Understanding and Preventing Accidental Mass Shutdown in SSM Panel 4.11.2

Products

• OPS/MVS Event Management & Automation

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms of Accidental Shutdown

• Resources rapidly changing status to DOWN without explicit user intent.
• No corresponding OPSLOG entries for commands, TOD rules, or REXX execution that would explain the behavior.
• Resources reporting "Desired State" as DOWN shortly after a task manipulation in the 4.11.2 panel.

Environment

OPS/MVS 14.0.00 and later.

Cause

Accidental issuance of the 'W' (Work) command in panel 4.11.2 is the primary cause. Additionally, verify if PTF LU19818 is installed. A mismatch between the panel version (e.g., OP4112VS) and the corresponding REXX programs (e.g., OP411002, OP41100E) can prevent the confirmation panel from appearing as expected.

Resolution

To prevent accidental mass updates:

1. Always verify the scope of the command before pressing Enter in panel 4.11.2.
2. Ensure "Verify Mode" is set to 'M' (or the appropriate level for your site) to enable confirmation popups.
3. If you suspect an issue, use the following steps to temporarily suspend SSM control:
   1. Go to option =4.11.2 in OPSVIEW.
   2. Tab over to the "Res" column for the resource.
   3. Change "A" (active) to "P" (passive) and press Enter.
   4. This removes the resource from SSM control during troubleshooting.
   5. Once maintenance is complete, repeat these steps to change "P" back to "A" to resume monitoring.

Additional Information

Security Recommendations

While you cannot disable the 'W' line command specifically within panel 4.11.2, you can secure the underlying SQL commands. Please refer to the Broadcom documentation on SAF Resource Names for SQL Access to restrict unauthorized modifications.