VARY TCPIP,,SYNTAXCHECK

Use the VARY TCPIP,,SYNTAXCHECK command to check the syntax of TCP/IP profile configuration statements without affecting the system operation or network configuration.

Subject to the restrictions listed below, you can direct this command to any TCP/IP stack that is of the same release level as the profile statements in the profile data set. The profile statements do not need to be related in any way to the active configuration.

Restriction: The VARY TCPIP,,SYNTAXCHECK command makes no attempt to update the active configuration; therefore, it does not detect and report conflicts with the active configuration. The following list shows some examples of the conflicts with the active configuration that VARY TCPIP,,SYNTAXCHECK cannot detect:
  • Defining an interface more than once
  • Deleting an interface that is not currently configured
  • Defining an IPv6 interface on an IPv4-only stack

Format

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Parameters

procname
The identifier of the TCP/IP address space. When the procname value is not specified, only one TCP/IP address space can be started. If more than one TCP/IP address space is available and no procname value is specified, the request fails with an error message.
SYNTAXCHECK
Specify this parameter to check the syntax of profile statements without applying any changes to the system operation and network configuration. Put your profile statements in the data set specified by the datasetname value.
datasetname
The datasetname value is required if you specify the SYNTAXCHECK parameter. The datasetname value is the name of a data set that contains TCP/IP profile configuration statements. The datasetname value must be a cataloged and fully-qualified data set name that is specified without any quotation marks. The datasetname value can be either a sequential data set or a member in a PDS.
Result: Syntax checking continues with any data set specified on an INCLUDE statement.
Restriction: The datasetname value cannot be the name of a z/OS® UNIX file or a TCPIP.DATA data set.

Usage

Guidelines

  • If you have defined the resource profile MVS™.VARY.TCPIP.SYNTAXCHECK in class OPERCMDS, authorize users to invoke the command by granting their user IDs CONTROL access to the resource profile.
  • Issue this command to verify the statements in datasetname are free of syntax errors before activating the profile as the initial profile or with the VARY TCPIP,,OBEYFILE command.
  • You do not need to direct this command to the TCP/IP stack that will use datasetname unless your profile contains MVS system symbols. If your profile contains MVS system symbols, you must direct this command to the TCP/IP stack that will activate datasetname for consistent resolution of the MVS system symbols.
  • If your profile does not contain MVS system symbols, you can check the profile statement syntax by using any TCP/IP stack or host that supports the VARY TCPIP,,SYNTAXCHECK command, and that supports the statements in your profile. For consistent syntax checking, check the datasetname statement syntax by using a TCP/IP stack of the same z/OS release level as the TCP/IP stack that will activate datasetname.

Requirements

  • Because syntax checking might stop for the current statement after a syntax error is detected, you must issue the command again after fixing any syntax errors reported by this command to ensure all syntax errors have been detected.
  • For syntax checking consistency, you must run this command on a system of the same release level as the system that will activate the datasetname statements.
  • Syntax check ignores comments. You must ensure that comments adhere to the syntax rules and restrictions that are described in the introduction to Statement syntax for configuration statements in z/OS Communications Server: IP Configuration Reference.

Results

  • The profile is parsed and syntax errors are reported.
  • No configuration changes are applied.
  • No SMF events are generated.
The VARY TCPIP,,SYNTAXCHECK command makes no attempt to update the active configuration; therefore, it does not detect and report conflicts with the active configuration. The following list shows some examples of the conflicts with the active configuration that VARY TCPIP,,SYNTAXCHECK cannot detect:
  • Defining an interface more than once
  • Deleting an interface that is not currently configured
  • Defining an IPv6 interface on an IPv4-only stack