Normal operator actions (DB/DC or DCCTL)

The z/OS® system operator needs to initialize the IMS control region, but you should plan to reduce the need for further involvement by the z/OS operator in IMS operations. In a busy system, responses to messages or instructions sent by an application program to the z/OS operator can be erratic. Such requirements are better handled by output messages to the IMS master terminal.

You should ask the z/OS system operator to relay any IMS messages (ones beginning with any of the following prefixes: DFS, DSP, DXR, ELX, BPE, or CQS) to the IMS master terminal. You might also give the z/OS operator a list of the IMS job names. Because often the z/OS system console is physically separated from the IMS master terminal, you need a local telephone or a paging line to maintain communication between them.

You need to decide whether the z/OS operator or the IMS MTO should start IMS regions. If you want the z/OS operator to start them, one of the following IMS procedures can be used:

• IMSBATCH procedure to start batch message processing regions
• IMSRDR procedure to start message processing regions

The advantage of allowing the z/OS operator to start IMS regions is that the operator can monitor any abnormal termination patterns and I/O requests.

The following table shows the actions usually performed by the MTO and the commands usually reserved for the IMS master terminal.

The IMS master terminal also works well as a display device. On the bottom of the screen are two input lines, with room for a warning message. The remainder of the screen is divided into two areas, each of 10 lines. The top portion shows the 10 most recent IMS messages; new messages overlay old ones, so the display cycles through the 10 lines. The lower portion is used to page through the output from the /DISPLAY command.