Specifying console attributes
When activating the extended console, you need to specify its attributes, such as its command authority, routing codes, message data space size, and whether it is to receive the hardcopy message set. These attributes are known as operator parameters. You can specify these attributes, or operator parameters, in one of three ways:
- In the OPERPARM segment of the user profile of a security product, such as RACF®
- In data area MCSOP, mapped by IEZVG111, when you specify the OPERPARM parameter on the MCSOPER macro
- Through system defaults.
The system checks for the attributes in the order listed above. First it looks in the user profile of the console defined through your security product. The profile contains the address of the OPERPARM parameter list. Then it checks the MCSOP data area. If you did not specify the OPERPARM parameter on MCSOPER, the system applies default values for the console attributes, also defined in the MCSOP data area.
If you choose to specify attributes in MCSOP, set the appropriate MCSOP fields, and specify the OPERPARM parameter on the MCSOPER macro when you activate the extended console.
If you choose to specify attributes through your security product's
user profile, see the security product's documentation for information
on specifying attributes in the OPERPARM segment. z/OS MVS Planning: Operations contains
information on using a RACF user profile to identify operator
parameters.
Note: When the RACF OPERCMDS
class is not active, the OPERPARM segment on the RACF user profile is ignored.
You can override the console attributes specified in the user profile of the security product by turning on bit MCSOVRDY in the MCSOP data area.
The following table summarizes the attributes. For information on the options for each field, see the MCSOP description in z/OS MVS Data Areas in the z/OS Internet library.
| Operator Parameter | MCSOP Field Name | OPERPARM Subkeyword (in OPERPARM segment of security product) | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authority | MCSOAUTH | AUTH | INFO | Command authority |
| Routing codes | MCSORCDT | ROUTCODE | NONE | Routing codes |
| Message level | MCSOMLVL | MLEVEL | ALL | Levels of messages |
| Message format | MCSOMFRM | MFORM | M | Message format for display |
| Message scope | MCSOMSFG | MSCOPE | *ALL | System message scope in a sysplex |
| Command scope | MCSOCSNM | CMDSYS | Current system | Command scope in the sysplex |
| Monitor information | MCSOMSGT | MONITOR | NONE | Receive status messages about given system events |
| Log command responses | MCSOLOGC | LOGCMDRESP | SYSTEM | Logging of command responses |
| Storage | MCSOSTOR | STORAGE | 1 | Limit of storage in megabytes (MB) used for message queuing |
| DOM | MCSODOM | DOM | NORMAL (see attribute) | Whether the console receives delete operator messages (DOM) |
| Extended MCS console key | MCSOKEY | KEY | NONE | 1- to 8-byte name used on the DISPLAY CONSOLES command to identify extended MCS consoles |
| Automated messages | MCSOAUTY MCSOAUTN | AUTO | NO | Whether the extended console receives messages that are eligible for automation |
| Hardcopy | MCSOHDCY MCSOHDCN | HC | NO | Whether the extended console receives the hardcopy message set |
| Receive messages directed to console id zero | MCSOINT | INTIDS | N | Whether the console receives messages directed to console id zero. |
| Receive messages directed to unknown console ids | MCSOUNKN | UNKNIDS | N | Whether the console receives messages directed to unknown console ids, such as one-byte id. |
The attributes have the following meanings:
- Authority
- Specifies the command authority for the console. MVS™ determines
command authority by command groups defined as options for AUTH as
follows:
- INFO
- Informational commands
- SYS
- System control commands
- IO
- I/O control commands
- CONS
- Console control commands
- ALL
- Informational, system, I/O control, and console control commands
- MASTER
- Master authority commands
Command group authority includes commands from groups with lower authority. For example, AUTH(SYS) allows the user to issue informational commands (INFO) as well as system control commands from the console. AUTH(INFO) is the default.
- Routing codes
- Specifies the routing codes (1 - 128) in effect for the console. MVS directs messages
with the defined routing codes to the console. You can also specify:
- ROUTCODE(ALL)
- which sends all messages defined by routing codes to the console, or
- ROUTCODE(NONE)
- which doesn't use routing codes as criteria for routing messages to the console, and is the default.
- Message level
- Specifies the message level for the console, which indicates the
type of message to be sent to the console. MVS distinguishes between kinds of
message levels defined as options for LEVEL as follows:
- R
- Write-to-operator with reply (WTOR) messages, which might demand an immediate reply.
- I
- System failure and immediate action messages (descriptor codes 1 and 2), which indicate a serious error or that a task is awaiting a requested operator action.
- CE
- Critical eventual action messages (descriptor code 11), which indicate that an eventual action of critical importance is requested on the part of the operator.
- E
- Eventual action messages (descriptor code 3), which request an eventual action that does not require immediate operator attention.
- NB
- Broadcast messages, which are messages normally sent to every active console regardless of the routing code you assigned to the console. Specifying LEVEL(NB) indicates that the console is not to receive broadcast messages.
- IN
- Informational messages, which generally indicate system status. Most messages are informational.
- ALL
- All messages, which indicate that all messages, including broadcast messages, appear on the console and is the default.
- Message form
- This parameter is necessary only if you are coding a presentation service and want to honor MFORM requests. If an MFORM value has been specified for this extended MCS console, you can find the value in the MCSCSA. The MCSCSA reflects the values specified in MCSOP. The system does not add a system name, job name, or time stamp into the message text. You can find those values in the MDB, if you want to include them as part of the message that your program presents.
- Message scope
- Identifies the system or systems in a sysplex from which the specified
console will receive unsolicited messages.
The default is *ALL, which indicates that messages from the local system as well as all other systems in the sysplex appear on the console.
- Command scope
- Defines the system in a sysplex where you want to send commands entered on this console for processing. The default is an asterisk (*), which indicates that commands entered on the console are processed on the local system where the console is defined.
- Monitor information
- Specifies that you want messages sent to this console when system
events, such as a job start or end or a TSO user logon or logoff,
occur. MVS distinguishes
among the following information, which you can specify as options
for the MONITOR request:
- JOBNAME
- Specifies that the name of the job is given in job status messages whenever a job starts or ends.
- STATUS
- Specifies that data set names and volume serial numbers are given in status messages whenever data sets are freed.
- SESS
- Specifies that the time sharing option extensions (TSO/E) user ID is given in session status messages whenever the TSO/E session begins and ends.
With JOBNAME or SESS, you can add a time stamp (-T).
- Log command responses
- Specifies whether the system logs messages that are responses to commands directed to the console. SYSTEM indicates that the value or default for HARDCOPY CMDLEVEL in CONSOLxx determines whether the system logs the command responses for the console, and is the default. NO indicates that the system does not log command responses for the console.
- Storage
- Specifies the limit of storage in megabytes used for message queuing. The maximum is 2048 megabytes. When the console is activated, the system sets the limit. 1 megabyte provides storage for about 250 message lines, and is the default.
- DOM
- Specifies whether the console receives delete-operator messages (DOMs). NORMAL indicates that the system attempts to queue all appropriate DOMs to the console, which is the default. ALL indicates that MVS queues all DOMs in the sysplex to the console. The application program that activates the console must indicate which DOMs it wants to receive based on its handling of held messages (that is, action messages and WTORs). If the MCSOPER ACTIVATE request specifies MSGDLVRY=NONE, the DOM attribute is forced to DOM=NONE.
- Extended console key
- Specifies a 1- to 8-byte character name used in the DISPLAY CONSOLES,KEY=keyvalue command. DISPLAY CONSOLES,KEY=keyvalue displays information for all consoles with that key. Thus, you can define a key that operators can use in the command to display information about all extended MCS consoles in the system or sysplex. The default value is NONE. For more information on the DISPLAY command, see z/OS MVS System Commands.
- Automated messages
- Specifies whether the console is to receive messages that are eligible for automation. Messages are flagged as automatable by specifying AUTO(YES/token) on the MPFLSTxx member of SYS1.PARMLIB. See z/OS MVS Initialization and Tuning Reference for more information on the message processing facility (MPF). Options are YES, which means the console receives messages that are eligible for automation, or NO, which means the console does not receive messages that are eligible for automation. NO is the default.
- Hardcopy
- Specifies whether the console is to receive the full hardcopy message set. Options are YES, which means the console receives the hardcopy message set, or NO, which means the console does not receive the hardcopy message set. Any route codes specified for a console do not apply for hardcopy messages, so users should be aware that the console will receive all hardcopy messages, regardless of their specific route code, when this option is set to YES. NO is the default. See z/OS MVS Planning: Operations for more information about the hardcopy message set.
- Receive messages directed to console id zero
- Whether the specified console can receive messages that are directed
to console id zero. These messages are usually the command responses
for internally issued commands.
- Y
- The specified console is to receive these messages.
- N
- The specified console is not to receive these messages. This is the default value.
- Receive messages directed to unknown console ids
- Whether the specified console can receive messages that are directed
to "unknown" console ids. These ids are one-byte ids which the system
cannot resolve.
- Y
- The specified console is to receive these messages.
- N
- The specified console is not to receive these messages. This is the default value.