Using workstation fixed resources
When you specify an operation on a workstation, you can specify how many of the workstation fixed resources the operation will use. HCL Workload Automation for Z knows how many of each resource is available on that workstation; for more information, see Specifying workstation fixed resources. When deciding whether to start the operation, it considers the available workstation resources and the resources required for this operation. Normally, HCL Workload Automation for Z starts an operation only if the needed quantity of a resource is available at the workstation. In case of virtual workstations, the scheduler considers the fixed resources as a criterion to select the submission destination: the next destination to be selected, as part of the round-robin algorithm, is checked for fixed resources. If the check fails, it moves on the next destination in the list.
However, when creating the workstation, you can specify that resource usage will not be considered when HCL Workload Automation for Z is either producing its schedule or starting operations.
When you create workstations (for details, see What types of workstation are there?), you specify the quantity of workstation resources available. HCL Workload Automation for Z recognizes two workstation resource types, by default called R1 and R2, although you can choose other names. You decide what these resources represent. They are commonly used to represent tape or cartridge drives.
For example, assume that workstation CPU1 has an R1 value of 10. This means that, for all operations started at any one time on this workstation, the total use of R1 by these operations cannot exceed 10.
Note that although workstation resources represent some resource pool, HCL Workload Automation for Z has no knowledge of the actual state of the resources. That is, HCL Workload Automation for Z can only keep track of resource users that are operations in the current plan. In addition, HCL Workload Automation for Z is only aware of the total value specified on the workstation definition, or the modified amount in the current plan. HCL Workload Automation for Z also has no way of checking that the actual resource usage of an operation matches the planned resource usage.
Suppose, for example, that R1 on CPU1 represents tape drives. Your system has 6 tape drives, so in the workstation description you have specified a value of 6 for R1. You have specified in the application description that operations A, B, and C (all jobs) use 2 tape drives each. HCL Workload Automation for Z submits the operations to JES. There is no contention for resources, so they can all run at the same time. However, the JCL for operation B has been changed since the application description for B was set up, so that it now uses 3 tape drives. If the jobs are submitted by HCL Workload Automation for Z in the order A, B, C, this means that C is waiting for a tape drive.
HCL Workload Automation for Z bases its decisions on the operation resource usage, as recorded in the application database, so the change to the JCL did not affect its planning or starting of the operations. Because HCL Workload Automation for Z cannot tell whether the tape drives are being used by jobs outside its control, it might submit jobs on the assumption that the resources represented by the workstation resources are available, even though the real resources are all in use.
If some resources become unavailable, for example, because of a hardware problem, HCL Workload Automation for Z continues to schedule according to the original amount until the current plan is modified with a revised amount.
You can specify workstation resource usage for an operation on the WORK STATION RESOURCES AND SERVERS panel (EQQAMWRP - Work station resources and servers ), displayed by selecting option 2 on the OPERATION DETAILS panel (EQQAMSDP - Operation details ).
EQQAMWRP ------------ WORK STATION RESOURCES AND SERVERS ---------------- Command ===> Enter/Change data below: Operation : CPU1 020 Runs pay04 and pay06 Work station resource: Resource 1 ===> _0 Amount of ws resource Resource 2 ===> _0 Amount of ws resource SERVERS ===> _1 Number of parallel servers