Apply requests

An apply request contains the following items:

Command to run the High-speed Apply Engine
Any overrides to the parameters in the configuration file

The format for the request varies with the operating system platform. This section describes overall considerations and the format for each platform.

Overriding parameters in an apply request

You can enter any of the following parameters in an apply request to override the information in the request’s configuration file. Specify all other configuration information in the configuration file. Use the appropriate format for your command override.

For more information, see Mainframe batch job, or UNIX and Windows command line.

The override parameters include:

Any of the following abbreviated FileName parameters:
- CFN, [Configuration] section
- DFN, [DisplayOutput] section
- EFN, [ErrorOutput] section
- LFN, [LogOutput] section
- IFN, [Startup] section
Any of the following parameters in the [StartUp] section:
- DefaultOpts, abbreviated as DOPT
- FileName, abbreviated as IFN
- InputType, abbreviated as IT
- PlanName, abbreviated as PLAN
- SSID
- Login
- ConnectionVersion
- Database
- UserID
- Password

UNIX and Windows command line

An apply request for UNIX and Windows is a command entered at the command prompt.

You can specify configuration overrides as parameters of the command, as shown in the following figure. Separate multiple configuration overrides with commas. In the figure, path represents the path to the High-speed Apply Engine directory.

path:apebmain ifn=may_18_2008.sql,cfn=apply_cfg.ora10.ini

Mainframe batch job

On z/OS systems, an apply request is a batch job that you submit for processing as you would submit any job. You can view the results of the job in the same way that you view any batch job output.

Important

For more information about comments in your configuration, see Comments-in-configuration-files.

The examples in this section are for reference only. When you create an apply request, you must include a valid job statement and any processing options that your site requires.

The following figure shows a sample apply request for mainframe targets (JCL).

//APTMAIN JOB STATEMENT
//*
//APPLYSQL EXEC PGM=APTBMAIN,PARM='SSID=DBAT,IT=SQL',
//         REGION=0M
//STEPLIB DD DISP=SHR,DSN= product.libraries
//         DD DISP=SHR,DSN=DB2.DSNEXIT
//         DD DISP=SHR,DSN=DB2.DSBLOAD
//APTERR   DD SYSOUT=*
//APTPRINT DD SYSOUT=*
//APTLOG   DD SYSOUT=*,LRECL=550,RECFM=VB
//SYSPRINT DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSUDUMP DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSTERM DD SYSOUT=*
//APTDUMP DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSOUT   DD SYSOUT=*
//*
//SYSIN    DD DDNAME=APTCNFG
//         DD DISP=SHR,DSN=BMCAPT.CONFIG.FILES(CFGAGENT)
//         DD DISP=SHR,DSN=BMCAPT.CONFIG.FILES(CFGDISP)
//         DD DISP=SHR,DSN=BMCAPT.CONFIG.FILES(CFGLOG)
//*
//APTCNFG DD *
IFN=BMCALP.LOGMSTR.MIGRATE.SQL
//*

DD names and data set names

The High-speed Apply Engine recognizes both data definition (DD) names and data set names for configuration information.

It uses the following criteria to determine whether a name is a DD name or a data set name:

If the name is eight characters or fewer, High-speed Apply Engine treats it as a DD name. The DD name must refer to a DD statement in the same apply request. If the character string is not a valid DD name, High-speed Apply Engine treats it as a data set name.
If the name is longer than eight characters, High-speed Apply Engine treats it as a data set name. The names that you specify must comply with the name rules for data sets on the current operating system.
Input files can be any data set supported by the operating system, including a partitioned data set (PDS) or generation data group (GDG) data sets.

Specifying DD statements on mainframe targets

On mainframe targets, High-speed Apply Engine uses certain data sets depending on the type of processing that you request.

You must allocate some data sets by using a DD statement in the JCL, while High-speed Apply Engine allocates other data sets dynamically. The data sets that can be allocated are described in the following paragraphs.

SYSIN: Defines the input data set that contains High-speed Apply Engine configuration parameters and their values. Specify this data set either as a DD statement in the JCL or as the value of the FileName parameter in the [Configuration] section (commonly abbreviated as CFN), see FileName-CFN.
APTERR: Defines the output data set where High-speed Apply Engine displays error messages that are generated during apply processing and additional information. Always specify this data set as a DD statement in the JCL.
APTPRINT: Defines an output data set where High-speed Apply Engine displays all statistics and messages that are generated during apply processing. Always specify this data set as a DD statement in the JCL.
APTDUMP: (optional) Defines the output data set that contains a SNAP dump that High-speed Apply Engine might generate in response to internal errors. BMC Software recommends that you include this optional data set in your JCL as a troubleshooting aid.
APTDIAG: (optional) Defines the output data set where High-speed Apply Engine writes special diagnostic information used by BMC Software Customer Support in troubleshooting situations. High-speed Apply writes output to this file when the value of the RestartType parameter is other than None. Specify this data set either as a DD statement in the JCL or as the value of the FileName parameter in the [DiagnosticOutput] section, see FileName.
SYSOUT: (optional) Defines the output data set that contains messages from the sort routine. Normally, you can specify this data set as SYSOUT=*.
SYSUDUMP: (optional) Defines a data set used for system dumps produced when a system error occurs. BMC Software recommends that you include either SYSUDUMP or SYSMDUMP in your JCL as a troubleshooting aid.
SYSMDUMP: (optional) Defines a data set used for system dumps produced when a system error occurs. Include either the SYSMDUMP data set or the SYSUDUMP data set in your JCL as a troubleshooting aid. For SYSMDUMP, the product produces a system dump that can be read by the IBM Interactive Problem Control System (IPCS) product. Specify the attributes of the SYSMDUMP data set as indicated in the appropriate JCL documentation.
SYSTERM: (optional) Defines the output data set where High-speed Apply Engine writes messages and other error information when data sets that are defined by other required DD statements are not available.

Apply request management for DB2 for mainframe targets

You might create a large number of apply requests to perform a variety of tasks using the High-speed Apply Engine.

Use the following practices to help you manage the apply requests:

Create a separate library for the apply requests and organize them in a meaningful way for your site. You might have several members in the request library, depending on the number of apply requests that you create.
Use a naming convention for the requests to help you identify them. For example, you might identify the files by target database, request type (migration, SQL processing, or recovery), or input type (SQL or logical log file).
Include comments in the apply request that describe the tasks it performs. Ensure that the comments appear on a separate line from any configuration parameters.