A-AUTO Graph

The A-AUTO Graph presents Networks dependencies relationships and Jobs relationship inside a Network or several Networks. You can use this function to generate a scheduling graph to understand dependencies between batch jobs.

If A-AUTO dataset flag information is available in the project, triggering relationships are also presented in this graph. The A-AUTO dataset flag is a mechanism that allows a Job to trigger an A-AUTO network execution by setting a dataset-related flag, thus linking one network in which this Job was executing to a second network. Networks can reside in the current project or in other mainframe z/OS® projects. The A-AUTO dataset flag information is available in a report that is used in the project building process, in IBM® AD Build Client. For details, see Managing Application Projects with IBM AD Build.

To display the A-AUTO graph, in Application Discovery Browser perspective, from the Projects list in the central part of the Explore Projects view, select the project that contains the resource for which you want to generate an A-AUTO graph. For details on perspectives and their components, see IBM AD Analyze Client Reference.

In the Mainframe Graphs section, to the right of the Explore Projects view, double-click AAUTO Graph. The A-AUTO Graph Analysis wizard is displayed.

Select the starting point of the analysis - job or network - then make your choices in the Graph options area. By default, the graph analysis depth is limited to three levels. The direction of the analysis is forward and the network nodes are collapsed. Modify according to needs, then click Next to display the second dialog window of the wizard.

The Available jobs(networks) area displays the resources available for graph generation. Use the Name field to filter the contents of the list. Use the arrow buttons to move the resources between the Available and Selected lists then click Finish.

If the direction selected for the analysis is either backward or both (backward and forward), an extra dialog window is available in the wizard that allows the selection of projects where to look for triggered networks.

Important: This list contains only mainframe z/OS projects. In order to see results, make sure that you select projects that contain the same Dataset flag report file that is used for A-AUTO dataset flag mechanism. See Managing Application Projects with IBM AD Build for details on how to include a Dataset flag report in the build process.

AD Graphs tab displays the generated graph. To navigate the graph, use the buttons in the graph toolbar, which is located in the upper right corner of the screen. For details, see Graphical Analysis Toolbar. To show details on the meaning of the elements of the graph, use the Legend button. For details on the graph legend, see Showing the Graph Legend.

If the direction selected for the analysis is forward, the generated graph has the following characteristics:
  • Input networks are expanded by default. The rest of the networks are collapsed; networks that are linked only by triggering relationships cannot be expanded.
  • Input networks names are displayed in blue in the graph and in the Graph Inventory window.
  • The same icon type is used for all identified networks regardless of whether they reside in the current project or not.
If the direction selected for the analysis is backward, the generated graph has the following characteristics:
  • Input networks are expanded by default. The rest of the networks are collapsed.
  • In the context of A-AUTO dataset flag mechanism, networks that reside in other projects can be expanded but display only the JCLs that contain the flag that triggered the network.
  • Input networks names are displayed in blue in the graph and in the Graph Inventory window.
  • Special icons are used to mark the networks that reside in projects other than the current one.
  • If more than one project was used as input, in the Graph Inventory window the networks are grouped according to the project where they reside.

By default, a limit icon marks the nodes for which further analysis results are not displayed because of the limit set in the wizard. (highlight results that are cut short by the threshold option checked in Analysis Expansion Limit tab from Preferences window). If highlight results… option is not checked, all nodes that reach the level limit set in the wizard are marked with a limit icon regardless of whether further analysis results are available or not. The same criteria apply for displaying the limit icon in the Graph Inventory window.

AD Graph Overview window in the upper left corner of the screen presents an overview of the entire graph, which is useful when you work with large graphs. For details, see AD Graph Overview Window.

AD Graph Inventory pane presents a list of all the elements in the graph. For details, see AD Graph Inventory View. In the Graph Inventory window, a limit icon is displayed in front of the networks on which a depth limitation is set from the wizard.

The Properties window displays the properties of the element selected from the graph. For details, see Properties View.

Use Export Graph and Print (from the Eclipse toolbar) to export the graph to a portable format or print it. For details, see the sections Exporting the Graph and Printing the Graph.

A-AUTO graph element pop-up menu

Right-click an element from the A-AUTO Graph to display the pop-up menu.

The options available in the pop-up menu depend on the type of element that is selected from the graph. Options available for all element types: View analysis source, Show properties, and Filter. According to the selected element, some or all of the following options might also be available: Annotations, Reports, and Usage analyses. For JCL nodes, View source option is also available.

The Filter options in the pop-up menu allow the user to toggle on/off different elements of the graph.

For details on the options available for all element types, see Graph element pop-up menu.