Can the scheduler help with online systems?

An online system, such as a CICS® system, is a job or started task, so it can be started like any other operation defined to IBM Z Workload Scheduler.

Many batch applications cannot start until the online system shuts down. One advantage of defining an online system to IBM Z Workload Scheduler is that a batch application can be made dependent on the online system and IBM Z Workload Scheduler can start the batch application automatically (assuming other dependencies are met) when the online system ends.

The scheduler administrator can specify that IBM Z Workload Scheduler issues a message when an operation deadline passes before the operation is complete. This is called a DEADLINE WTO. If a DEADLINE WTO is specified for the operation representing an online system on a z/OS® system, IBM Z Workload Scheduler sends a write-to-operator (WTO) message to the operator console when the online system must shut down. This message can trigger events in NetView®, such as the broadcasting of a “Closing in 5 minutes” message to online users and the initiation of the shutdown transaction 5 minutes later.