TIMERS Policy Item

SA z/OS displays the following panel if you select the TIMERS policy item from the Policy Selection panel for Timers.

Figure 1. Timer Definitions Panel
   COMMANDS  ACTIONS  HELP                                                      
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 AOFPITI0                        Timer Definitions             Row 1 to 2 of 20 
 Command ===>                                                   SCROLL===> PAGE
                                                                                
 Entry Type : Timers                PolicyDB Name   : USER_PDB                  
 Entry Name : TIMER1                Enterprise Name : USER_ENTERPRISE           
                                                                                
 Enter information for commands to be executed at scheduled times.              
                                                                                
 Action  Timer Id  Execution Time                     Task       Clock   Catchup
 Command text                                                                   
                                                                                
         S1BKUP1   AFTER 10 days and 01:10:00          SYSOPER   LOCAL   NO     
 S1BKUP1 DAILY                                                                  
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                

You should note that, at runtime, the commands that you define here are converted to the NetView CHRON format.

A timer definition consists of:

Timer ID
When a user timer is defined with the SAVE-option outside the control of SA z/OS, it is recommended that a unique timer ID is specified to avoid duplicate timers being created at automation control file (ACF) reload.

The uniqueness of the timer ID applies to the system that uses this entry and all other timer entries that are used by the same system.

Task
Specify the automated function or NetView task name where the command should run. You can also specify a NetView operator group by using a plus sign (+) as the first character (for example, +OPERGRP). Such an operator group is defined using an ASSIGN statement in NetView CNMSTYLE member or through an ASSIGN command. To run the command under the primary programmed task (PPT), specify PPT. Be aware that not all commands can run under PPT.
Restriction: If the task in the timer definition is changed, the timers existing under the old task cannot be purged during an INGAMS REFRESH processing. The changed timers are added as new ones and the old timers remain in effect until manually purged.
Clock
Specifies whether the command is to run on a Greenwich Mean Time schedule or the local system time. You can enter either GMT or LOCAL.
Catchup
Specify whether a saved timer should be caught up (that is, it should still be run) after a system outage.

This parameter is ignored for timers which are scheduled at regular intervals with specification EVERY.

Command text
The actual timer-driven command or automation procedure that SA z/OS issues or calls.

The Execution Time field cannot be filled in from this panel, but it shows the time at which the timer has been scheduled. This is the result of completing the Timer Definition panel (selected with an S in the Action column).

Use the S command code to define when the timer executes. This leads to the second Timer Definitions panel, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Timer Definitions Panel 2
  COMMANDS  HELP                                                                
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 AOFPITI1                        Timer Definitions                              
 Command ===>                                                                   
                                                                                
 Entry Type : Timers                PolicyDB Name   : USER_PDB                  
 Entry Name : TIMER1                Enterprise Name : USER_ENTERPRISE           
 Timer Id   : S1BKUP1                                                           
                                                                                
 Specify one timer definition and optional CHRON parameters.                    
 Time, elapsed time and interval time may be hh:mm:ss, hh:mm or mm.             
                                                                                
 Number of Days . . After 10  days (1-365)    and 01:10:00 (elapsed time).      
                    Every     days (1-365)    and          (elapsed time).      
 Day of Week. . . . On        (Mon-Sun)       at           (time).              
                    Every     (Mon-Sun)       at           (time).              
                    Every Weekday             at           (time).              
                    Every Weekend             at           (time).              
                    Every Day                 at           (time).              
 Date . . . . . . . On             (mm/dd/yy) at           (time).              
 Time Only. . . . . At             (time).                                      
                    After          (elapsed time).                              
                    Every          (elapsed time)                               
                                            from           to           (time). 
 Notify . . . . . .                                                           
 Remark . . . . . .                                                           
 CHRON parameter. . RECOVERY=AUTOLOGN                                           
                                                                                
                                                                                

You can use only one of the available options to define a timer, and additionally any valid NetView CHRON timer parameters. Note that entering the colons is optional for all the time fields (that is, you can enter, for example, 011000, which is then converted to 01:10:00).

The time and elapsed time can be entered as:

  1. Hours, minutes and seconds
  2. Hours and minutes
  3. Minutes only (hours then defaults to 00)

Valid values are 00-23 (hours) and 00-59 (minutes and seconds). Specifying 24:00:00 is also valid for elapsed time.

Additionally, you can specify Xs for the time to indicate that the command should run at the next increment of time, for example, XX:00:00. This causes the command to run at the beginning of the next hour.

You can define timers in the various sections of the panel, based on the time interval, as follows:
Time interval When the timer should expire
Number of Days, based on the elapsed time.
After
After a certain number of days and specified time interval.
Every
Periodically, after a specified number of days and specified time interval.
Day of Week, based on the day of the week.
On
Only once at a certain time within the next seven days.
Every
Once a week at a certain time.
Every Weekday
At the same time every weekday (Monday through Friday).
Every Weekend
At the same time every weekend (Saturday or Sunday).
Every Day
At the same time every day.
Date, if the timer is to expire on a particular day.
On
On a particular day. Only future dates are allowed.
Time Only, based on a specified time.
At
At a certain time within the next 24 hours.
After
A certain period of time after the timer has been set.
Every
At regular intervals. Optionally you may specify a time frame (using the from and end fields) where the timer expires at the regular interval.
Notify
The Notify parameter specifies a BNH549I message will be sent as notification when certain events occur in the processing of the CHRON command. It supports four event types: IGNORE, PURGE, REMOVE and RUN. For each event type specify a list of operator IDs on group names. You may specify more than one event, for example, IGNORE=(OPER1 OPER2) PURGE=(OPER3).
Remark
The Remark parameter can be any string specifying informational data.
CHRON parameter
The CHRON parameter can be any combination of NetView CHRON timer parameters, like RECOVERY, INTERNAL, CALENDAR, and so on. The following parameters must not be specified as those are automatically created from the definitions that you make on this panel and the preceding panel: AT, AFTER, EVERY, SAVE/NOSAVE, GMT/LOCAL, ROUTE, ID, COMMAND. If the 'Notify' and/or 'Remark' fields are used also the following parameters must not be specified: NOTIFY, REM.

For more details about the NetView CHRON commands that SA z/OS generates during initialization, see the online help.