Parameters

IODF=xx

Specifies the two-character suffix of the target IODF data set name (IODFxx) that contains the configuration definition the system is to activate. When this keyword is omitted, the system defaults to the active IODF data set name.

EDT=xx

Specifies the eligible devices table (EDT) that the system is to construct from the target IODF. If you omit this keyword, the system uses the active EDT identifier.

PROC=procname

Indicates the eight-byte name of the processor definition in the target IODF. If you omit this keyword, the system will use the active processor name.

CFID=id

Specifies the eight-byte configuration identifier that indicates the operating system definition in the target IODF. If you omit this keyword, the system defaults the configuration identifier as follows:

When the target IODF has only one configuration identifier, it becomes the default, otherwise, the current configuration identifier is the default.

RECOVER=

Allows the installation to continue a dynamic change that did not complete due to a hardware, software, or PR/SM™ failure. RECOVER cannot be specified with any other parameters. You can specify:

SOURCE to retry the original I/O configuration
TARGET to retry the new I/O configuration
default:
- Retry TARGET IODF if ACTIVATE failed during advance
- Retry SOURCE IODF if ACTIVATE failed while backing out.

ACTIOCDS=xx

Specifies the two-character IOCDS name that the system is to activate. Upon successful completion of the ACTIVATE command, the default IOCDS for the next power-on-reset will be xx. It does not make the I/O configuration definition stored in the IOCDS the active one.

For the IOCDS activate process to be successful, the processor token in the target IOCDS must match the current processor token in the Hardware System Area (HSA). This means that the IOCDS that is being activated has an I/O configuration definition that matches the I/O configuration currently active in the channel subsystem.

When you specify ACTIOCDS, you cannot specify TEST.

SOFT

Specifies a dynamic change to the software I/O configuration, which updates the I/O configuration only to the operating system. To change a software and hardware I/O configuration dynamically, omit the SOFT keyword.

When you specify SOFT, you cannot specify FORCE.

When you specify SOFT without any parameters, it is the same as specifying SOFT=VALIDATE.

=VALIDATE or =NOVALIDATE

Allows you to specify whether or not the system is to validate that any specified hardware elements to be deleted are offline and available, and that there is sufficient HSA space available to accommodate the hardware changes.

When a dynamic change is made to the I/O configuration for a processor complex running in LPAR mode, a change to the software I/O configuration is performed for the first N-1 logical partitions, followed by a hardware and software change for the Nth logical partition. By specifying the SOFT keyword (or SOFT=VALIDATE) when changing the I/O configuration on the N-1 logical partitions, you can determine early on whether there will be sufficient HSA space available for the subsequent software and hardware I/O configuration changes on the Nth logical partition.

Specifying SOFT=VALIDATE also ensures that the required processing for changes to coupling facility elements (CF control units or CF channel paths) will be executed. SOFT=VALIDATE is a requirement in all N-1 partitions when you make changes to coupling facility elements.

TEST

Specifies test mode to check, but not to change, the configuration. The system checks include whether:

The dynamic change will fit into the current HSA
The target IODF exists
The target IODF contains the target EDT
The target IOCDS is a valid data set
The device support code supports devices being dynamically added or deleted
The devices to be deleted are offline
The paths to be deleted are offline
The devices and paths to be deleted are pinned

If you are performing a full dynamic activate, the system provides a list showing which channels and devices will be added, deleted, or changed during activation.

Warning

If you run the ACTIVATE command with the TEST option and the system detects no errors, there is still no guarantee that ACTIVATE will work without TEST.

Although pinned devices/paths are detected during ACTIVATE with the TEST option, some products and functions such as Geographically Dispersed Parallel Sysplex (GDPS) and z/OS Basic Hyperswap rely on signals done during real (non-TEST) activates in order to prevent deletion of those devices/paths. Therefore, activates with the TEST option may not alert you to the potential of a real activate failure that may occur due to pinned devices/paths as the messages indicating this condition will not be issued.

Devices/paths may become pinned or unpinned if a real activate request is performed at a separate time from the test activate.

When you specify TEST, you cannot specify ACTIOCDS or FORCE.

FORCE

Specify that the system makes it possible to delete hardware resources that might offset other partitions.

You must specify FORCE if your processor complex is running in LPAR mode, and you want to activate a target IODF to delete one or more I/O components. You can also specify FORCE to activate a target IODF to delete a logical partition from a device candidate list. These deletions may be explicit or implicit due to changes in the definitions for some I/O components. When you specify FORCE, you cannot specify SOFT or TEST.

If your processor complex has Enterprise Systems Connection (ESCON) Multiple Image Facility (EMIF) capability, you can specify FORCE to get the results described in Table 1.

For information about ESCON Multiple Image Facility (EMIF), see z/OS HCD Planning. For information about access lists and candidate lists, see z/OS HCD User's Guide.

Table 1. Specifying FORCE with EMIF
To do the following:	Specify FORCE as follows:
Delete no I/O components, and do either of the following: Delete no logical partitions from the access or candidate list of a channel path or PCIe function. Delete one or more logical partitions from the access or candidate list of a channel path or PCIe function offline to all of those logical partitions. IBM® recommends that you take the channel path or PCIe function offline before issuing the command.	Do not specify FORCE.
Delete no I/O components, and delete one or more logical partitions from the access or candidate list of a channel path or PCIe function online to any of those logical partitions. IBM does not recommend this action.	FORCE=CANDIDATE
Delete one or more I/O components, and do either of the following: Delete no logical partitions from the access or candidate list of a channel path or PCIe function. Delete one or more logical partitions from the access or candidate list of a channel path or PCIe function offline to all of those logical partitions. IBM recommends that you take the channel path or PCIe function offline before issuing the command.	FORCE or FORCE=DEVICE
Delete one or more I/O components, and delete one or more logical partitions from the access or candidate list of a channel path or PCIe function online to any of those logical partitions. IBM does not recommend this action.	FORCE=(DEVICE,CANDIDATE) or FORCE=(CANDIDATE,DEVICE)
Delete one or more logical partitions from the device candidate list and delete no other I/O components.	FORCE or FORCE=DEVICE

Note: Before activating the new configuration, you may have to configure offline affected channel paths or vary offline affected devices. See z/OS HCD Planning for details about avoiding disruptions to I/O operations during dynamic changes.

Example 1:

To ACTIVATE the A0 IOCDS, enter:

ACTIVATE ACTIOCDS=A0

Example 2:

To ACTIVATE the configuration definition COMPUT22, contained in the IODF with suffix 03, enter:

ACTIVATE IODF=03,CFID=COMPUT22

Example 3:

To perform a test ACTIVATE to processor definition PROC1001 contained in the currently active IODF, enter:

ACTIVATE PROC=PROC1001,TEST

Example 4:

To ACTIVATE an IODF with suffix 04, which deletes one or more I/O components from the I/O configuration, enter:

ACTIVATE IODF=04,FORCE
   or
ACTIVATE IODF=04,FORCE=DEVICE