Automatic recovery and restart

IBM® Z Workload Scheduler provides automatic restart facilities for your production work. You can specify the restart actions to take if work initiated by IBM Z Workload Scheduler ends in error (see Figure 1.) You can use these functions to predefine automatic error recovery and restart actions for jobs and started tasks. The schedulerʼs integration with the NetView® program allows it to automatically pass alerts to the NetView program in error situations. Using the z/OS® cross-system coupling facility (XCF) enables IBM Z Workload Scheduler to maintain production workload processing when system failures occur.

Recovery of jobs and started tasks. Automatic recovery actions for failed jobs are specified in user-defined control statements. Parameters in these statements determine the recovery actions to be taken when a job or started task ends in error.

Restart and cleanup. You can use restart and cleanup to catalog, uncatalog, or delete data sets when a job ends in error, or when you need to rerun a job. Data set cleanup handles JCL in the form of in-stream JCL, in-stream procedures, and cataloged procedures on both local and remote systems. This function can be initiated automatically by IBM Z Workload Scheduler or manually by using the panels. IBM Z Workload Scheduler resets the catalog to the status that it was before the job ran for both generation data set groups (GDGs) and for DD allocated data sets contained in JCL. In addition, restart and cleanup supports the use of Removable Media Manager in your environment.

Restart at both the step- and job-level is also provided in the IBM Z Workload Scheduler panels. It manages resolution of generation data group (GDG) names, JCL containing nested INCLUDEs or PROC, and IF-THEN-ELSE statements. IBM Z Workload Scheduler also automatically identifies problems that can prevent successful restart, providing a logic of the “best restart step.”

You can browse the job log or request a step-level restart for any z/OS job or started task even when there are no catalog modifications. The job-log browse functions are also available for the workload on other operating platforms, which is especially useful for those environments that do not support an SDSF-like facility. If you use a SYSOUT archiver, for example RMDS, you can interface with it from IBM Z Workload Scheduler and so prevent duplication of job log information.

These facilities are available to you without the need to make changes to your current JCL.

IBM Z Workload Scheduler gives you an enterprise-wide data set cleanup capability on remote agent systems.

Production workload restart. IBM Z Workload Scheduler provides a production workload restart, which can automatically maintain the processing of your work if a system or connection fails. Scheduler-controlled production work for the unsuccessful system is rerouted to another system. Because IBM Z Workload Scheduler can restart and manage the production workload, the integrity of your processing schedule is maintained, and service continues for your customers.

IBM Z Workload Scheduler uses the VTAM® Model Application Program Definition feature and the z/OS defined symbols to ease the configuration and job in a sysplex environment, giving you a single system view of the sysplex.

Starting, stopping, and managing your engines and agents do not require you to know on which sysplex z/OS image they are actually running on.

Hot standby. IBM Z Workload Scheduler provides a single point of control for your z/OS production workload. If this controlling system fails, IBM Z Workload Scheduler can automatically transfer the controlling functions to a backup system within a Parallel Sysplex®, see Figure 2. Through XCF, IBM Z Workload Scheduler can automatically maintain production workload processing during system or connection failures.