Perform an AUTOSCAN for a Different Date for Scheduler

Products

Scheduler Job Management

Issue/Introduction

Scheduler Job Management r11.0 introduced the ability to perform an AUTOSCAN with a different date which can be a past or future date. The manual AUTOSCAN command now accepts a DATE keyword that allows bringing in jobs and schedules into the active workload based on a specific date.

Environment

Release: 11.0
Component: Scheduler Job Management MVS

Resolution

To run an Autoscan using a different date, the CAS9 CAIJGEN installation option of AUTODATE must be set to YES. If the AUTODATE is set to NO, error message CACM150E AUTOSCAN DATE= NOT ALLOWED will occur when "AUTOSCAN DATE= " command is attempted.

The format for the AUTOSCAN command is:

AUTOscan DATE=mmddyyyy|ddmmyyyy|-n

The format of mmddyyyy|ddmmyyyy Gregorian date depends on the DATE=MMDD or DATE=DDMM in the CAS9 CAIJGEN installation option.
The format of -n can be specified as a relative date, where n is a number of days in the past. "- 0" is always today, "-1" is always yesterday, and so forth.

The manual AUTOSCAN command must be executed using the MVS MODIFY command as shown below:

F CASCHD,AUTO DATE=11012018

A WTOR will appear and must be replied to before an Autoscan can occur.
Note: Scheduler stops processing while the WTOR is outstanding.

*06 CACM177R SCHD AUTOSCAN REQUESTED FOR 01NOV2018 REPLY
OK|TERM

As soon as the manual Autoscan completes, the internal "autoscan date" is reset to the current date.

Here are some scenarios where overriding the Autoscan date can be beneficial. In all scenarios, the CAS9 CAIJGEN installation option of AUTODATE must be set to YES.

Scenario 1 - Disaster Recovery Exercise

Scheduler backups were taken on 10/01/yyyy and restored to the DR site but the exercise is to be performed on 10/15/yyyy system date. The workload that needs to be processed is for all jobs and schedules from Autoscan date of 10/01/yyyy and 10/02/yyyy.

Here are the recommended steps for this scenario.

Start Scheduler with parm of 'SKIPAUTO=YES,HOLDSUB=YES'. (S caschd,PRM='SKIPAUTO=YES,HOLDSUB=YES')
SKIPAUTO=YES is used to prevent automatic Autoscan and HOLDSUB=YES is used to prevent old active workload from running.
Cancel and purge all outstanding jobs and schedules because we need to process the 10/01/yyyy workload.
Issue manual Autoscan command: F caschd,AUTO DATE=1001yyyy
Issue RELEASE SUBMIT
When the 1001yyyy workload is completed, issue manual Autoscan command:
F caschd,AUTO DATE=1002yyyy

Scenario 2 - Scheduler Job Management needs to be down for 2 days

Scheduler needs to be down on Friday at 7pm and will be back on Sunday at 10:30 am. On Sunday, the Friday's work needs to be completed, followed by the Saturday's work and Sunday's work. The normal Autoscan time is at 8am.

Here are the recommended steps for this scenario.

Shutdown Scheduler on Friday at 7:00 pm. Perform normal Scheduler backups. On Sunday at 10:30 a.m, start
Scheduler with parm of 'SKIPAUTO=YES' to prevent an automatic Autoscan. (S caschd,PRM='SKIPAUTO=YES')
Complete Friday's work, and issue the manual Autoscan command for Saturday: "F caschd,AUTO DATE=mmddyyyy"
Complete Saturday's work, and issue the manual Autoscan command for Sunday: "F caschd,AUTO DATE=mmddyyyy"
Do item a or b depending on when Sunday's work completes.

a. If all of Sunday's work is completed before Monday's Autoscan time, recycle Scheduler with the normal startup parameters. The next Autoscan will occur automatically on Monday at 8:00 a.m.

b. If Sunday's work does not complete until after the normal Monday's Autoscan, recycle Scheduler with the normal parameters. After Scheduler comes up, issue a manual Autoscan command "F caschd,AUTO" to bring in Monday's workload.

There are special considerations when using the AUTOSCAN DATE command. If a RUN SCHEDULE needs to be performed using the autoscanned date, then it must also include DATE= parameter. Be very cautious of BACKLOG situations, as the selection date used will be the current date.