CICSPlex SM managed objects

CICSPlex® SM is an object-oriented system. This means that each resource in the CICSPlex SM environment is an instance of an object. Each object is considered to be a specific type and each has a unique, formally defined name.

Types of managed objects

There are various types of objects in the CICSPlex SM environment. Some objects, such as CICS® systems, programs, and transactions are real-world resources that CICSPlex SM manages. Definition objects, such as monitor specifications and workload definitions, are resources created solely for use within CICSPlex SM. An event is an example of a run-time object that is generated as a result of CICSPlex SM processing.

The CICSPlex SM managed objects can be grouped into the following categories:

Managed CICS resources

These objects represent actual CICS resources that exist in the CICS systems being managed by CICSPlex SM. Each object of this type describes a CICS resource that CICSPlex SM can report on and manipulate. Managed objects exist for all the resources that are available to CICSPlex SM using standard CICS interfaces. In some cases, the CICSPlex SM managed objects offer a more definitive representation of the resources than CICS does. For example, the LOCTRAN and REMTRAN objects, which CICSPlex SM uses to distinguish between local transactions and remote transactions, are combined by CICS as transactions.

In addition to the standard CICS resources, CICSPlex SM creates managed objects as a result of its resource monitoring activity. Monitored CICS resources contain a subset of the resource attributes, normally those that reflect the state and consumption characteristics of the resource. In addition, CICSPlex SM may provide derived attributes that show resource utilization as an average, rate, or percentage. MLOCTRAN and MREMTRAN are examples of monitored CICS resource objects; they are derived from the LOCTRAN and REMTRAN CICS resource objects. A monitored CICS resource object can exist after the associated CICS resource object is removed from the CICS system, or even after the system itself is shut down.

CICS resource definitions

These objects represent definitions of CICS resources that CICSPlex SM can assign to, and possibly install in, CICS systems. The actual definitions are stored in the CICSPlex SM data repository as definition records. For example, the TRANDEF object represents a CICS transaction that can be assigned both locally and remotely to multiple CICS systems throughout the CICSplex.

Assigning CICS resources to CICS systems enables CICSPlex SM to manage those resources as a logical group, such as an application. In addition, CICSPlex SM can actually install instances of a resource in CICS systems that support the EXEC CICS CREATE command.

CICSPlex SM definitions

These objects represent the definitions that are used by CICSPlex SM management applications. The actual definitions are stored in the CICSPlex SM data repository as definition records. For example, the MONSPEC object represents a user-defined monitor specification that CICSPlex SM uses to establish resource monitoring in a CICS system.

Any changes you make to CICSPlex SM definitions are automatically distributed throughout the CICSplex. In addition, certain definitions are bound to other definitions for the purpose of referential integrity. If you remove one of these definitions, all the related definitions are also removed. For example, removing a CPLEXDEF object causes all definition objects for that CICSplex to be automatically removed from all CMASs that manage the CICSplex.

CICSPlex SM manager resources

These objects represent run-time resources that are either built from CICSPlex SM definitions or created by CICSPlex SM management applications during processing. You can manipulate a CICSPlex SM manager resource without necessarily affecting the underlying definition. The RTAACTV object is an example of a CICSPlex SM manager resource; it describes the currently installed RTADEF and STATDEF definition objects.

There are other CICSPlex SM manager resources that are not directly related to any definition. For example, the CRESCONN object is a Topology Services resource map that describes the CICS connections in an active MAS.

CICSPlex SM notifications

CICSPlex SM notifications are really messages that are generated asynchronously by a CICSPlex SM managed object. Notifications describe an interesting event related to the object. CICSPlex SM manager resources can register interest in one or more of these events. When a notification is generated, the manager resource performs whatever processing is needed based on the event that occurred.

An API program can also register interest in events that generate CICSPlex SM notifications. The EMSTATUS, EMASSICK, and EMASWELL objects are examples of notification messages generated by the CICSPlex SM MAS agent. These notifications describe the current state of the MAS.

The ERMCxxxx objects are generated by CICSPlex SM when a Topology resource map is changed. CICSPlex SM maintains resource maps which describe the topology of certain CICS resources in the MASs. CICS resources for which resource maps are maintained have a corresponding ERMCxxxx notification object. The CICSPlex SM agent detects the installs and discards of these CICS resources and causes the Topology resource map to be updated. For example, if a file definition is installed in a MAS, the Topology resource map will be changed and an ERMCFILE notification will be generated. The ACTION attribute of the ERMCFILE notification indicates that an install has occurred. Furthermore, for a local MAS, the CICSPlex SM MAS agent detects updates to these CICS resources. For example, if a program is disabled, the ERMCPRGM notification will be generated with the ACTION attribute indicating an update.

CICSPlex SM meta-data

These objects describe the structure of CICSPlex SM managed resources. This information is maintained in an object directory that exists in each active CMAS.

An API program can request the following types of meta-data from the object directory:

OBJECT
General characteristics of an object
OBJACT
Valid actions for an object
METADESC
Basic description of an object's attributes
ATTR
Complete description of an object's attributes
ATTRAVA
Valid EYUDA or CVDA values for an attribute
METANAME
All CVDAS, CVDAT, and EYUDA information
METAPARM
Description of a parameter for an action
PARMAVA
Description of the values allowed for a parameter
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