Cloning a CICS region that is started as a batch job

When you clone a CICS® region that is started as a batch job, CICS DA guides you through the process and automates steps where possible. CICS DA proposes new names for data sets and jobs, but you can change these names. However, you must provide some values, such as the new APPLID. The clone process creates a batch job to start the new region.

You can choose to create the new region in the same, or in a different z/OS® System. If the region you are cloning is a managed region, then you can choose also to create the new region in the same, or a different CICSplex. You can also choose to add a new managed region to one or more groups that are in the CICSplex, and assign an owning CMAS, where applicable.

Before you begin

Ensure that the CICS region you want to clone is running, and that the region start policy is recorded and saved in the model. For more information about recording the start policy, see Specifying the region start policy.

Important: You must ensure that the data set, where you want to create the new region startup JCL, exists before you start the clone operation.

Procedure

  1. In the DA Explorer view, right-click the CICS region that you want to clone and click Clone Region. You can also click Clone CICS Region in the region editor. The Clone a CICS Region wizard opens. The fields in the page are prefilled, showing the details of the CICS region you are cloning.
    A screen capture of the Clone a CICS Region wizard that shows the existing region details.
  2. Change the values to provide unique attributes and start policy for the new CICS region. Click Next. CICS DA reviews all the data sets in the original CICS region and attempts to identify any naming convention that you use. This information is used to propose new data set names for the new region. The Edit region target page opens. The Edit region target page is where you specify the location for your new region. If you are cloning an unmanaged region, then the page contains only the z/OS system selection.
    A screen capture of the Edit Target region page that shows the z/OS system selection box, and a list of the CICSplexes, groups, and CMASes that you can select.
  3. Select the target z/OS system and, if available, the group and owning CMAS. Click Next. The page is updated to show the data sets used by the original CICS region. The page also shows the proposed name for the new CICS and, if you are cloning a managed region, the CICSPlex® SM data sets that CICS DA creates, and the share status of the data sets.
    A screen capture that shows the original data set names and the proposed new ones.
  4. Review the proposed names for the new data sets. You can choose to keep the proposed data set names or type over them in the page. You can choose to share some data sets between the two regions by selecting the Share check box:
    • If the new data set name is not available, and the Share check box is preselected but is not available, the data set must be shared.
    • If the new data set name is not available, and the Share check box is preselected but available, it is suggested that the data set is shared. If you choose to clear the check box and not share the data set, a new data set is created, with the name in the New Data set column.
    • If the new data set name and the Share check box are both available, you must either accept the proposed name, share the data set, or change the data set name.
    • If the new data set name is available and the Share check box is not available, then you cannot share the data set. However, you can change the data set name.
  5. Click Next. The page is updated to show any JCL PROC, INCLUDE, SIT, or EYUPARM members that exist in the original started task, and the proposed name for the new members that CICS DA creates.
  6. Review the proposed member names. You can choose to keep the proposed member names or type over them in the page.
  7. Click Finish to save the settings and complete the clone operation.

Results

When you click Finish, CICS DA runs the following tasks:

  • Check to ensure that the new data sets and JCL data set members do not exist in the target z/OS system.
  • Allocate the data sets and, where necessary, initialize them.
  • Create the JCL to start the new CICS region, if necessary.
  • Create new JCL INCLUDEs and other input members if necessary.
  • If the region is a managed region, then the following extra tasks are run:
    • Add the region to the chosen CICSPlex SM definitions.
    • Add the region to the selected groups.
If any of the steps fail, CICS DA backs out all the changes and any new data sets are deleted. An error message is displayed in the page that identifies the failure. You must review the error message to determine the cause of the failure, and then try the operation again.

If the steps are successful, CICS DA then opens the CICS region editor, to show details of the CICS region, and a report is shown in the Console view, and also written to the audit log.

What to do next

You might need to take some further steps before you start the new CICS region. CICS DA is unable to identify or run some actions, such as defining the region to your security policy, and some connectivity steps. When CICS DA completes all that it can do, a report is posted to the Console view. The report identifies the setup that was done, and the further steps that you must take. The report provides the following information:

  • An indication that the job completed successfully, showing the original and new region name
  • An indication as to which CICSplex the new region was added
  • A list of the WLM and RTA specifications that the region is associated with
  • The job name for the new region JCL
  • The member name and qualifiers for the new region JCL
  • A list of the SIT overrides that were updated in the new JCL
  • A list of the SIT members that were created
  • A list of the EYUPARM values, if applicable, that were updated in the new JCL
  • A list of the EYUPARM members, if applicable, that were created
  • A list of the JCL members that were created
  • A list of SIT overrides that must be applied manually
  • A list of SIT members that must be created manually
  • A list of the EYUPARM values, if applicable, that must be applied manually
  • A list of the EYUPARM members, if applicable, that must be created manually
  • A list of the JCL Include members that must be created manually
  • A list of the CICSPlex SM definitions that might require attention
  • The report also identifies some other tasks that you might consider running for the new region. Examples include security definitions, CICS profile, task tables, VTAM® APPLID.