Communication Flow

Figure 1 outlines the communication between the automation manager and the automation agents.

The automation agents on the systems in the sysplex subscribe to the automation manager to be alerted about problems with system or sysplex application groups (APGs). This is because the automation manager cannot itself send alerts to the notification targets. Whenever the automation manager detects a problem with an APG it sends an alert to the subscribed automation agents (one in case of a system APG, and all in case of a sysplex APG). Any alerts for sysplex APGs are handled by only one automation agent in the sysplex.

The automation agents can also receive alerts for applications, application groups, or monitor resources via the INGALERT command. If the affected resource is managed by a different automation agent, the request is passed on. The automation agent that manages the resource sends the alert to the notification target. If, for whatever reason, this automation agent cannot send the alert, it passes on the request to the next automation agent in the sysplex. This can happen several times until the alert is successfully sent or no more automation agents are available.

For each alert, the automation agent connects to a notification target, sends the alert and then disconnects. The automation agent does not maintain a permanent connection to the SA IOM server.