Step 32C: Define Consoles

About this task

CICS Automation uses EMCS consoles to issue Modify CICS commands when managing CICS. Console definitions are required for correct CICS Automation operation.

Define consoles for autotasks to enable CICS Automation functions. This step can be skipped if you enable CICS Auto-Installed Consoles. This can be achieved by specifying "AICONS=YES" in the CICS system initialization parameters.

In an EMCS environment the autotask console names are determined, in order of precedence as follows:

  1. If you are using AOCGETCN (that is, using the profiles shipped with the product) the name is determined by AOFCNMASK. For more information, see IBM Z® System Automation Customizing and Programming or IBM Z System Automation Defining Automation Policy.
  2. The CONSNAME parameter on the PROFILE statement in the task profile determines the EMCS console name. For more information, see IBM Z NetView Administration Reference and IBM Z NetView Security Reference.
  3. By default the autotask name is used for the EMCS console name.

What to do next

A console has to be defined for each SA z/OS work operator. These are typically named AUTWRKnn. In addition, a console has to be defined for each NetView operator that may want to inquire or control a CICS region. This can be simplified by specification of the CICS Console Auto-Install function.

RACF security is provided by z/OS for EMCS and MCS consoles. This function enables a user on NetView with a RACF® user ID (ACEE) to open an EMCS console and have the user ID associated with the EMCS console. All commands that are issued to the EMCS console will have the user ID of the NetView user. Furthermore, CICS supports EMCS and MCS consoles with RACF user IDs by inheriting the user ID that is associated with a command from the EMCS or MCS console.

The net result is that for CICS auto-installed consoles, the user ID that is assigned to the console is the user ID that issued the command. In the case of SA z/OS this would be the NetView user's user ID (only if NetView is using RACF to verify user IDs). This means that all tasks in NetView that require consoles will also require RACF user IDs and the appropriate permissions in CICS. This includes all human operators and all auto operators.

For those users who want to have a predefined user ID instead of the all the possible user IDs from NetView, the Console Model Terminal definition should specify a user ID in its definition.