Special Considerations for Authorized Servers

You might decide that your server should run as an authorized program. The primary advantage of authorized servers is that they can use authorized callable services and macros.

Additional reasons for having your server run authorized include:

Using authorized RACF macros to tailor security environments for individual users.
Multiple user requests of various security levels might run in the same server address space. These users all run under the server's security environment. Authorized servers, however, can create customized security environments to match the security access defined to individual users (through the RACROUTE REQUEST=VERIFY macro, for example).
Joining the APPC XCF group to receive information that is otherwise available only to transaction schedulers.
Servers must be authorized to join the APPC XCF group. As a member of this group, the server could receive APPC information, or information about an LU with which the server is associated. For example:
- LU messages
- "APPC ACTIVE/INACTIVE" status messages
- Installation-determined data specified through the USERVAR and ALTLU keywords in the APPCPMxx member of the parmlib concatenation.
Note that servers running as members of the APPC XCF group are more difficult to write. You must, for example, also provide an XCF message user routine that runs in SRB mode.

For information about the APPC XCF group, and writing message user routines, see z/OS MVS System Messages, Vol 3 (ASB-BPX).