Inform - Notifying

Enhanced Definition

In the mainframe context, "Inform - Notifying" refers to the comprehensive set of mechanisms and processes by which the z/OS operating system, its subsystems (like CICS, DB2, IMS), and applications communicate events, status, errors, and operational information to system operators, administrators, other applications, or end-users. It encompasses both synchronous and asynchronous communication channels designed to ensure awareness and facilitate appropriate responses.

Key Characteristics

- Diverse Channels: Utilizes various channels including system console messages (WTO/WTOR), job logs (SYSOUT), system logs (SYSLOG), SMF records, application-specific logs, and user interface messages.
- Severity Levels: Messages often include severity codes (e.g., I for informational, W for warning, E for error, S for severe, A for abend) to indicate the urgency and impact of the event.
- Targeted Audience: Notifications can be directed to specific audiences, such as the master console operator, a specific user's terminal, a batch job's output, or a monitoring system.
- Automation Potential: Many notification mechanisms are designed to be machine-readable, allowing automation tools (e.g., NetView, SA z/OS) to intercept, filter, and respond to events programmatically.
- Persistence: Some notifications are transient (e.g., a temporary console message), while others are persistent, recorded in logs or datasets for auditing, problem determination, and historical analysis.
- Source Identification: Messages typically include identifiers that pinpoint the source (e.g., job name, program name, subsystem ID, message ID) to aid in diagnosis.

Use Cases

- System Operator Alerts: Notifying the system console operator about critical system events such as resource shortages, device failures, security violations, or the need for manual intervention (e.g., mounting a tape).
- Application Status and Errors: A COBOL batch job informing about its progress, successful completion, or encountering an error condition by writing messages to its SYSOUT or SYSPRINT datasets.
- Subsystem Health Monitoring: CICS or DB2 notifying system logs and monitoring tools about region startup/shutdown, transaction failures, deadlocks, or resource threshold breaches.
- Security Event Reporting: RACF (Resource Access Control Facility) informing the system log and security administrators about unauthorized access attempts, password violations, or changes to security profiles.
- Automated Problem Resolution: A specific message indicating a recoverable error (e.g., a dataset not found) triggers an automation routine to allocate the dataset or restart the failed job step.

Related Concepts

"Inform - Notifying" is foundational to mainframe operations and closely tied to Console Messages (WTO/WTOR), which are the primary means for z/OS and subsystems to communicate with operators. It heavily relies on Job Logs for batch application feedback and the System Log (SYSLOG) as a central repository for system-wide events. SMF (System Management Facilities) records provide detailed system activity and performance data, acting as a form of structured notification for post-processing and analysis. Automation Tools like NetView and SA z/OS are designed to intercept and act upon these notifications, transforming raw messages into actionable events and automated responses.

Best Practices:

Clarity and Conciseness: Ensure all generated messages are clear, concise, and actionable, providing sufficient information for operators or automated systems to understand and respond.
Appropriate Severity: Assign correct severity codes to messages to prioritize attention and facilitate filtering by automation tools and human operators.
Standardization: Adhere to IBM's message conventions and formats where possible to maintain consistency and ease of interpretation across different system components.
Automation Integration: Design applications and system configurations to leverage automation tools for filtering, escalating, and responding to routine or critical notifications, reducing manual intervention.
Comprehensive Logging: Ensure that all significant events, errors, and status changes are logged to appropriate persistent storage (e.g., SYSLOG, job logs, application logs) for auditing