This documentation provides detailed information on Adabas Cluster Services version 8.1 and describes the updates and modifications of this version.
This section provides information on enhancements made to Adabas Cluster Services for this release.
The section covers the following topics:
Adabas Cluster Services 8.1.3 supports Adabas 8.1, SM3 or later. Adabas 8 includes enhancements that lift many of the limits imposed by prior releases of Adabas. This includes support for increased limits for the number of database and file extents and the number of MU and PE field occurrences, as well as support for spanned records and large objects (LOBs).
The Adabas router (SVC) provided with Adabas 8.1.3 supports clusters running Adabas Cluster Services 8.1.3 as well as clusters running Adabas Cluster Services 7.4.2. In addition, please note that there are no intermediate releases of Adabas Cluster Services between Version 7.4.2 and 8.1.3.
All Adabas nuclei in the same cluster must run with the same version, release, and modification levels of Adabas and of Adabas Cluster Services. For example, if one nucleus in a cluster runs with Adabas Cluster Services 8.1.3 and Adabas 8.1.3, the other nuclei in the cluster must also run with Adabas Cluster Services 8.1.3 and Adabas 8.1.3; they cannot run with different versions.
The following table identifies the Software AG cluster products and the Adabas product combinations with which they are compatible:
| Software AG Cluster Product | Compatible Adabas | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Library Version | Library Version | SVC Version |
| Adabas Cluster Services | 8.1.3 | 8.1.3 | 8.1.3 |
| 7.4.2 | 8.1.2 | 8.1.x | |
| 7.4.x | 8.1.x 7.4.x |
||
This version of Adabas Cluster Services includes alert and timeout enhancements designed to help you prevent or handle critical situations where system problems might cause the prolonged unavailability of one cluster member, thus endangering the ability of the cluster member (or in severe cases, the entire cluster) to provide service. These enhancements include:
A cancel alert that generates an operator message can be invoked when a cluster member is unresponsive to an intracluster command for a specified period of time. If the cluster member does not respond before the message times out, it is canceled.
Self-termination alerts that generate operator messages can be invoked when a canceled cluster member does not terminate as requested (in a specified period of time) and the other cluster members prepare to self-terminate.
An operator query that prints an operator console message and requests a response from the operator. This can be invoked by cluster members that are preparing to self-terminate because a canceled peer member remains active.
XCF system- and member-level status monitoring can be used to determine if a cluster member is unable to respond to internal intracluster requests. This monitoring process prints operator messages that provide early warning information about the cluster member.
Enhanced messaging statistics provide information about the performance of message transmission events. These statistics can be used to determine the impact of messaging on system performance and to determine how to set the ADARUN parameters related to the alert and timeout enhancements.
For more information about these alerts, read Using Alert and Timeout Settings.
The following new ADARUN parameters were introduced for this release of Adabas Cluster Services:
MXCANCELWARN
MXMSGWARN
MXSTATUS
MXWTOR
All of these parameters are local and modifiable. That is, they can be set differently for each nucleus in the cluster (local) and they can be modified in one cluster nucleus while it is running using corresponding operator commands.
For complete information about these ADARUN parameters, read Useful ADARUN Parameters.
The output produced by the following operator commands was enhanced for this release of Adabas Cluster Services:
DPARM
DMEMTB
The following new operator commands were introduced for this release of Adabas Cluster Services:
DXMSG
MXCANCEL
MXCANCELWARN
MXMSG
MXMSGWARN
MXSTATUS
MXWTOR
Note:
At this time, these new commands can be issued only from the
operator console. Support using the ADADBS OPERCOM function or the Adabas
Online System (AOS) is not yet provided.
For complete information about these operator commands, read Adabas Cluster Nucleus Operator Commands.
The following internal updates have been made in this release of Adabas Cluster Services to enhance the interaction of cluster members with Entire Net-Work.
An improved method by which cluster members declare DBID targets to Entire Net-Work is provided in this release. This ensures that Entire Net-Work never perceives the database to be active on different nodes at the same time, thus reducing the risk of the database becoming unavailable to users until the conflict is resolved.
Improvements have been made to minimize the perceived database downtime. With this release, when a DBID target is lost due to the shutdown of the Entire Net-Work node that hosts the target, the target is redeclared automatically, as soon as is feasible when the Entire Net-Work node restarts.
The use of Entire Net-Work for transporting intracluster control information has been reduced. XCF (Cross-System Coupling Facility Services) is used instead, where feasible. This improves the effect of any Entire Net-Work outages on Adabas Cluster Services.
Note:
Adabas Cluster Services heavily uses the messaging, lock, and cache services
provided by XCF and XES (Cross-System Extended Services for Data Sharing) as a
foundation of its work. Any XCF or XES outage may well cause the abnormal
termination of one or more cluster members or the entire cluster.
A new set of Adabas Online System (AOS) functions is provided in this release to help you calculate appropriate sizes for cache and lock structures in the coupling facility:
The cache structure calculator helps you estimate an adequate cache structure size and related ADARUN DIRRATIO and ELEMENTRATIO parameters in a cluster environment. The cache structure must be large enough to provide sufficient space tor tracking all blocks kept in the buffer pools of all connected cluster nuclei (directory elements) and for keeping all changed blocks until they are written to the database (data elements). For more information, read Estimating Sizes for the Cache Structure in a Cluster Environment.
The lock structure calculator helps you estimate an adequate lock structure size in a cluster environment. The lock structure must be large enough to provide sufficient space for keeping the lock record elements for all locks held at the same time and to avoid too much false contention between locks on different resources. For more information, read Estimating Sizes for the Lock Structure in a Cluster Environment.
Note:
The lock structure formula has changed. You may find it necessary
to either increase the size in the CFRM policy or decrease the value of the
ADARUN parameters NU, NH, or LDEUQP.
Wherever possible in this release, the scope of the system- or sysplex-wide serialization (ENQ operations with SCOPE= SYSTEM or SYSTEMS) has been reduced to the smallest possible level that accurately reflects the sources to be protected. This is done to ensure that only the databases and servers that work on the same resources at the same time are impacted by serialization operations.
With z/OS version 1.9, the default setting of the ALLOWUSERKEYCSA parameter has been changed to NO, prohibiting the allocation of CSA storage in a non-privileged storage key. In past releases of Adabas Cluster Services, its data structures in common storage (PLXCB and subordinate control blocks) were stored in user key storage. Due to the change of the ALLOWUSERKEYCSA default, you must either:
Change the ALLOWUSERKEYCSA setting in z/OS 1.9 to YES. In this case, you need do nothing more, but you incur the security risk that unauthorized programs might modify storage owned by Adabas Cluster Services.
Accept the ALLOWUSERKEYCSA default setting in z/OS 1.9 (NO), thus eliminating the security risk. If you choose this option, however, you will need to modify your Adabas Cluster Services installation and the Adabas Cluster Services and ADACOM startup procedures to use a system key. For information on modifying the Adabas Cluster Services startup procedure to use a system key and on the prerequisites for doing so, read Modifying the z/OS Common Storage (CSA) Key.
Adabas Cluster Services 8.1.3 fully supports distributed transactions (in other words, ADARUN parameter setting DTP=RM), when run in conjunction with Adabas Transaction Manager 8.1 (or Adabas Transaction Manager 7.5 plus appropriate fixes for Adabas 8.1 support).
This part of the documentation describes the environment settings required for running Adabas Cluster Services 8.1.3. The required environment is essentially the same as the one for Adabas Cluster Services 7.4.2.
The section covers the following topics:
One or more z/OS operating system images defined as members of a parallel sysplex are required that are:
connected with an IBM Sysplex Timer™, and
connected to a coupling facility, and
running z/OS or z/OS.e (any version supported by IBM)
* Support for z/OS.e is currently restricted to client programs executing in batch or under TSO or Com-plete.
Adabas Cluster Services version 8.1.3 requires Adabas version 8.1, SM3 or later. This delivery includes required Adabas zaps that existed when Adabas Cluster Services 8.1.3 was released. Please check Empower for additional cluster-related Adabas zaps when installing Adabas Cluster Services.
Adabas Cluster Services version 8.1.3 requires Entire Net-Work version 6.1 or above. The necessary components of Entire Net-Work are delivered with Adabas Cluster Services. Please check Empower for Entire Net-Work zaps that must be applied to Entire Net-Work 6.1.
If you install Adabas Online System (AOS), either the demo version delivered with Adabas 8.1.3 or the version 8.1.3 selectable unit is required. AOS is compiled under Natural version 3.1 and runs on that and all subsequent versions of Natural.
An operational IBM parallel sysplex environment is required, if Adabas Cluster Services is to provide 24-by-7 availability for an indefinite period of time. This includes the necessary hardware to support the configuration, the necessary links and channels for connectivity, and the power to provide the required performance during peak production periods. The knowledge and experience required to implement and maintain such an environment should be acquired from IBM.
Adabas Cluster Services uses:
a coupling facility cache structure
a coupling facility lock structure
multiple protection logs, command logs, and Work data sets on shared DASD
For testing purposes only, the hardware, operating system, and software environment may be totally different. You may simulate the sysplex cluster using a series of LPARs, including the coupling facility itself. However, under these circumstances, system performance cannot be accurately measured.
Adabas Cluster Services version 8.1.3 supports add-on products as follows:
| Adabas Product | Compatible Version Level |
|---|---|
| Adabas Caching Facility (ACF) | 8.1 |
| Adabas Delta Save (ADE) | 8.1 |
| Adabas Fastpath (AFP) | 8.1 (or version 7.4 with appropriate fixes applied) |
| Adabas Manager (AMA) | Support is planned in a future version |
| Adabas Online System (AOS) | 8.1 |
| Adabas Review (REV) | 4.4 |
| Adabas SAF Security (AAF) | 8.1 (or version 7.4 with appropriate fixes applied) |
| Adabas Statistics Facility (ASF) | No support is provided at this time. |
| Adabas Transaction Manager (ATM) | 8.1 (or version 7.5 with appropriate fixes applied) |
| Adabas Vista (AVI) | 8.1 (or version 7.4 with appropriate fixes applied) |
| Event Replicator for Adabas (ARK) | 3.1 |
This section describes facilities internal to Adabas that are not supported for sysplex cluster nuclei running under this Adabas Cluster Services version. The facilities are supported normally for noncluster nuclei; however, no Adabas Cluster Services functionality is available to them.
For an Adabas cluster nucleus running in an parallel sysplex environment, the following features are not available and cannot be specified:
MODE=SINGLE
sequential protection log (DDSIBA)
synchronous buffer flush (LFIOP=0)
The following features are not currently supported for a cluster nucleus running in an parallel sysplex environment under this Adabas Cluster Services version, but may be supported in subsequent versions of the product:
READONLY=YES (receives PARM ERROR 71 if attempted).
UTIONLY=YES can be specified for a sysplex cluster nucleus; if you start cluster nuclei with conflicting settings of UTIONLY, the system will change them to conform to the setting of the first active nucleus. Currently, however, the UTIONLY setting cannot be changed using an ADADBS OPERCOM or Adabas Online System function. Once the cluster is started, the only way to change the UTIONLY setting is to bring down the whole cluster and restart it with a different setting.
advance file lock (ALOCKF).
online reorder.
Enhanced error recovery is supported; however, option changes are effective only for the local nucleus.
TCP/IP direct links are supported; however, the IP address/port is tied to an individual nucleus.
To migrate from Adabas Cluster Services 7.4.2 to Adabas Cluster Services 8.1.3, complete the following
steps:
Shut down the whole cluster. Run the Adabas ADARES PLCOPY or ADASAV SAVE utility operations as necessary for your installation. For more information on these utility functions, refer to your Adabas documentation.
Replace the load library in your existing installation with the library supplied by Software AG containing Adabas 8.1.3 (ADA813) and Adabas Cluster Services 8.1.3 (ALS813) data sets. Then apply the zaps delivered with Adabas Cluster Services 8.1.3 and any Adabas Cluster Services zaps and pertinent Adabas zaps downloaded from Empower.
Install the Adabas 8.1.3 SVC if you have not already done so.
Run the ADACNV utility to convert your database to Adabas 8.1 format. For more information about using the ADACNV utility, refer to your Adabas 8 documentation (available on Software AG's Empower web site).
Restart the cluster.
For information on how long a product is supported by Software AG, access Software AG's Empower web site at https://empower.softwareag.com.
Log into Empower. Once you have logged in, you can expand in the left menu of the web page and select to access the Product Version Availability application. This application allows you to review support information for specific products and releases.
This section covers the following topics related to zaps and your use of Adabas Cluster Services:
Please be sure to check the Knowledge Center in Software AG's Empower (https://empower.softwareag.com) web site for any cluster-related Adabas zaps when you install Adabas Cluster Services. The complete Adabas zaps may not be supplied with your Adabas Cluster Services product.
Usually, zaps for components of Adabas Cluster Services (Adabas nuclei, the SVCCLU component of the Adabas SVC, the ADACOM task) can be applied and made active one component at a time. That is, individual components can be shut down, have the zap applied, and be brought up again without ever shutting down the entire cluster. This is the default method of applying zaps, which is in effect if the zap description does not explicitly state otherwise.
In some cases, it may be possible that applying and activating a zap one component at a time would introduce erroneous behavior in the components that have not yet been zapped. If this is the case for a zap, it will be clearly indicated in the zap description, and instructions will be given for how to apply and activate the zap properly.
The documentation for this product is new with this release. If you have an Empower account, current, updated, and past versions of the documentation can be reviewed and downloaded by linking to the Software AG documentation, found on Software AG's Empower web site. If you do not have an Empower user ID and password yet, you will find instructions for registering on this site (free for customers with maintenance contracts).
The Adabas Cluster Services documentation includes:
online HTML topics describing all aspects of the product;
Adobe Acrobat Reader Portable Document Format (PDF) files created from the HTML topics;
Adobe Acrobat Reader Portable Document Format (PDF) files for a series of manuals created from the HTML topics.
No hard-copy documentation is provided, but you can print the PDF and HTML files on your local printer.
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