An overview of the CICSPlex SM API

The CICSPlex® SM application programming interface (API) provides you with access to CICS® system management information and allows you to invoke CICSPlex SM services from an external program.

The API can provide a single interface for programs that are designed to monitor and control the CICS systems in your enterprise. In addition, the API provides an interface to CICSPlex SM itself. So you can also write programs to access the administrative functions that control the way CICSPlex SM operates.

Some typical uses of the API include:
  • Monitoring key resources in your CICS environment.
  • Changing the status of CICS resources relative to other conditions in your enterprise.
  • Controlling the flow of change to your CICS environment.
  • Passing the information that is provided by CICSPlex SM to an automation product.
  • Developing alternative display and report formats for CICS and CICSPlex SM data.
  • Processing CICSPlex SM notifications about events such as:
    • Real-time analysis thresholds being reached
  • Creating and maintaining CICSPlex SM definitions for Business Application Services, for workload management, real-time analysis, and resource monitoring.
  • Creating and maintaining CICS resource definitions in the CICSPlex SM data repository.

Depending on the query structure, a CICSPlex SM API command can be executed and satisfied in the CMAS, or routed to every MAS within the scope of the command. Where the request is routed to a MAS, it is processed by a system task that uses the CONL transaction identifier, or offloaded to an instance of a system task that uses the CONA transaction identifier if configured as such.

Note: By default, CICSPlex SM API requests directed to a MAS run at a priority of 255, and issuing numerous and frequent CICSPlex SM API requests can impact workload that is running at a lower priority. However, there is a way to lower the priority of CICSPlex SM API requests:
  • CICSPlex SM transaction CONL, which by default handles most requests that are directed to the MAS through the API, WUI, and RTA, runs at priority 255 (unchangeable).
  • CICSPlex SM API requests can be offloaded to transaction CONA, and their priority changed by specifying MASALTLRTCNT in EYUPARM. For more information, see Controlling the number of long running tasks in a MAS.

It is also possible to offload some RTA processing to a system task that uses the COIR transaction identifier, by requesting a separate task in the RTA EVALDEF. Use the COIRTASKPRI CICSPlex SM system parameter to adjust the priority of the COIR system task. For more information, see CICSPlex SM system parameters.

CICSPlex SM provides several sample programs. Sample programs for each supported language are distributed in source form. These samples are provided to illustrate the types of programs you can write and the commands you need to use in those programs. For more information, see CICSPlex SM API sample programs.