CICS® VR Version 4 Release 3 contains these changes.
- Enhanced server address space configuration
- Customize names for started tasks: CICS VR
operations involve the use of a number of MVS™ started
tasks. When CICS VR constructs a job name, it can now optionally
include a system identifier instead of system slot number, to guarantee
that the name of the job is unique across the sysplex, enabling unique
security profiles to be associated with the jobs.
- VSAM REDO batch logging continue control: You can specify
the maximum job step return code that CICS VR
treats as the successful completion of the job step to continue VSAM
REDO batch logging.
- Server set up control: You can specify a setup job that
must be run during the initialization of the CICS VR
server address space.
- Scavenger run control: You can set both the time interval
parameter and the start time parameter to control the scavenger runs.
- Selective backup registration control: You can automatically
register in the RCDS only backups for which VSAM spheres were already
registered.
- None string handling: As a usability aid, you can specify
a value of NONE in place of a blank or null string for CICS VR
parameters in the IGDSMSxx parmlib member. See Defining a CICS VR general control parameter.
- Setting CICS VR Server address space defaults from the
ISPF dialog Authorized users can specify CICS VR
server address space defaults from the CICS VR
ISPF dialog interface, as well as from the CICSVR_GENERAL_CONTROL
parameter. See Setting CICS VR server address space defaults.
- Server address space security improvements
- CICS VR can protect the RCDS from being updated
by any user when the panel interface is used. You can specify that
the user's security profile must be checked before allowing certain
information in the RCDS to be added, changed, or deleted. CICS VR
can protect the RCDS from being updated by any external service request
to the CICS VR server address space from batch jobs.
The RCDS protection from non-authorized usage has improved. See CICS VR security.
- Automation enhancements
- Automation is enhanced and integration improved.
- You can enable and disable the CICS GLUE
DWWXFCBF dynamically by means of CICS transactions
or EXEC CICS LINK commands to appropriate programs,
in addition to the current enabling method by PLTPI.
- You can find out the state of the CICS VR
Server, and, if it is not active, try to activate it in the GLUE enabling
process.
See Preparing for Automated Recovery.
- Duplicate recovery runs prevention
- You can prevent the running of duplicate recovery jobs by using
the new Recovery Submission Manager tool. See Preventing duplicate recovery runs.
- Time range for batch backout
- You can specify a stop point for Batch Backout. Support has been
added for stoptime and stoptod keywords.
You can specify a stop point for Batch Backout. The time range for
Batch Backout is started by adding STOPTIME or STOPTOD keywords
to the command input in the DWWIN DD statement. See BATCHBACK: Remove updates to VSAM spheres.
- Improved backup deregistration
- You can specify multiple criteria for automatic backup deregistration
on the CICS VR automatic backup deregister window by
specifying values for the following input fields:
- Backup retention period: An integer between 0 and 999 specifies
the number of days CICS VR keeps information about
backups in the RCDS.
- Use log retention period: A value of 1, Yes, specifies
that CICS VR deregisters backups when coinciding
log data that is also deregistered by the CICS VR
automatic log stream deregistration function.
- Use catalog information: A value of 1, Yes, specifies that CICS VR
deregisters all registered non-DFSMShsm backups that are not in the
ICF catalog.
- See Setting automatic backup deregistration criteria.
- ISPF Global Time Presentation Setting
- You can choose a format for timestamp representation on panels
by using the new option, ISPF Global Time Representation
Setting. See Setting the global time format.
- Last Data Set Filter
- You can enter the sphere list with the last used data set name
filter without having to specify values for input fields every time
that the CICS VR VSAM sphere include window is displayed. See Specifying criteria for the VSAM sphere list.
- RCDS extract utility
- A new keyword, SPHERES, has been added to the RCDS EXPORT command,
when you specify SPHERES CICS VR copies information about
the specified data sets to an EXPORT file which can be used with IMPORT
to load a new RCDS. The values in the keyword specify the names of
the data sets for which the information is copied. You can select
information only about the specified data sets that you require to
be copied from one RCDS to another. See RCDS: Create a RCDS copy.
- Journal print filtering
- You can now print only a part of the contents of the mvslogs and
information about certain records logged on them. Include and Exclude
filtering, using the same criteria as for logical recovery, has been
added. CICS VR now provides print filtering for records
logged on an mvslog. See PRINT: print information about records logged on an MVS log.
- Logcopy filtering
- You can copy only a part of the contents of the mvslogs. In addition
to normal copying you can use Include and Exclude filtering using
the same criteria as for logical recovery. The Logcopy function filtering
is started by adding EXCLUDE or INCLUDE commands, or both, to the
command input in the DWWIN DD statement. See LOGSTREAMCOPY: Copy an MVS log stream.
- Miscellaneous release changes
- The IVP procedure now includes CICS VR
server address space setup, server start, and batch logging.
- Recovery now supports use of HSM Version 0 backups available with z/OS® 1.10.