Z System Automation V4.1.0 provides the following enhancements:

• The IBM Z SNMP Application Programming Interface is enhanced with toleration support for new z15 hardware D/T 8562 (z15 T02).
• A new command GETSCONN is introduced to check whether a connection between the target hardware and hardware automation can be established.
• The POWERMOD command is enhanced by adding new status 'STATIC' to the command report to inform that the Power Mode change function is not available on that target hardware.

OA58444 – End-to-End Automation Enhancements (Jan 2020)

OA58444 is a compatibility APAR for SMU 1.1.7, and it also introduces the following enhancements to E2E Automation:

• System Automation V4.1 now supports network isolation for E2E Automation components via multiple TCP/IP stacks. See Setup TCP/IP Stack Name in a TCP/IP Multi-Stack Environment (OA58444).
• End-to-end automation configuration now supports system symbols in the configuration files. See Support of MVS System Symbols in Configuration Files.
• The SSL configuration file can now be customized using an alternative way, that is, creating certificates residing in RACF. See Setting Up E2E Automation RACF Keyrings (OA58444).
• The eez-functional-authentication parameter is added into the automation adapter master configuration file. This parameter can switch on or off E2E adapter RACF checking for requests sent from the SMU functional user ID.
• The E2E adapter and agent are enhanced to support TLS version 1.2. E2E_SSL_VERSION is added into the configuration file ingadapter.properties. INGAGT_SSL_VERSION is added into the configuration file inge2eagt.properties.
• You can add user-specific Java system properties by specifying the new E2E_USRJP parameter in the automation adapter environment configuration file and the new INGAGT_USRJP parameter in the automation agent environment configuration file.
• You can add user-specific classpath by specifying the new E2E_USRCP parameter in the automation adapter environment configuration file and the new INGAGT_USRCP parameter in the automation agent environment configuration file.

OA58304 – Tertiary Configuration Support (Dec 2019)

With APAR OA58304, tertiary configuration support is added into the Customization Dialog. It allows users to build three distinct configurations using the same policy database, for example, for disaster recovery purpose. For instructions of how to define and build tertiary configuration, see Alternate and Tertiary Configuration Support.

OA58302 – Automatic activation of System Recovery Boost upon system shutdown (Sep 2019)

IBM Z System Recovery Boost is a new feature that is available with the IBM z15 (z15). It can temporarily leverage additional processor capacity during IPL and shutdown times to reduce the overall downtime due to recovery or maintenance activities. This new function requires z/OS V2.3 and OA57849 or z/OS V2.4. At IPL time, a system can automatically participate in the boost unless the BOOST system parameter in IEASYSxx is set to NONE. At shutdown time, the operator has to explicitly activate the boost by starting the new started procedure IEASDBS that is provided by z/OS. For further information about System Recovery Boost, see z/OS documentation.

With OA58302, support is added to SA z/OS to automatically activate System Recovery Boost upon shutdown of a system. SA z/OS checks whether the operational prerequisites are met and if so starts the started procedure IEASDBS. Specifically, SA z/OS checks whether it runs on z/OS V2.3 or higher, whether boost is enabled in IEASYSxx and that the system is not already operating in boost mode. IEASDBS is started only when all conditions are met. SA z/OS does not check whether it runs on a z15.

If System Recovery Boost should not be activated automatically upon system shutdown, even if enabled by the operating system, the administrator can pass the new INGREQ parameter BOOST=NO with the INGREQ ALL request. To permanently disable System Recovery Boost during shutdown of a system, the administrator can set the global variable INGREQ_BOOST to NO.

When a system is shut down via GDPS, SA z/OS also automatically activates System Recovery Boost when the operational prerequisites are met. To avoid automatic activation of System Recovery Boost, the administrator can set the advanced automation option AOF_AAO_SHUTDOWN_BOOST to NO.

IEASDBS activates System Recovery Boost only once. If it has been started manually before an operator requests a shutdown via SA z/OS, SA z/OS will detect it and not start the procedure again. If the procedure is started manually after an operator requests a shutdown via z/OS and z/OS has already started it automatically, messages on the system console indicate that an error occurred but no further action is required.

OA57637 – IBM z15 toleration and initial exploitation (Sep 2019)

With the announcement of IBM z15, this toleration APAR OA57637 provides changes in ProcOps to recognize the new mainframe. IBM Z System Recovery Boost (SRB), one of the IBM z15 key features, provides LPAR-related information, which is now available with ProcOps. In addition, the internal ISQCCMD LPAR Activate and Deactivate command invocation has been improved for all IBM Z mainframe supported by SA z/OS V4.1.

OA57918 – AOCUPDT can send text in mixed case to SDF Panels (Aug 2019)

When AOCUPDT is used with parameters MSG, INFO, or USER, the case of these parameter values can be preserved for display in SDF. To preserve the case, set the new advanced automation option AOF_AAO_AOCUPDT_PRESERVE_CASE to YES.

OA56547 – New user exit AOFEXC27 for the INGAUTO command (April 2019)

APAR OA56547 introduces a new user exit AOFEXC27 for the INGAUTO command. This user exit provides you the flexibility to allow or prevent setting automation associated flags by INGAUTO and DISPFLGS commands.

OA56909 – GDPS Toleration Support (March 2019)

APAR OA56909 provides required support for GDPS V4.2.

• Initialization and monitoring of the SA INTERNAL (BCPii) connections to the IBM Z system hardware has been changed to improve coordination between GDPS and SA.
• SA advanced automation option AOF_AAO_SHUTDOWN_STOPAPPL is used to specify STOPAPPL also for GDPS.

Refer to the GDPS documentation for more details. Four new messages, ING825I, ING826I, ING827I and ING828I, are also introduced by this APAR. For details of these messages, see Messages ING001I to INGY1337I.

OA56629 – Executing NetView Commands from TSO REXX Programs (March 2019)

APAR OA56629 enables you to execute NetView commands from TSO REXX programs, using the REXX function INGRCRPC. INGRCRPC provides a remote procedure call (RPC) from TSO address space to the automation agent address space on the same z/OS system. The purpose is to execute a standard command (such as a NetView or MVS command) or a self-written REXX program and to route back the response to the calling TSO program. The value of this APAR is that it allows you to send commands directly from a TSO session rather than via a batch job.

For more details, including INGRCRPC syntax, response, examples, and security considerations, see Executing NetView Commands from a TSO REXX Program.

Service Management Unite (SMU) Automation V1.1.6 (March 2019)

OA55859 – Allow alternative usage of RMTCMD for TWS automation (March 2019)

SA z/OS switches the user identity when users use the RMTCMD command to access SA-controlled systems in a different physical sysplex. Through APAR OA55859, SA introduces a new common global variable AOF_PRESERVE_EXECUTION_CONTEXT to control the security context under which an action is executed on remote SAplexes.

This variable allows you to choose either to switch from the invoking operator ID to the automated function user ID after the invoking operator ID logs on to the target NetView environment, or make this switch during the RMTCMD processing. The former option gives you a more secure environment because the invoking operator ID is used to log on to the target NetView to keep the security context. For security considerations of this variable, see RMTCMD Security Considerations.

SMU Automation V1.1.5 (December 2018)

• SMU Automation V1.1.5 is integrated with Zowe:
  • A Zowe application plug-in is provided for SMU Automation to allow you to use SMU directly on Zowe Desktop and leverage free and commercial APIs in Zowe Application Framework.
  • A new JES Explorer dashboard is provided to allow you to view job content and job output to isolate environmental issues. The JES Explorer dashboard can be started from SA APL resources.
  See SMU exploitation and integration with Zowe™ for more information.
• A web-based configuration tool is added as a modern alternative of the configuration dialogue cfgsmu. See [Use Web Config Tool] Configuring the SMU server and [Use Web Config Tool] Configuring the Universal Automation Adapter.
• The installation is simplified and consolidated to provide minimal time-to-value:
  • The tool to install SMU Automation is replaced by Installation Manager, which requires fewer user inputs and provides a consolidated installation experience. See Installing SMU Automation.
  • The SMU Docker image and the eezdocker.sh script are enhanced to deploy and configure SMU in a Docker environment more easily. See Installing and uninstalling SMU Automation with Docker.
• Enhancements to SA Server Groups (with APAR OA54684 installed in System Automation for z/OS V4.1):

  You can now modify the satisfactory target and availability target of a server group in an easy-to-use dialogue from an SA dashboard.

OA54684 Enhancements (November 2018)

OA54684 enhances mainly the end-to-end automation.

• The E2E automation adapter now supports system symbols in the following properties files to reduce the configuration effort.
  • ing.adapter.properties (see The Automation Adapter Master Configuration File)
  • ing.adapter.plugin.properties (see The Automation Adapter Plug-in Configuration file)
• The automation administrator or operator can directly reset a remote resource that is managed by the Universal Automation Adapter (UAA) from SA side via the INGLIST command action A (Update).
• The E2E automation adapter is enhanced to show TCP/IP host name and IP address as system property in SMU Automation.
• The E2E add-on policy is enhanced to ensure that the ASID is correct for the Java address space of the E2E automation adapter and E2E automation agent.
• The E2E automation agent and E2E add-on policy are enhanced to restart the E2E automation agent APL after Automation Manager recycle.

OA55159 – Additional IBM z14 Exploitation Support (November 2018)

OA55159 provides additional new function support for IBM z14. The following hardware automation commands are enhanced to support new special purpose processor type Container Based Processor (CBP):

• ISQCCMD TCM (Temporary Capacity Management)

  The TCM command now allows to add or remove CBP resources for specific target hardware.

• ISQCCMD ICNTL (Image Control query and modify)

  The ICNTL command now allows to query and update image control settings for images using CBP resources.

• ISQCCMD PROFILE (Activation Profile query and modify)

  The PROFILE command now allows to query and update activation profile settings for images using CBP resources.

OA55386 – Multiple Enhancements (June 2018)

With APAR OA55386, SA z/OS V4.1.0 provides the following enhancements.

• Service Management Unite (SMU) Automation V1.1.4
  • The installation of SMU is simplified with a prebuilt Docker image. See Installing and uninstalling SMU Automation with Docker.
  • "Ask Watson" dashboard is added as an open beta feature to provide a cognitive documentation search.
  • To ensure a reliable system with high performance and less downtime, you can set up SMU with high availability. See Setting up Service Management Unite with High Availability.
  • With Universal Automation Adapters, SMU Automation can automate applications that run on non-z/OS systems. See Universal Automation Adapter concept in Service Management Unite Automation architecture.
  • SA operations experience is enhanced:
    • For a stop, start, or suspend request, you can choose the new REMOVE=SYSGONE option to automatically remove the request when the system where the selected resource runs, leaves the sysplex.
    • The resource status of a system is now represented as the worst compound status of all top-level resources running on that system. This can be combined with a Resource name filter or Resource class filter as data set parameter. In this case, the worst resource state is derived by the worst compound state of all resources on the system that match the specified filter criteria.
    • A Hide operational tasks option is added into the automation domain topology and automation node list data sets. Choose this option if the context menu of nodes that are contained in these data sets should not include any operational tasks, such as excluding a node.
• End-to-end automation

  SA z/OS V4.1 extends its cross-sysplex automation capabilities to true end-to-end cross platform automation. Resources on distributed systems, for instance running on Linux, can be managed by the Universal Automation Adapter that is a part of Service Management Unite Automation. See End-to-End Automation on z/OS.

• Processor Operations

  Processor Operations is enhanced to support dynamic creation of target system names. The new AOF_AAO_ISQ_DYNTGT option is introduced to define the dynamic name pattern. The benefit is that you can define a backup LPAR for another processor entry, without the need to define a corresponding system entry and the need for a 'dummy' system name. See Processor Operations – setup for dynamic target system names.

• Other enhancements
  • SDF now supports the status update of the primary focal point and the backup focal point in parallel. See Using SDF for Multiple Systems and SDF FOCALPOINT Policy Item.
  • The new DSN parameter is added to the INGPLEX IPL command. It allows you to specify a different IPL data set for displaying and comparing IPL information. It might be useful in case of a disaster recovery when you need IPL information of the sysplex that is down. See INGPLEX and INGPLEX IPL.
  • The new MAXINT parameter is added to the INGRCHCK command to limit the maximum times of resource status check. You can use it to avoid infinite resource check, which is task blocking. See INGRCHCK.

OA53587 – IBM z14 Exploitation Support (March 2018)

Watch this video (https://mediacenter.ibm.com/media/1_x117uhku) to learn more.

OA54030 – INGRDS Command Enhancements (December 2017)

APAR OA54030 provides enhancements for the SA z/OS Relational Data Services (RDS).

The new enhancement keeps RDS tables now in 64-bit memory. Only the control data is still held in 31-bit memory of the NetView address space. This increases the capacity of user data stored into the RDS tables. Furthermore, the INGRDS command supports direct key access for RDS tables. The direct key access improves the search performance significantly. For that purpose, a new KEY parameter has been introduced. The INGRDS functions QUERY, UPDATE, and DELETE are effected. The new functions DROPKEY and LISTKEYS are provided.

After performance measurements, it becomes apparent that for a table with 10000 rows a query with direct key access is 10 to 100 times faster than a query that uses just the standard WHERE parameter. For more information, see INGRDS Supports Direct KEY Access.

OA53366 – Small enhancements (November 2017)

With APAR OA53366, SA z/OS V4.1.0 provides multiple enhancements.

• INGSHCMD is enhanced to allow invocation of commands depending on either there is a system shutdown in progress or not. The new read-only global variable AOFSYSTEMSHUTDOWN contains YES if a system shutdown has been invoked either via GDPS or via INGREQ ALL.
• The SUSPENDFILE option is added to the automation manager member HSAPRMKS and to the configuration assistant skeleton HSASPRM.
• INITPARM (TINYDS) is added to sample member INGESSN and to skeleton INGSSSN.
• User specific synonym member (INGSYNU) is introduced for AOFMSGSY to allow customer specific synonyms. The SA z/OS supplied AOFMSGSY should have a user include similar to those in the SA z/OS supplied AT INGMSG01.

OA52610 – Multiple Enhancements (September 2017)

OA52638 – IBM z14 Toleration Support (July 2017)

OA52425 – Small enhancements (July 2017)

With APAR OA52425, SA z/OS V4.1.0 provides the following enhancements.

• INGCLEAN is modified to enforce RESYNC SDF to also delete data in SDF and to accept input parameters when called as an environment exit.
• CICS Automation Message Exit debugging is enhanced.
• INGSTR command and display are enhanced with structure type information.
• Help panels ING$QRY and INGQRY are enhanced to clarify where parent information is derived from with the PARENT parameter and enhanced to return the resource suspension information with the new SUSPEND parameter.