Examine use of the CMDS ABEND command

Description: Before z/OS V1R13, the CMDS ABEND command ended an executing command if the command was hung. In z/OS V1R12, the command processors were allowed to specify the new non-abendable attribute to set themselves non-abendable. When the new attribute was specified for a target command, the CMDS ABEND command rejected with the following message: CNZ6002I COMMAND command WITH ID id NOT ABENDABLE. The CMDS ABEND attempted to terminate the hung command. Starting in z/OS V1R13, the new parameter FORCE is added to the CMDS command so that a CMDS FORCE specification overrides the non-abendable attribute and the command will be terminated as it is today. Separating the ABEND and FORCE requests allow different RACF profiles to be defined so that installations can allow CMDS ABEND, but not CMDS FORCE. FORCE is intended to be used where the only alternative is to re-IPL the system.

Element or feature:

BCP.

When change was introduced:

z/OS V1R13.

Applies to migration from:

z/OS V1R12.

Timing:

After the first IPL of z/OS V2R1.

Is the migration action required?

No, but recommended if you use the CMDS ABEND command or have automation that does.

Target system hardware requirements:

None.

Target system software requirements:

None.

Other system (coexistence or fallback) requirements:

None.

Restrictions:

None.

System impacts:

None.

Related IBM Health Checker for z/OS check:

None.

Steps to take: Automation that uses the CMDS ABEND command is affected because the termination of a running command can be rejected. For some commands, this rejection is important because it can prevent a system or sysplex outage. If you use the CMDS ABEND command or have automation that does, certain commands will no longer be terminated by the CMDS ABEND command.

If you must terminate a command, continue to use the CMDS ABEND command. If the command is in a state making it non-abendable, use the CMDS FORCE command after understanding the following recommendations associated with the FORCE parameter:
- After issuing CMDS FORCE, you might have to re-IPL the system or, depending on the command being terminated, a sysplex-wide IPL may be required.
- You should ensure that the target command is hung and not just requiring additional time to complete.

Reference information:

For details about the CMDS command, see z/OS MVS System Commands.
See message CNZ6002I in z/OS MVS System Messages, Vol 4 (CBD-DMO).