- What is the purpose of PTFs?
Program Temporary Fix. A PTF
provides preventive service, corrective service, or enhancements to a function.
It generally is of interest to a broad range of data centers/customers.
A PTF is a group of related APARs.
(some vendors may call fixes to their code by another acronym.)
- What are the steps to install a product on a MVS system
using SMP/E?
To install a single product is
"usually" completed by
1) Receiving
2) Apply Check
3) Apply
4)
Accept check
5) Accepting the product.
(Note: Not all products are SMP/E
installable.)
- What does this parameter usually mean, VOL(******)?
That the data set is cataloged on
the current SYSRES volume. (AKA: indirect cataloging)
- What is meant by the term VTAPE?
Virtual Tape
- What is meant by the term DASD?
Direct Access Storage
Device
- Where is the parameter, SPOOLDEF, defined in a JES2 data
center?
The IBM default is the
HASPPARM
- In reference to SMP/E, what is a SYSMOD?
A SYStem MODification can be a
Function, APAR, PTF or USERMOD
- What is the HMC used for?
The Hardware Management Console is
used to IPL the system, change the system clock, power-on reset, changing,
removing / adding write protect to the IOCDS, displays system activity and
more.
-
What product messages usually start with $HASPnnn?
JES2
- In what system data set and member are the systems' page
data sets listed?
In parmlib member
IEASYSxx
- In a JES2 data center, in what member are DASD
volser’s defined for spool files?
The IBM default is the
HASPPARM
- What is the IBM product, IPCS used for?
Dump reading
- What is meant when you "open" an APAR?
The software vendor admits there
"may" be a problem with their product and they assign an APAR number to track
the possible problem. (some vendors may not call this process an
APAR)
- What is the difference between a "master catalog" and a
"user catalog"?
The master catalog contains data
sets that do not have an alias defined and a user catalog contains data sets
that are aliased from the master catalog.
The master catalog is where the
system alias' are defined relating to the user catalogs. There can be only one
master catalog and many user catalogs on the system.
- What is the new term for what IBM used to call
"OpenEdtion"?
USS (Unix System
Services)
- What did z/OS replace?
OS/390 & MVS (basically the
same operating systems)
- What kind of members are most likely in this data set,
MIKE.OS39A.ALMKLOAD?
Load members
- What can you tell me about this number string;
9672-R26-12345?
Machine type = 9672
Model =
R26
serial# 12345
- What does this command do?
Z NET,QUICK
To shut down VTAM
- What does the proc CAS9 do?
Starts Computer Associates'
product procs and verifies the product LMP codes.
- What products does CICS usually interface with?
Databases
- What is SYS1.HASPACE used for in a JES2 data center?
SPOOL space
- After converting to OS/390 2.5, the LOGREC data set is
filling up much more frequently. Is it possible to stop LOGREC recording and
then re-allocate the data set, then start recording?
Yes
- What is the purpose of VLF?
Virtual lookaside facility (VLF)
is a set of services that can improve the performance and response time of
applications that must retrieve a set of data for many users. VLF creates and
manages a data space to store an application's most frequently used data. When
the application makes a request for data, VLF checks its data space to see if
the data is there. If the data is present, VLF can rapidly retrieve it without
requesting I/O to DASD
- When should you apply system maintenance?
Normally to fix a problem or
perform a system upgrade, depending on your data center procedures. Maintenance
should always be applied on a test system before applying it to your production
system. IBM sends you RSU tapes on request.
- You are looking for a group of data sets that start with
SYS5.USER.*
What ISPF panel would you use?
=3.4 will take you to the proper
panel
- People are calling you stating they can not logon to TSO.
What are "some" of the things you should look at?
Logon procs /
clists
maxusers
passwords expired
- Which SREL matches which subsystem?
Z038 MVS
C150 CICS
P115 DB2/IMS
P004 NCP
- What are the 5 basic SMP/E steps to applying a PTF?
1) Receiving
2) Apply
check
3) Apply
4) Accept check
5) Accepting the PTF
(Note: Most
data centers do not believe in accepting a PTF)
- Why is this data set on my system?
HLASM.V1R2M0.HMQ4120.F2
The product, HLASM, has not been
"accepted" yet. The SMP/E accept process will remove this data set if the PURGE
option is specified in SMP/E options.
- What is the purpose of SYSn.IPLPARM data set?
The LOADxx member, in
SYSn.IPLPARM, instead of SYS1.PARMLIB (there are other members allowed in
SYSn.IPLPARM)
- In a JES2 environment, what program product tools could
you use to display the job queue?
SDSF, IOF, Macro 4's COMMAND, and
CA's SYSTEMVIEW (3.8 not a product)
- How many digits is a 'device address' composed of?
4
- In what data set(s) is the LOADxx member defined?
SYSn.IPLPARM or
SYS1.PARMLIB
- In this statement, A1 is the EDT, what does the EDT
represent?
IODF A2 SYS1 MIKEPROD A1
Eligible Device Table, a table of
esoteric names for system devices.
- Where is the master catalog defined?
LOAD member of SYSn.IPLPARM or
SYS1.PARMLIB, or by the old way; SYSCLTG in SYS1.NUCLEUS
- You have installed a product that has updated the LNKLST,
How would you dynamicly activate this new library?
Using the PROG member;
SETPROG LNKLST,DEFINE,NAME=PROD01,COPYFROM=PROD
SETPROG
LNKLST,DELETE,NAME=PROD01,DSNAME=MIKE.V1R2.LINKLIB
SETPROG
LNKLST,ADD,NAME=PROD01,DSNAME=MIKE.V1R5.LINKLIB
SETPROG
LNKLST,ACTIVATE,NAME=PROD01
SETPROG LNKLST,UPDATE,JOB=*
This change will last only until
the next IPL. You must change the PROGxx member to pick up the new
library.
- How can I tell what IEASYSxx member the system is using?
Pointed to by the SYSDEF
SYSPARM(AA,L) parameter in IEASYMxx
In this example, IEASYSAA
(IEASYS00
is the default)
- What does this statement mean?
SYMDEF(&SYSR2.='&SYSR1(1:5).B')
If your current sysres is MIKE1A,
the 2nd sysres will be MIKE1B
- Where would you look up the parameter SYMDEF?
Init & Tuning
reference
- Where is the APF ADD statement defined?
PROGxx member – for the APF
libraries
- What is the purpose of SYSCLONE?
To use the system name as part of
the data set representing the different systems within a
SYSPLEX.
- At IPL time, if you enter SYSP=01 in the appropriate
place What does this mean?
The system will use the IEASYS01
parmlib member to IPL
- Where is this statement defined?
SUBSYS
SUBNAME(JES2) PRIMARY(YES) START(YES)
Parmlib member
IEFSSNxx
- What does the above statement do?
Start JES2
- Who is Cheryl Watson Walker?
Cheryl Watson has been using and
explaining mainframe operating systems since 1965. Cheryl and Watson &
Walker, Inc. offer practical mainframe performance and measurement advice.
- What is the SQA used for?
The SQA (System Queue Area ) is
used for I/O configuration and devices that are installed.
-
In what data set is following statement defined?
PRODUCT OWNER('IBM CORP')
NAME(OS/390)
ID(5647-A01)
VERSION(*) RELEASE(*) MOD(*)
FEATURENAME(DFSORT)
STATE(ENABLED)
The IFAPRD00 member has been
customized by IBM to reflect the IBM products and optional integrated features
specifically ordered by you.
- What is the difference between CA (Computer Associates)
CA-1 and CA-7?
CA1= tape management program
CA7= scheduler program
- What is the purpose of "LE"?
A common run-time library
environment for all "LE compliant" languages.
- What is the difference between SYS1.PARMLIB and
SYS1.IBM.PARMLIB?
The system programmer is meant to
change SYS!.PARMLIB and not SYS1.IBM.PARMLIB
- What is missing from this statement?
APF ADD
DSNAME(SPEC.IMS510.RESLIB)
VOLUME(xxxxxx)
- At the system console, what is the command to display the
systems machine type and serial number?
D M=CPU
- Where would you look up wait state codes at IPL time?
System Codes
manual
- What is the blocksize that IBM has been recommending for
LINKLST / LOADLIB data sets ?
32760
- From SDSF, LOG, when you enter /D A,L what happens?
Displays active
all
- What IDCAMS statement list catalog entries?
LISTCAT
- What IDCAMS statement catalogs a PDS data set?
DEFINE NONVSAM
- What is the purpose of the SYS1.STGINDEX?
The VIO journaling data set [SYS1.STGINDEX] is an
optional VSAM data set that contains auxiliary storage management records for
virtual I/O (VIO) data sets to enable them to be saved across IPLs for
Checkpoint/Restart. (VIO data sets cannot be preserved if CVIO or CLPA is
specified at IPL time.
- What does this job step do?
//COMPRESS EXEC
PGM=IEBCOPY
//SYSPRINT DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSUT1 DD
DISP=SHR,DSN=PPPSPS.ZZZ.DATA
//SYSUT2 DD
DISP=SHR,DSN=PPPSPS.ZZZ.DATA
//SYSIN DD DUMMY
COMPRESS the data
set
- What does the LLQ of SISP.ISPMLIB represent?
A message library
- What is the purpose of DDDEFs in SMP/E?
So you do not have to write the
JCL for data sets used by SMP/E
- What IBM program can be used to initialize DASD?
ICKDSF
- What does this job step do?
//STEP1 EXEC SMPE
//SMPLOG DD DUMMY
//SMPLOGA DD DUMMY
//SMPEIN DD *
SET BDY (TSYSRYD) .
LIST FORFMID( HMQ4120 ) .
List SYSYMODS and ELEMENTS for
FMID HMQ4120
- Where is the NUCLSTxx located?
SYS1.IPLPARM or
SYS1.PARMLIB
- In what parmlib member are SVC's defined?
IEASVCxx
- In SYS1.PARMLIB, member IEASYSxx, what function does this
parameter preform?
CON=(01,NOJES3)
Short operator
commands
- Is SYS2.PARMLIB a required data set for IPL'ing a system?
No
- What is the SMPLOGA data set and is it required?
Logs SMP/E activity, it is
required
- How many logical parmlib statements in the LOADxx of
SYS1.PARMLIB or SYSn.IPLPARM can there be?
As many as you need
- How many logical consoles can be defined?
99 including the system
consoles
- During IPL, the system looks for LOADxx member in what
order?
SYS0.IPLPARM through
SYS9.IPLPARM on the IODF volume
SYS1.PARMLIB on the IODF
volume
SYS1.PARMLIB on the
sysres volume.
- What is the parmlib member CONSOLxx used for?
In CONSOLxx, you define multiple
console support (MCS) consoles and console names
- Must you specify a COUPLExx parmlib member for each
system in a Sysplex?
COUPLExx parmlib member is
required for each system in the SYSPLEX.
- In a multisystem environment, can you have only one
SYS1.PARMLIB?
YES and NO. If you maintain
separate master catalogs, there can be more than one. With one master catalog,
only one SYS1.PARMLIB can be cataloged at any given time. (With PARMLIB
concatenation you can have more than one xxxx.PARMLIB)
- What is the LLA used for?
LNKLST LookAside is used for
system pointers
- If you have both a PROGxx and LNKLSTxx member in PARMLIB,
does the system use both or only one? If one, which one?
If you specify both PROG=xx for a
member with a LNKLST ACTIVATE statement and LNK=xx, the system ignores LNK=xx
at IPL and issues message CSV487I
- What does parmlib member IEASYMxx define?
To define system
symbolics
- In SMP/E, how many "target and dlib" zones can be
associated with a global zone?
Generally speaking, as many as you
need.
- What is the command to display what spool volumes the
system is using in a JES2 data center?
$DSPL
- What does the TSO command, ACCOUNT SYNC do?
Synchronizes SYS1.UADS and
SYS1.Broadcast data sets
- Can anybody issue the above command?
No - Requires ACCOUNT
authority
- What ISPF panel is used to search a data set for a
certain string of characters?
ISPF option 3.14
- What does FMID HBB6604 represent?
Base MVS for OS/390
2.4
- Does this user have system special or group special?
USER=TECHJS NAME=JOHN OWNER=TECH
CREATED=99.159
DEFAULT-GROUP=TECH PASSDATE=99.229
PASS-INTERVAL=30
ATTRIBUTES=SPECIAL GRPACC
REVOKE DATE=NONE RESUME DATE=NONE
LAST-ACCESS=99.264/08:23:10
CLASS AUTHORIZATIONS=NONE
NO-INSTALLATION-DATA
MODEL-NAME=TECHMT
LOGON ALLOWED (DAYS) (TIME)
Yes
- What is the command to display a VTAM node called V11RDF?
D NET,ID=V11RDF
- What is the command to display the PROGxx APF data sets.
D PROG,APF
- What is meant by the term VIO?
Virtual
Input/Output
- What do the following programs perform?
IEBCOPY:
alter, copy, create, merge, rename, compress, convert, copy &
reblock
IEBGENER:
create, expand, print, copy, copy & reblock
IEBUPDTE: create, modify, change
- In DFSMShsm - Low-activity data is stored on migration
level 1 (ML1) and migration level 2 (ML2) volumes. What is considered migration
level 0 (ML0)?
SMS managed volumes are NOT
defined to DFSMShsm. They are automatically known. As for non-SMS managed DASD,
only the ones defined via ADDVOL as PRIMARY volumes are considered ML0.
- When applying a PTF using SMP/E, name one SMP/E System
Reason ID that you may encounter.
- DOC
- The SYSMOD has a documentation
change that should be read before the SYSMOD is installed.
They are many, many
more....
- What is IBMLINK?
An IBM site for all kinds of
info
- What do these APAR closing codes mean?
APAR Codes (from a January, 1985 PSGIM)
CAN: Cancelled APAR
DOC: Documentation error
PER: Programming error
RET: Returned to the user for more documentation
SUG: Suggestion
USE: User error
FIN: Fixed if next release. [FIN must be new, as it does not appear in the January, 1985 PSGIM.]
- PARMLIB member SMFPRMxx has a parameter "JWT (hhmm)" What
does it do?
"JWT (hhmm)" that sets the amount
of time a task can remain in a wait state before it times the job (stc, tsu,
etc.) out. You can also set it temporarily with the SETSMF operator command:
SETSMF JWT(hhmm)
- Why do you create an alias catalog entry for users?
For security reasons and to reduce
the amount of catalog activity directed against the master catalog by
associating an alias to a "user" catalog.
- What does an abend 913 usually indicate?
In RACF, user unauthorized to
access
- In what message manual would you look you message
IDC3009I?
System messages, Volume
3
- How do you define "dynamic dumping"?
In SYS1.PARMLIB
- What is Domino Webspere?
A group of IBM products that make
up a web site on the mainframe
- When referring to above / below "the line" in a MVS
address space, what number is that line?
Send me your comments and / or suggestions and
the question number you are referring to.