Applying SMF Director PTF RO95700 Hold Action

Products

• JARS
• JARS Resource Accounting
• JARS SMF Director

Issue/Introduction

We are trying to apply maintenance to CA SMF Director.

One of the Hold action is as below:
++HOLD (RO95700) SYSTEM FMID(CASFC70)                                   
  REASON (ACTION )   DATE (17115)                                       
  COMMENT (                                                             

                      **************************                        
                      * STEPS    TO    PERFORM *                        
                      **************************                        
1. Run a BACKUP of the SCDS.  This first BACKUP will correct the        
   free block count in the SCDS.  The dataset created in the BACKUP     
   that is written to SCDSBACK may be discarded.                        
2. Run a second BACKUP of the SCDS to obtain a clean BACKUP of the      
   SCDS.                                                                
                                                                      

Question:
Our SCDS file is shared between all our systems (PRODUCTION and TEST)..we would like to push the maintenance to test system first before pushing it to production.
Can you suggest how to proceed with this maintenance?

As per my understanding, I we need to run CASFBKUP job in CASFJCL library twice to get the clean backup of SCDS ?

Environment

Release : 12.7

Component : CA SMF Director

Resolution

If the SCDS is shared by all systems, then this PTF will apply to all systems when it is applied and the BACKUPs are run.  SMFD doesn't make any differentiation

between production and test unless the production and test systems both have their own SCDS. 
If you apply the PTF and then run the BACKUPs as recommended, it will have no impact on the operation of the SMF Director in either environment.   

 

The BACKUP process is pretty simple in that all that happens is a copy of the SCDS BDAM file is made to a regular sequential file. 

It's a straight 1 for 1 copy.  The only change made to the SCDS during a BACKUP normally is the to the main control record to indicate when the last BACKUP was run. 

In the case of the first BACKUP after the PTF is applied, it might also change the FREE record counter in the control record.

It may not, you might not have the error in the FREE record counter.   

The second BACKUP is one to make sure that a clean BACKUP is available after the FREE record counter has been corrected (the initial BACKUP should be discarded.)

Additional Information

It's the SCDS that determines what level the SMF Director is running, not a test or production system load library. 
In fact, it is very dangerous to run SMFD using different load libraries with the same SCDS. 

It's the SCDS that determines what maintenance level you're at, and not the load libraries.
In your environment, you opt'ed to put TEST and PROD systems in one SCDS, so, you don't really have a "test" system.

Another way to explain, an SMFD installation is a combination of the SCDS and the load library.
Only one SCDS, only one installation.

There is also a sample backup job CASFBKUP in the sample JCL library with the product.

The PTF (RO95700) says to run one back up to clean up any mistakes in the SCDS (you may not have any, but this will ensure you don't).  

Then you can run a second back up so that you have a clean back up without any possible errors.   You can use the GDG if you want, or send the output file of the first back up somewhere else.