Communication and console configuration among operators

To promote good communication among the operators of an XRF complex, place all consoles in a central location. The speed with which the takeover proceeds depends on operators confirming that a takeover is in progress and that I/O prevention is complete. This confirmation is easiest when operators are located in the same physical area.

With the operators in two separate physical locations, the chance for misunderstanding or lack of communication is great. The success of the takeover and the integrity of the databases lies with your operators and their awareness of what is going on in the entire complex.

The following figure shows a recommended configuration for the consoles that are responsible for managing XRF:

• A group of four logical consoles:
  • IMS master terminal for the active subsystem
  • IMS master terminal for the alternate subsystem
  • Multiple console support (MCS) console that receives messages from z/OS® for the active subsystem
  • Multiple console support (MCS) console that receives messages from z/OS for the alternate subsystem
• IMS secondary master terminal with attached printer for the active subsystem
• IMS secondary master terminal with attached printer for the alternate subsystem
• Network terminal for VTAM® and Tivoli® NetView for z/OS
• Optionally, two additional consoles for JES3 in the two systems (not shown in the figure)

Figure 1. Recommended console configuration for XRF

It is important that the active and alternate IMS subsystems each have their own IMS master terminals. IMS limits the commands that the MTO can issue on the alternate subsystem.

On this set of terminals, your operators have a collective view of z/OS, IMS, and network events. Your operators cannot issue the z/OS SYSTEM RESET command on the processor consoles, but they can receive all the availability manager (AVM) messages and can issue monitoring commands.

To understand how important it is to have the operators' consoles together, consider the implications of having separate centers for the active subsystem and the alternate subsystem operations. Operators at each center must have some understanding of the entire XRF complex. The state of the alternate subsystem is important to the operators for the active subsystem, and vice versa. For example:

• The operators for the active subsystem should know when the initialization of the alternate subsystem is complete.
• The operators for the active subsystem must know of a failure of the alternate subsystem.
• The operators for the alternate subsystem must know of the completion of I/O prevention in the failing active subsystem.

At changes of shifts, the operators on one shift must let the operators on the following shift know the current state of the complex.