Re: backups on AS/400, objects -- MIDRANGE-L

A long time ago when I first started at this company we had a situation 
where we run update procedures every morning into our databases.  If someone
goes into one of the files while this update is running the update procedure
would not update the files, no error, no warning, nothing.  So they would
have to run the procedure again, and again, until finally they got through
without anyone opening the files.

So I created a very simple CL program that locked key files.  With these
key files locked no one could get into the databases through the application
programs.  Their program would lock up waiting for the lock to be released,
which they complained about.  Fine, don't go into the databases when you 
are told to stay out and your display won't lock up.  Otherwise, just sys
request and end task and you'll be back to where you were.

Perhaps you just need to create some of these locking CLs and stick them
on the menu before you run the procedure, or simply add exclusive locks
to the beginning of your procedure for the files you don't want anyone
to access while you are running the batch.

As for people walking away from their tubes and leaving them logged on,
change the activity time-out level in your system values.  I have mine
set for an hour.  If someone doesn't do anything at their tube for an
hour it will log off their session.  It will keep the job information for
4 hours, so if they log back in within 4 hours it will resume where they
left off, otherwise it will delete the job.

Regards,

Jim Langston

From: MacWheel99@aol.com [mailto:MacWheel99@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2001 12:05 PM
To: MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com
Subject: Re: backups on AS/400, objects


Well of course system history helps us identify who was on when, if we want 
to take the trouble to dig, but what I seek is a corporate policy of 
cooperation with what they want MIS to do, that is economical.

The original poster in this thread had a somewhat different interest I 
believe.

It is not economical for me to be doing long distance phone calls to remote 
sites to try to determine if the people are really there or gone home & left

their work stations in the middle of update programs.

I do send message, but unfortunately we do have novice users not yet able to

recognize messages, let alone repond to them.  Fortunately not many of those

people doing update programs.

This is one of the reasons I take the whole system down for backup.
Just imagine if we were doing some other kind of save & people signed on in 
middle of it.

I have hard enough time with my boss during EOM ... there are some jobs that

need only ONE user on running this or that job step, until it is done ... 
second user locks up the job & guess who ... most of the lockups are within 
the same department that knows this & supposed to enforce only one user
until 
those jobs completed.

We have had a bunch of crashes with inventory transactions to general ledger

& every single one of them traced to the people who do that work being 
impatient & going to next step before first step completed.
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