What is a Resource Element?

A Resource Element is a logical entity that can represent any characteristic of the environment that you wish to use to schedule work. This is the same basic definition that a Resource Element has in a scheduling environment (SCHENV).

JBS resource elements vs. SCHENV resource elements

IBM Resource Elements in a scheduling environment can have one of three states: ON, OFF, and RESET. The significance of the ON and OFF states is arbitrary, and the only means of providing some context is by your choice of the Element name.

JBS Resource Elements allow you to name up to 8 states. For example, you could name a state for each day of the week. Because these are all states of a single Resource Element, there is no chance of inadvertently setting more than one state on at a time. This simplifies definitions and environment management, as well as providing a meaningful name for the state. Like SCHENV Resource Elements, a JBS Resource Element can be set to a different state on each one of multiple systems, but only one specific state on any one system.

JBS Resource Elements can be combined in an Environment using both AND and OR conditions. SCHENV Resource Elements are limited to just the AND condition.

SCHENV Resource Elements let you define a resource list that has conflicting combinations of resources and is therefore impossible to implement. ThruPut Manager checks for conflicts in JBS Resource Elements and if any are found, prompts you to correct such a list.

JBS Resource Elements provide flexibility not found with SCHENV Resource Elements. Operators control SCHENV Resource Element states on each system, but JBS Resource Elements also let jobs set the state, either at step or job termination or as the result of a message by using the Application Program Interface (API). SCHENV Resource Elements automatically revert their state to RESET after an IPL, but JBS Resource Elements can either be RESET or, optionally, maintain the state that was set before the IPL.