3.3 zVM tasks

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3.3 z/VM tasks

Some of the common z/VM system administration tasks are described in this section:

• Get help

• Determine who is on the system

• Determine how busy the system is

• Determine what DASD you have

• Update the SYSTEM CONFIG file

• Modify the logon screen

• Format and add DASD to the system

• Add page, spool and temporary disk space

• Add Linux user IDs

A good tutorial on z/VM basics is provided in Chapter 1 of Linux for zSeries and S/390: Large Scale Linux Deployment, SG24-6824, on the ITSO Web site at:

• http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg246824.html

In the following sections, we provide only high level descriptions of these tasks. To help fill in the many gaps, refer to CP Planning and Administration, SC24-6043 and CP Command and Utility Reference, SC24-6008.

For networking issues and tasks, see 5.2, "z/VM networking" on page 72.

3.3.1 Get help

The z/VM help file is thorough, although traversing it is not always easy. Since CP (but not CMS) commands are available to Linux images that are running, a useful command is HELP CP MENU:

    help cp menu ...    To display a Help panel, move the cursor to any character    of the name and press the ENTER key or the PF1 key.    An asterisk (*) preceding the name indicates a MENU panel.    A colon (:) preceding the name indicates a TASK panel.    *CPQUERY  *XLINK    CPACcess  DISCARD   LOCate    RESTART   SYStem    *CPSET    *XSPOOL   CPCAche   DISConn   LOCATEVM  RETAIN    TAg    *CPUTIL   :DUMPS    CPHX      DISPlay   LOCK      REWind    TERMinal    *DEFINE   :DYNIO    CPLISTfi  DRain     LOGoff    SAVESEG   TRace    *DELETE   :HELP     CPRELeas  DUmp      Logon     SAVESYS   TRANsfer    *DETACH   #CP       CPTRAP    DUPlex    Message   SCREen    TRSAVE    *DISABLE  ACNT      CPTYPE    ECho      MODify    SEND      TRSOurce    *DISPLAY  ACTivate  CPU       ENable    MONitor   SET       UNCOUPLE    *DUMP     ASSOCiate CPVLoad   EXTernal  MSGNOH    SHUTDOWN  UNDEDicat    *ENABLE   ASTERISK  CPXLoad   FLASHCopy NOTReady  SIGnal    UNDIAL    *INDICATE ATTach    CPXUnload Flush     ORDer     SILENTly  UNLOCK    *MODIFY   ATTN      DEActive  FORCE     PER       SLeep     UTILITY    *MONITOR  AUTOLOg   DEDicate  FOrward   POUNDCP   SMsg      VARY    *PURGE    BAckspac  DEFine    FRee      PURge     SNAPDUMP  VDelete    *RDEVICE  Begin     DEFSEG    GIVE      Query     SPAce     VInput    *SPTAPE   CHange    DEFSYS    HALT      READY     SPool     VMDump 

From this screen, you can navigate your cursor with the arrow or tab keys to get help on each command. Also note that the commands listed on the left side of the screen with a leading asterisk each have a menu of their own. Because CP QUERY and CP SET commands have many possible parameters, those help menus are quite useful.

In addition to the help system, the z/VM manuals provide extensive information and are available online:

• http://www.vm.ibm.com/pubs

3.3.2 Determine who is on the system

You can determine who is on a z/VM system with the CP query names command. This is analogous to the Linux who command.

For example:

    q n    NPM      - DSC , ESAMAP   -L0003, ESAWEB01 - DSC , LINUXC   - DSC    LINUXA   - DSC , ESAADMIN - DSC , ESASERVE - DSC , AUTOUNO  - DSC    VMAINT   - DSC , LFSSERV  - DSC , LOGNSYSC - SYSC, NETVIEW  - DSC    SNMPD    - DSC , AUTONPM  - DSC , CFCC2    - DSC , CFCC1    - DSC    TCPIP    - DSC , RSCS     - DSC , SFSTEST  - DSC , VMSERVU  - DSC    VMSERVS  - DSC , VMSERVR  - DSC , VMID     - DSC , VTAM     - DSC    YVETTE   - DSC , VMSERVER - DSC , TOOLS    - DSC , DATAMOVE - DSC    DIRMAINT - DSC , TODEVENT - DSC , EYE      - DSC , ISPVM    - DSC    PVM1     - DSC , PVM      - DSC , SMART    - DSC , GCS      - DSC    RACFVM   - DSC , OPERSYMP - DSC , DISKACNT - DSC , EREP     - DSC    OPERATOR - DSC , RACFRSM  - DSC , ESATCP   - DSC , MAINT    -L000A    ESAWRITE - DSC , LINUXB   -L0008    VSM      - TCPIP    VSM      - VTAM 

The output shows which users are logged on and what their virtual terminal addresses are. When the user IDs are disconnected, it shows DSC.

3.3.3 Determine how busy the system is

At a high level, the INDICATE command allows you to monitor what is happening your system. For example:

    ind    AVGPROC-009% 02    XSTORE-000001/SEC MIGRATE-0000/SEC    MDC READS-000039/SEC WRITES-000006/SEC HIT RATIO-061%    STORAGE-028% PAGING-0001/SEC STEAL-000%    Q0-00000(00000)                           DORMANT-00043    Q1-00000(00000)           E1-00000(00000)    Q2-00000(00000) EXPAN-001 E2-00000(00000)    Q3-00006(00000) EXPAN-001 E3-00000(00000)    PROC 0000-008%          PROC 0001-010%    LIMITED-00000 

See Chapter 12, "Performance tuning" on page 297, for more details on determining how busy the system is.

3.3.4 Determine what DASD and minidisks you have

You can query the DASD that your virtual machine has with CP's QUERY DASD command. From an emulated 3270 session with Linux running, you can prefix the command with #CP. For example:

    #cp q da    DASD 0190 3390 VMLRES R/O        107 CYL ON DASD  3708 SUBCHANNEL = 000A    DASD 0191 3390 VMLU1A R/W         50 CYL ON DASD  37C9 SUBCHANNEL = 000E    DASD 019D 3390 VMLP1P R/O        102 CYL ON DASD  3748 SUBCHANNEL = 000D    DASD 019E 3390 VMLP1P R/O        300 CYL ON DASD  3748 SUBCHANNEL = 000B    DASD 019F 3390 VMLP1P R/O        400 CYL ON DASD  3748 SUBCHANNEL = 000C    DASD 0200 3390 LX1518 R/W       3338 CYL ON DASD  1518 SUBCHANNEL = 000F    DASD 0201 3390 LX1558 R/W       3338 CYL ON DASD  1558 SUBCHANNEL = 0010    ...    DASD 0213 3390 LX15DD R/W       3338 CYL ON DASD  15DD SUBCHANNEL = 0022    DASD 0300 9336 (VDSK) R/W     100000 BLK ON DASD  VDSK SUBCHANNEL = 0024    ...    DASD 0309 9336 (VDSK) R/W     100000 BLK ON DASD  VDSK SUBCHANNEL = 002D    DASD 0592 3390 VMLNET R/O         67 CYL ON DASD  3709 SUBCHANNEL = 0023 

This command is useful from a Linux ID to see what minidisks you have as read/write. Linux user IDs commonly have only class G privilege. Because the user does not have class B privilege, the previous command is really a QUERY VIRTUAL DASD which displays the status of all DASDs accessible to your virtual machine, including temporary disks (T-disks) and virtual disks in storage.

For users that do have class B privilege, such as MAINT, other QUERY DASD commands are useful, such as:

QUERY DASD FREE	Shows all free DASD that are not currently in use by a user or the system and is specified as neither active nor offline
QUERY DASD ALL	Shows also offline and free DASD

The command QUERY DISK will show you what CMS disks you have accessed, but that is only available when CMS is running, not Linux.

3.3.5 Update the SYSTEM CONFIG file

There are three CP DISKs by default. Typically only the MAINT CF1 disk is used, but the other two can be used for backup.

Now link the MAINT CF1 disk read-write. To do this, use the cprel command to release it.

    q cpdisk    Label  Userid   Vdev Mode Stat Vol-ID Rdev Type StartLoc EndLoc    MNTCF1 MAINT    0CF1  A   R/O  430RES 0200 CKD       391    435    MNTCF2 MAINT    0CF2  B   R/O  430RES 0200 CKD       436    480    MNTCF3 MAINT    0CF3  C   R/O  430RES 0200 CKD       481    525    cprel a    CPRELEASE request for disk A scheduled.    HCPZAC6730I CPRELEASE request for disk A completed. 

Now the disk can be linked and accessed read-write.

    link * cf1 cf1 mr    acc cf1 f 

There are a few items you will probably want to update immediately. The System Identifier is the name of the z/VM system that shows up in the lower right portion of every 3270 session.

    /**********************************************************************/    /*                   System_Identifier Information                    */    /**********************************************************************/        System_Identifier_Default ZVM6 

The default size of the retrieve stack (similar to the Linux history) is only seven commands. It is recommended that you make this value larger.

For example:

    Features ,       Disable ,                       /* Disable the following features */         Set_Privclass ,               /* Disallow SET PRIVCLASS command */         LogMsg_From_File ,            /* No LOGMSG from SYSTEM LOGMSG   */         Auto_Warm_IPL ,               /* Prompt at IPL always           */         Clear_TDisk   ,               /* Don't clear TDisks at IPL time */       Retrieve ,                      /* Retrieve options               */         Default  99 ,                 /* Default.... default is 7       */         Maximum  99 ,                 /* Maximum.... default is 7       */    ... 

If you know the address of the console, update the console definitions. For example, the following updates the console to address 0009:

    /**********************************************************************/    /*                    Console Definitions                             */    /**********************************************************************/    Operator_Consoles            0009 0021 0022 0023 0E20 0E21 1020    Emergency_Message_Consoles   0009 0021 0022 0023 0E20 0E21 1020 

Save the file and verify the integrity of the changes via the CPSYNTAX command which is on the MAINT 193 disk:

    acc 193 g    cpsyntax system config e    CONFIGURATION FILE PROCESSING COMPLETE -- NO ERRORS ENCOUNTERED. 

Now release and detach the CF1 minidisk and assign it back to the system:

    rel f    det cf1    cpacc * cf1 a    CPACCESS request for mode A scheduled.    Ready; T=0.01/0.01 08:56:36    HCPZAC6732I CPACCESS request for MAINT's 0CF1 in mode A completed. 

3.3.6 Modify the logon screen

The default z/VM logon screen can be customized. To do so, access the system configuration disk as read/write (see 3.3.5, "Update the SYSTEM CONFIG file" on page 40) and edit the file LOCAL LOGO. After you modify the file, CPACCESS the configuration minidisk and re-IPL the system, the logon panel will show the contents of the modified file.

3.3.7 Format and add DASD to the system

DASD must first be added to the system and formatted before it can be used by Linux user IDs. You can query what DASD is available for use by the system with the QUERY DASD FREE command.

Double-check that the free DASD can be used by your z/VM LPAR. Then attach the DASD to the system with the ATTACH command. Then format the DASD using the CPFMTXA command.

Normally, you can just format cylinder 0 for z/VM's use because the Linux dasdfmt command will format the majority of the disk for Linux:

    q da free    DASD 1516 LX1516  , DASD 1517 LX1517  , DASD 1556 LX1556  , DASD 1557 LX1557    DASD 1596 LX1596  , DASD 1597 LX1597  , DASD 15C6 LX15C6  , DASD 15C7 LX15C7    att 1516 *    DASD 1516 ATTACHED TO MAINT 1516 WITH DEVCTL    cpfmtxa    ENTER FORMAT, ALLOCATE, LABEL, OR QUIT:    format    ENTER THE VDEV TO BE PROCESSED OR QUIT:    1516    ENTER THE CYLINDER RANGE TO BE FORMATTED ON DISK 0204 OR QUIT:    0 0    ENTER THE VOLUME LABEL FOR DISK 0204:    lx1516    CPFMTXA:    FORMAT WILL ERASE CYLINDERS 00000-0000 ON DISK 0204    DO YOU WANT TO CONTINUE? (YES | NO)    yes    ...    ICK00001I FUNCTION COMPLETED, HIGHEST CONDITION CODE WAS 0              10:39:02    09/09/03    ENTER INPUT COMMAND:     END    ICK00002I ICKDSF PROCESSING COMPLETE. MAXIMUM CONDITION CODE WAS 0    ENTER ALLOCATION DATA    TYPE CYLINDERS    .................    end 

Add the DASD by volume serial name (VOLSER) to the user volume list in the SYSTEM CONFIG file, so it will still be attached to the system after the next system IPL. See 3.3.5, "Update the SYSTEM CONFIG file" on page 40 for details on how to update this file. Here is an example of adding a new volume.

    /**********************************************************************/    /*                          User_Volume_List                          */    /**********************************************************************/        User_Volume_List VMLRAC        User_Volume_List VMLRAB        User_Volume_List VMLU1R        User_Volume_List VMLU2R        User_Volume_List VMLU1A        User_Volume_List VMLP1P        User_Volume_List VMLNET        User_Volume_List LX1512        User_Volume_List LX1516        User_Volume_List LX1518        ... 

The new DASD should now be available for use. The volume name (VOLSER) can be used in the USER DIRECT file or by a directory maintenance product.

3.3.8 Add page, spool and temporary disk space

In the example that follows, two volumes at addresses 202 and 203 are dedicated to page space and another volume at address 204 is dedicated to spool and temporary disk space. On a real z/VM system with many Linux images, multiple paging volumes will probably be necessary (see 3.2.4, "Page and spool space" on page 36).

The steps involved in this task are as follow:

• Attach, format and allocate the DASD

• Make the DASD CP-owned in the SYSTEM CONFIG file

• Re-IPL the system to verify the new setup

• Remove page, spool and tdisk space from res pack

Attach, format, and allocate the DASD

This is normally done from the MAINT user ID. The DASD must first be attached to MAINT, not to the SYSTEM:

    q 202-204    DASD 0202 ZVM202 , DASD 0203 ZVM203 , DASD 0204 ZVM204    att 202 *    DASD 0202 ATTACHED TO MAINT 0202 WITH DEVCTL    att 203 *    DASD 0203 ATTACHED TO MAINT 0203 WITH DEVCTL    att 204 *    DASD 0204 ATTACHED TO MAINT 0204 WITH DEVCTL 

The DASD must first be formatted with the CPFMTXA command (CP can abend if it tries to use unformatted PAGE, SPOL or DRCT space). The allocation of the cylinders can then be set. The first volume is allocated paging space:

    cpfmtxa    ENTER FORMAT, ALLOCATE, LABEL, OR QUIT:    format    ENTER THE VDEV TO BE PROCESSED OR QUIT:    202    ENTER THE CYLINDER RANGE TO BE FORMATTED ON DISK 0202 OR QUIT:    0 end    ENTER THE VOLUME LABEL FOR DISK 0202:    vmpag1    CPFMTXA:    FORMAT WILL ERASE CYLINDERS 00000-03338 ON DISK 0202    DO YOU WANT TO CONTINUE? (YES | NO)    yes    HCPCCF6209I INVOKING ICKDSF.    ...    CYLINDER ALLOCATION CURRENTLY IS AS FOLLOWS:              TYPE     START     END     TOTAL              ----     -----     ---     -----              PERM     0         3337    3338    ...    ENTER ALLOCATION DATA    TYPE CYLINDERS    .................    page 1 3338    end    ...    CYLINDER ALLOCATION CURRENTLY IS AS FOLLOWS:    TYPE     START     END     TOTAL    ----     -----     ---     -----    PERM     0         0       1    PAGE     1         3338    3338 

The same process is done for the DASD at address 203, but the label is VMPAG2. A similar process is done for the DASD at address 204; however, 2200 cylinders are allocated for spool (SPOL) and the remainder for temporary disk (TDSK):

    cpfmtxa    ENTER FORMAT, ALLOCATE, LABEL, OR QUIT:    format    ENTER THE VDEV TO BE PROCESSED OR QUIT:    204    ENTER THE CYLINDER RANGE TO BE FORMATTED ON DISK 0204 OR QUIT:    0 end    ENTER THE VOLUME LABEL FOR DISK 0204:    vmspl1    ...    ENTER ALLOCATION DATA    TYPE CYLINDERS    .................    spol 1 2200    tdsk 2201 3338    end    ...    CYLINDER ALLOCATION CURRENTLY IS AS FOLLOWS:              TYPE     START     END     TOTAL              ----     -----     ---     -----              PERM     0         0       1              SPOL     1         2200    2200              TDSK     2201      3338    1138    ... 

Do the same for page space on the other two packs. Then issue the QUERY ALLOC command:

    q alloc    DASD 0200 430RES 3390 CKD-ECKD (UNITS IN CYLINDERS)         TDISK TOTAL=000184 INUSE=000000 AVAIL=000184         PAGE  TOTAL=000000 INUSE=000000 AVAIL=000000         SPOOL TOTAL=000178 INUSE=000131 AVAIL=000047         DRCT  TOTAL=000020 INUSE=000001 AVAIL=000019, ACTIVE    DASD 0201 430W01 3390 CKD-ECKD (UNITS IN CYLINDERS)         TDISK TOTAL=000000 INUSE=000000 AVAIL=000000         PAGE  TOTAL=000000 INUSE=000000 AVAIL=000000         SPOOL TOTAL=000000 INUSE=000000 AVAIL=000000         DRCT  TOTAL=000000 INUSE=000000 AVAIL=000000    DASD 0202 VMPAG1 3390 CKD-ECKD (UNITS IN CYLINDERS)         TDISK TOTAL=000000 INUSE=000000 AVAIL=000000         PAGE  TOTAL=003338 INUSE=000004 AVAIL=003334         SPOOL TOTAL=000000 INUSE=000000 AVAIL=000000         DRCT  TOTAL=000000 INUSE=000000 AVAIL=000000    DASD 0203 VMPAG2 3390 CKD-ECKD (UNITS IN CYLINDERS)         TDISK TOTAL=000000 INUSE=000000 AVAIL=000000         PAGE  TOTAL=003338 INUSE=000000 AVAIL=003338         SPOOL TOTAL=000000 INUSE=000000 AVAIL=000000         DRCT  TOTAL=000000 INUSE=000000 AVAIL=000000    DASD 0204 VMSPOL 3390 CKD-ECKD (UNITS IN CYLINDERS)         TDISK TOTAL=001138 INUSE=000000 AVAIL=001138         PAGE  TOTAL=000000 INUSE=000000 AVAIL=000000         SPOOL TOTAL=002200 INUSE=000025 AVAIL=002175         DRCT  TOTAL=000000 INUSE=000000 AVAIL=000000    IPL NUCLEUS ACTIVE ON VOLUME 430RES 

The DASD can be added to the SYSTEM CONFIG file, in which case a re-IPL is necessary—or it can be added dynamically

Adding the DASD to the SYSTEM CONFIG file

The new volumes for page and spool space will be owned by CP and are identified by their volume labels, so modify the SYSTEM CONFIG file (see 3.3.5, "Update the SYSTEM CONFIG file" on page 40) using XEDIT and modify the following lines:

       CP_Owned   Slot   1  430RES       CP_Owned   Slot   2  430W01       CP_Owned   Slot   3  VMPAG1       CP_Owned   Slot   4  VMPAG2       CP_Owned   Slot   5  VMSPOL       CP_Owned   Slot   6  RESERVED       CP_Owned   Slot   7  RESERVED 

It is good to leave a least two slots defined as RESERVED for reasons described in the next section.

Adding the DASD dynamically

If the CP_OWNED Slots were already allocated in the SYSTEM CONFIG file as Reserved, then the devices could be added dynamically. For example:

    q cpowned    Slot  Vol-ID  Rdev  Type   Status       1  VM1RES  1434  Own    Online and attached       2  VM1PST  1474  Own    Online and attached       3  ------  ----  -----  Reserved       4  ------  ----  -----  Reserved 

Slots 3 and 4 have been reserved. To utilize slot 3, the following commands can be used:

    q dasd vmpag1    dasd 1423 VMPAG1    define cpowned slot 3 vmpag1    att 1423 system    q cpowned    Slot  Vol-ID  Rdev  Type   Status       1  VM1RES  1434  Own    Online and attached       2  VM1PST  1474  Own    Online and attached       3  VMPAG1  1423  Own    Online and attached       4  ------  ----  -----  Reserved 

Now slot 3 is utilized. You can update the SYSTEM CONFIG file with this change. After the next IPL, the new page pack will still be used.

Note that for CP-owned volumes that have spool on them, that you cannot change the slot order of those volumes once they are in use. For example, consider the following:

    CP_Owned    Slot    1   430RES    CP_Owned    Slot    2   430W01    CP_Owned    Slot    3   VMPAG1    CP_Owned    Slot    4   VMSPOL    CP_Owned    Slot    5   Reserved 

If you want to you remove the page pack VMPAG1, you must leave the spool pack, VMSPOL, in slot 4.

Re-IPL the system to verify the new setup

Now that the new page and spool space is established, the system must be re-IPLed for it to take effect. Be sure that all Linux images are shut down and logged off.

    shutdown reipl 

The system should shut down and come back within a minute or two. Log back on to MAINT.

Remove page, spool and tdisk space from RES pack

For better performance, it has been recommended to remove page, spool, and temporary disk space from the residence pack. You can choose which of these spaces to remove from the RES pack. TDSK space is the easiest to remove, but perhaps the least critical.

Page space can just be removed if you don't mind re-IPLing again (if you do not re-IPL, the page space must be drained). It is more complex to remove spool space; the saved segments must be rebuilt. Therefore, it is recommended that only PAGE and TDSK space are removed followed by a reboot. First determine which cylinders on the RES pack are being used with the QUERY ALLOC MAP command:

    q alloc map                EXTENT EXTENT % ALLOCATION    VOLID  RDEV  START    END  TOTAL IN USE   HIGH USED TYPE    ------ ---- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ---- -------------    PAKA01 C510      1      4      4      1      1  25% DRCT ACTIVE                   100   1099 180000    536    566   1% PAGE                  1100   2099 180000   7117  10893   3% SPOOL                  2100   2299    200      0      0   0% TDISK    ZMC511 C511      1   3338 600840      0      0   0% PAGE    ZMC512 C512      1   3338 600840      0      0   0% PAGE    ZMC513 C513      1   3338 600840   3308   3308   1% SPOOL    ZMC514 C514      1   3338   3338      0      0   0% TDISK 

Therefore, cylinders 100–1099 and 2100–2299 should be assigned as PERM space.

Important: 

Be very careful when changing the assignment of the z/VM RESpack. To be really safe, shut down the system and back up the RESpack before the next step.

Following are the subcommands to complete the reallocation:

    CPFMTXA    ALLOC    123    PAKA01    perm 100 1099    perm 2100 2299    end 

The system is shut down using the command SHUTDOWN REIPL. You will lose your 3270 session unless you are at the console. When the system comes back, the QUERY ALLOC MAP command is used. Notice that the RES pack has SPOOL space, but no longer has TDSK or PAGE space on it. Since PAGE and TDSK are reused after each system IPL, this process works. SPOOL space is retained across IPLs and cannot be modified using this process.

    shutdown reipl    ...    q alloc map                EXTENT EXTENT % ALLOCATION    VOLID  RDEV  START    END  TOTAL IN USE   HIGH USED TYPE    ------ ---- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ---- -------------    PAKA01 C510      1      4      4      1      1  25% DRCT ACTIVE                  1100   2099 180000   7127  10893   3% SPOOL    ZMC511 C511      1   3338 600840    536    566   1% PAGE    ZMC512 C512      1   3338 600840      0      0   0% PAGE    ZMC513 C513      1   3338 600840   3355   3355   1% SPOOL    ZMC514 C514      1   3338   3338   1158   3338  34% TDISK 

3.3.9 Add Linux user IDs

As discussed, there are two very different approaches to maintaining the user directory: with a directory maintenance product, or by editing the USER DIRECT file. The example shown in "The CP or user directory" on page 29 is a DirMaint <user ID> DIRECT file taken from our system. DirMaint is discussed briefly in the next section.

Defining user IDs through DirMaint

Following are some of the more straightforward subcommands:

• DIRM ADD <user ID> - to add a user

• DIRM FOR <user ID> GET to get a directory entry into MAINT's reader

• DIRM FOR <user ID> REP - to replace a modified directory entry

• DIRM FOR <user ID> REV - to get a read-only directory entry into MAINT's reader

• DIRM DIRMAP - to get a report detailing the current DASD utilization on the system.

DirMaint can be used in more sophisticated ways. DirMaint prototype entries (PROTODIR files) allows users to be created similar to others. The DirMaint LIKE option is useful when allocating disks. You can give Linux user IDs disks that are already formatted, based on copying from a single formatted disk. This can be helpful for cloning Linux images, or when you want to have swapping on real disks.

For more details on DirMaint, see Linux for IBM eServer zSeries: ISP/ASP Solutions, SG24-6299.

Defining user IDs in the USER DIRECT file

The most straightforward method of maintaining the z/VM user directory is to use the USER DIRECT file and the DIRECTXA command. This file is on the MAINT 2CC disk, which is accessed as minidisk C by default. When you edit the USER DIRECT file, you are changing the source of the user directory. It is the DIRECTXA command that reads the source and writes to the directory space on the RES pack. An important statement in the file is the DIRECTORY control statement:

    DIRECTORY 123 3390 430RES 

This statement tells DIRECTXA to write the directory to the virtual 123 disk, which has a label of 430RES.

Remember when we looked at the system's allocation map? The first entry is the actual directory on disk:

    q alloc map                EXTENT EXTENT                         % ALLOCATION    VOLID  RDEV  START    END  TOTAL IN USE   HIGH USED TYPE    ------ ---- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ---- -------------    PAKA01 C510      1      4      4      1      1  25% DRCT ACTIVE 

The DIRECTXA command first performs syntax checking on the USER DIRECT file. If it finds something wrong, it will report it. If everything is correct, you will see the following message, which means the changes were brought online.

    directxa user    z/VM USER DIRECTORY CREATION PROGRAM - VERSION 4 RELEASE 3.0    EOJ DIRECTORY UPDATED AND ON LINE 

Regarding the contents of the USER DIRECT file: the default values in the file installed with the system are all fine, and an example of a directory entry is described in "The CP or user directory" on page 29.

An additional aspect of the USER DIRECT file worth mentioning is PROFILEs. A profile is a template that can be used over again. When you want to use the profile, you use an INCLUDE statement. There is a default profile named IBMDFLT. You may want to adapt a new profile for Linux user IDs.

All aspects of user IDs that are to be common to Linux can be kept in this profile. An example of a Linux profile that defines several types of networking interfaces is as follows:

    PROFILE LINDFLT      IPL CMS      MACH ESA 4      IUCV ANY      IUCV ALLOW      CPU 00 BASE      CPU 01      CRYPTO APVIRT      SPOOL 000C 2540 READER *      SPOOL 000D 2540 PUNCH A      SPOOL 000E 1403 A      CONSOLE 009 3215 T      SPECIAL 150 CTCA      SPECIAL 151 CTCA      SPECIAL 500 HIPER 3 SYSTEM GUESTLAN      LINK TCPMAINT 592 592 RR      LINK MAINT 0190 0190 RR      LINK MAINT 019D 019D RR      LINK MAINT 019E 019E RR      LINK MAINT 0402 0402 RR      LINK MAINT 0401 0401 RR      LINK MAINT 0405 0405 RR 

Then, when you want to define a Linux user ID, you include the profile in the user directory entry. For example:

    USER LINUXB XXXXXXXX 256M 1G G     INCLUDE LINDFLT     MDISK 200 3390 0001 3338 LX1516 MR RPASS WPASS     MDISK 201 3390 0001 3338 LX1556 MR RPASS WPASS 

PROFILEs are a great tool to use for keeping Linux user IDs standard.

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