Building CHECK PLUS jobs

Building a job for the CHECK PLUS for DB2 product involves creating a set of JCL that includes the elements:

JOB statement
EXEC statement with the appropriate utility parameters
STEPLIB or JOBLIB DD statement
DD statements for the appropriate number and size of data set
CHECK PLUS control statements using the appropriate command syntax
For examples of CHECK PLUS jobs, see Examples of CHECK PLUS jobs.

JOB statement

Include a CHECK PLUS JOB statement that conforms to your site’s standards.

You can include the REGION parameter to specify the region size on either your JOB statement or your EXEC statement.

EXEC statement

Include a CHECK PLUS EXEC statement that specifies the module to run for the CHECK PLUS utility. The CHECK PLUS module name is ACKUMAIN.

The EXEC statement also specifies any utility parameters, which are described in the Utility parameters on the EXEC statement. You can include the REGION parameter on either your EXEC statement or your JOB statement. For a description of the utility parameters on the EXEC statement, see Utility parameters on the EXEC statement.

REGION parameter

Include the REGION parameter on either your JOB statement or your EXEC statement to specify the region size (the amount of virtual storage that the utility uses). To allocate the optimal amount of available virtual storage to the CHECK PLUS job, we recommend that you specify REGION=0M.. If your data center does not permit you to specify REGION=0M, specify the amount that allows the most virtual storage both above and the 16 MB line.

Using a region size that is less than optimal carries the following risks:

Running less efficiently, could result in additional CPU and elapsed time
Encountering memory failures or jobs that fail when new versions implement changes that require additional memory

Important

If you specify a REGION parameter value other than 0M, make sure that you set an appropriate value for the MEMLIMIT parameter, either as your site’s default SMF option or on your JOB statement or EXEC statement. We make the following recommendations for the MEMLIMIT option:

Specify NOLIMIT to allow unlimited above-the-bar memory.
If you are unable to specify NOLIMIT, specify at least 4 GB.

Utility parameters on the EXEC statement

The EXEC statement includes the following utility parameters:

Db2 subsystem identifier or group attachment name
Utility identifier
Restart parameter
TSO user identifier for notification of progress made on the check job
Message level
Installation options module

The following figure shows the format of the EXEC statement:

//stepName EXEC PGM=ACKUMAIN,
//PARM='<ssid>,<utilityID,restartParameter>,<userID,MSGLEVEL(n)>,<optionsModule>

The CHECK PLUS utility parameters are positional. If you do not specify a value for a parameter (thus allowing the default value), you must substitute a comma for that parameter if additional parameters follow. The comma indicates that a parameter was omitted.

Db2 subsystem identifier

This parameter specifies the four-character Db2 subsystem ID (SSID) that indicates where the table space or index resides. If you do not specify the SSID, CHECK PLUS uses the Db2 installation default from the DSNHDECP module. CHECK PLUS depends on the application defaults module being named DSNHDECP. If you do not specify an SSID and CHECK PLUS cannot find a module named DSNHDECP in your LINKLIST or STEPLIB, CHECK PLUS terminates.

CHECK PLUS supports the Db2 group attachment name capability. When you supply a group attachment name as the SSID, CHECK PLUS uses the name to connect all plans. CHECK PLUS then determines the actual Db2 SSID from within that group to use for the current check job.

Important

When restarting in a data sharing environment, CHECK PLUS can use either the same member that it chose in the original check job or any other member in the specified group.

Utility identifier

This parameter specifies the 1- to 16-character utility identifier (utility ID) that gives a unique name to a utility job. If you omit this parameter, CHECK PLUS uses the default, userID.jobName. Each BMC utility job should have a unique utility ID.

Restart parameter

Restarting CHECK PLUS has no particular significance because the utility always executes the UTILINIT phase, even for a restart. The restart parameter can have one of the following values:

Value	Description
Blank or not specified	By not specifying a restart parameter, CHECK PLUS initiates a new BMC utility job. The utility ID that you specify cannot currently exist in the BMCUTIL table.
NEW	Specifying this value initiates a new BMC utility job or replaces an existing utility ID. Specifying this value allows you to start a utility without having to end the utility ID separately. If you specify NEW and the utility ID has a status of X (executing), CHECK PLUS issues an error message BMC50012E and ends with return code 8. For more information, see this message in the Utility Products for Db2 Messages document.
TERM	Specifying this value terminates an existing utility, removes the utility ID from the BMCUTIL table, and removes the corresponding rows from the BMCUTIL2 and BMCSYNC tables. After removing all sync points and restart information, CHECK PLUS terminates without performing a check. CHECK PLUS terminates with return code 0 regardless of whether the utility ID exists. When specifying TERM, you need only minimal JCL. Your JCL must include at least an SYSPRINT DD statement and STEPLIB to the CHECK PLUS load library.
MAINT	Specifying this value causes CHECK PLUS to print additional information in the SYSPRINT. When you specify the MAINT parameter, the job ends without affecting any utility that is running. CHECK PLUS prints the following additional information in the SYSPRINT: Options module report that lists the values in the installation options module that you are using. Values in the DSNHDECP module that CHECK PLUS uses. Summary report of all of the product fixes that you have applied. When specifying MAINT, you need only minimal JCL. Your JCL must include at least an SYSPRINT DD statement and STEPLIB to the CHECK PLUS and Db2 load libraries.

TSO user identifier

This parameter specifies the TSO user ID identifier (user ID) that CHECK PLUS notifies after the completion of each phase and at the end of the utility command run.

Message level (MSGLEVEL)

This parameter controls which messages CHECK PLUS returns in the SYSPRINT data set. MSGLEVEL(0) returns minimal messages. MSGLEVEL(1) returns additional messages to help you diagnose problems and fine tune performance.

You can use the MSGLEVEL installation option to change the default value of this parameter. For details, see CHECK PLUS installation options.

Installation options module

You can use this parameter to identify which installation options module to use. If you include this parameter, you must specify the full name of the options module. If you omit this parameter, CHECK PLUS uses the default installation options module, ACK$OPTS. For more information about installation options, see CHECK PLUS installation options. For information about how to create multiple installation options modules, see Installation System

STEPLIB DD statement

The CHECK PLUS STEPLIB DD statement must specify the following libraries unless they are included in your system’s LINKLIST or in a JOBLIB statement:

Load libraries that contain the files (including the options modules) for the BMC products and components:
- CHECK PLUS
- BMCSORT (AUP)
- DB2 Utilities Common Code (D2U)
- DB2 Solution Common Code (SCC)

Libraries that contain any Db2 user exits (such as EDITPROCs or FIELDPROCs)
Db2 load library

All load libraries in the STEPLIB or JOBLIB concatenation must be APF-authorized.

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