There are RACF changes that will prevent IPLs. Make sure you have at least one IPL-tested version available. Lennie
-----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> On Behalf Of Jay Maynard Sent: 07 March 2025 13:05 To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU Subject: Re: Stupid outages you caused 1. It's a lot easier to build a one pack z/OS on a 3390-54... 3. We copy the primary RACF database to the rescue system regularly. On Fri, Mar 7, 2025 at 7:01 AM Leonard D Woren <ibm-main...@ldworen.net> wrote: > At my first shop as "Senior MVS Systems Programmer" (45 years ago!), I > once edited the JES2 proc putting in extra DDs for old and new parmlib > JES2PARM members, using the convention that the old member had an @ > appended and the new member had a $ appended. Didn't test the proc, > or I would have found out that the system didn't like 9 character > member names. Then it crashed in the middle of the workday (MVS 3.8 > base on a 370/165 -- that's 2 strikes against reliability.) Operator > tries to IPL. I get called into the machine room because "JES2 won't > start". Uh oh, no way to fix this one without editing the proc. > Catch-22. > > I had previously requested and been denied a 3350 to build a > standalone rescue system. Cheapskates. This is not looking good. > Then I remember that they had switched from VS1 to MVS not too long > before I was hired, so I asked the operators to bring up the old VS1 > system. It had been long enough that none of them could remember some > command to configure the partitions to get the system all the way up. > I had never touched VS1 so I didn't know. Tick tick, the system is > down. Finally my boss shows up after his lunch time, discovers the > terminals dead, comes into the machine room, gets a quick explanation, > types in the command to get VS1 up. We bring up ACEP, my boss tries > to remember his password from that far back, we fix the MVS JES2 proc, > and IPL. > > The next day, I got my 3350 for a rescue system. Remember when a > complete MVS system including HASPACE could be squeezed onto a single > 3350? > > Lessons learned, all still relevant today: > 1. HAVE A RESCUE SYSTEM (and regularly refresh and test it.) Although > these days multiple systems sharing DASD can minimize this need as > long as they're not all sharing the same mcat/sysres/etc. > 2. Test changes to things like the JES2 proc while the system is up. > 3. Either be sure to remember your old passwords, or don't change > them. Ever. Very difficult to get today's security officers to > understand this one. This one has bit many shops that had to restore > the system from backups to get things up and running. > > /Leonard > > P.S. A few years ago I booted up an old OS/2 machine for the first > time in years. Uh, oh, what's the password? Fortunately, I > eventually remembered how pissed I was that IBM required passwords for > OS/2 (Winblows didn't, back then), then I remembered my password. > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send > email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN > -- Jay Maynard ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
