Step 4: Configure one Agent per z/OS system in the sysplex

There can be only one Agent active per z/OS® system in the sysplex at any point in time, unless sysplex subplexing is used. When operating in a sysplex subplexing environment, this step requires additional actions. For information about the changes to this step, see Configuring Agents in a subplexing environment.

The Agent reads configuration data from one file, which can exist as a z/OS UNIX file, a PDS or PDSE member, or a sequential data set. The Agent configuration file is specified on the CONFIG DD statement in the Agent start procedure. A sample start procedure is provided in EZBLBAGE in SEZAINST.

The Agent configuration file serves three basic purposes:

Defines the IP address and port that the Agent binds to for communication with the Advisor
Identifies the location (IP address and port) of the Advisor
Customizes optional parameters

A sample Agent configuration file is provided in EZBLBAGC in SEZAINST.

The Advisor and Agent statements define addresses and ports on the local system and on remote systems. At times, it can be difficult to remember which statements refer to local sockets and which statements refer to remote addresses and ports.

Tip: Any statement containing the word connection refers to a local socket, and any statement containing the word id refers to a remote address and possibly port.