Welcome
HCL Z Asset Optimizer 9.1
Collecting and importing data with HCL Z Asset Optimizer
HCL Z Asset Optimizer includes programs that collect system and usage data, import, filter, and match this data, update the Repository tables, and make the data available for review and query.
Collecting scanned libraries with the Inquisitor for z/OS
The Inquisitor is a program that scans and collects information about partitioned data set (PDS) and partitioned data set extended (PDSE) program libraries. The Inquisitor Import program takes the collected data as input to form the basis of your software inventory.
Inquisitor completion codes

HCL Z Asset Optimizer 9.1
- PDF manual
- Program Directory
- Product overview
  HCL Z Asset Optimizer is built on the concept of remote and central mainframe components which work together to produce reports on z/OS® mainframe products and their usage. This section provides you with a high-level overview of the HCL Z Asset Optimizer core architecture.
- Planning for deployment
  Before you deploy HCL Z Asset Optimizer, consider which deployment option is best suited to your environment.
- Implementing deployment scenarios
  Most implementations of HCL Z Asset Optimizer are based on one of the common deployment scenarios. An example is provided for implementing each of these common deployment scenarios with a Db2® Repository database. You can adapt an example for use with an SQLite Repository database.
- Installing and customizing HCL Z Asset Optimizer
  The product installation involves downloading the product and available updates, preparing the database, and configuring and populating a test database. After verifying that all components are correctly installed, you duplicate the test database to create a production database where you automate data collection and import tasks.
- Migrating to HCL Z Asset Optimizer 9.1
  When you migrate to the latest version of HCL Z Asset Optimizer 9.1 from an earlier version, you must convert existing data to be compatible with your new environment.
- Collecting and importing data with HCL Z Asset Optimizer
  HCL Z Asset Optimizer includes programs that collect system and usage data, import, filter, and match this data, update the Repository tables, and make the data available for review and query.
  - Updating the Global Knowledge Base
    HCL Z Asset Optimizer provides monthly updates to the Global Knowledge Base (GKB) so that you can keep your product inventory definitions up-to-date. You can also submit items to HCL support for inclusion in GKB updates.
  - Applying Updates to GKB Database Via MHS Website
  - Collecting scanned libraries with the Inquisitor for z/OS
    The Inquisitor is a program that scans and collects information about partitioned data set (PDS) and partitioned data set extended (PDSE) program libraries. The Inquisitor Import program takes the collected data as input to form the basis of your software inventory.
    - Running the Inquisitor program
      The HZASINQZ job in the JCLLIB library performs the Inquisitor collection. This job is generated from the HZASCUST post-installation customization job.
    - PLX parameter of the Inquisitor program
      The PLX parameter can reduce the time it takes to scan and process different systems that have completely shared DASD, and therefore identical software inventories. When you set PLX=Y, the Inquisitor Import detects libraries that are shared or libraries that have not changed and quickly processes scans of these shared SIDs.
    - Inquisitor program parameters and files
      The Inquisitor program has mandatory and optional parameters that affect how data is collected. The program uses some mandatory files as well as some optional files.
    - Inquisitor program command syntax
      The Inquisitor program includes SYSIN commands and optional command operands.
    - Inquisitor examples
      These examples show some possible scenarios where you can customize the scope and type of processing when you run the Inquisitor program.
    - Designing Inquisitor requests
      When constructing statements for the Inquisitor SYSIN file, try to combine all selection and exclusion criteria to form a single SCANDIR request. A single Inquisitor request will not scan a VTOC or a library more than once.
    - Controlling the data extraction level
      When performing a system scan, the SCANDIR verb is usually sufficient. For most libraries, SCANDIR is able to collect all the necessary information from the directory entries without the need to access member contents. For PDSE libraries, this includes collecting the bind (or link edit) date. For some specific system modules, SCANDIR will also analyze the member contents to extract additional data necessary to determine the software level of those modules.
    - Extracting LE compile unit information
      Specifying the FULLIDR keyword on a SCANPGM request will also allow the Inquisitor to extract information about LE compile units. Such information is stored within the program object code when a program is compiled by an LE-family compiler such as current COBOL and PL/I compilers.
    - Scanning migrated libraries
      The Inquisitor locates load libraries by either scanning the VTOC of online volumes, or by searching the system catalog (CATALOG) for relevant data sets. When you use the Catalog Search Interface, you can return data sets for migrated libraries. VTOC scans do not find migrated data sets.
    - Scanning generation data sets
      Catalog Search Interface requests issued by the Inquisitor are limited to non-VSAM type A catalog entries. Generation data sets (which are members of a generation data group) are not scanned by Inquisitor CATALOG requests but can be processed by Inquisitor VTOC scans. Consider excluding generation data sets if you backup program libraries using generation data sets.
    - Logical Volume Mapping
    - Collecting information about the I/O configuration
      The Inquisitor can scan the input and output (I/O) configuration of a z/OS® system to collect information about the use of hardware assets such as storage devices. The SCANDEV command is used to request such a scan.
    - Inquisitor completion codes
  - Collecting UNIX files with the Inquisitor for z/OS UNIX
    The Inquisitor for z/OS® UNIX™ is a program that collects information about executable software existing in HFS and zFS data sets currently mounted and accessible to z/OS UNIX. The Inquisitor Import program takes the collected data as input to form the basis of your z/OS UNIX software inventory.
  - Collecting usage data with the Usage Monitor
    The Usage Monitor is a server address space that runs as a started task. Work is queued to the Usage Monitor from all address spaces where programs are used. The Usage Monitor moves captured program usage data into the collection repository and periodically writes the accumulated data to a sequential file. The Usage Monitor runs APF authorized and is non-swappable.
  - Importing Inquisitor data
    The Inquisitor Import reads data from Inquisitor scans, where the data is filtered and matched to products. The filtered, matched data is then copied to the Repository tables where it can be viewed and queried by the Analyzer reporting utility.
  - Importing Usage data
    The Usage Import job imports data generated by the Usage Monitor and aggregates usage data for discovered or identified modules in the Repository tables in the database.
  - Aggregating usage and discovery data
    The Aggregator is a program that populates the Asset tables.
  - Activating the Automation Server
    The Automation Server discovers new data sets and processes them by starting a set of predefined actions that associate the data with data set name masks that form a catalog search. This search determines if any data sets with names matching the mask are to be processed.
- Reporting with the Analyzer
  The primary reporting facility in HCL Z Asset Optimizer is the Analyzer.
- Running utilities
  HCL Z Asset Optimizer provides utilities that you run to perform routine functional tasks to maintain the product lifecycle.
- REST API
- Configuring Language support
  HCL Z Asset Optimizer includes Japanese language support for MVS™ Message Service (MMS) message information. You can also configure the Analyzer utility to create and view reports in Japanese.
- Reference information for HCL Z Asset Optimizer
  Reference information includes messages, repository table layouts, and performance and tuning.
- Troubleshooting and support
  To isolate and resolve problems with your HCL software, you can use the troubleshooting, messages, and support information. This information contains instructions for using the problem determination resources that are provided with your HCL products.
- HCL Z Asset Optimizer messages
  You can identify the type of message by the message prefix.
- Appendix A: Description of output message content
  Messages generated during batch processing are explained in detail here.
- Notices
HCL Z Asset Optimizer Container 9.1

Inquisitor completion codes

When the Inquisitor ends normally (as opposed to an abnormal end or abend) it will issue a completion code. When the Inquisitor runs as a job step, this completion code will function as a condition code that can be tested (in logic encoded in the JCL) to allow the conditional execution of subsequent job steps.

The completion codes that may be issued by the Inquisitor are:

0 – All processing completed successfully.
4 – Processing was successful but one or more warning messages (with a suffix of W) were issued reporting environmental errors which you may wish to investigate to avoid ongoing problems in application workload processing.
8 – Processing was successful but one or more error messages (with a suffix of E) were issued reporting encountered error conditions. It is possible that one or more warning messages were also issued.
Generally, these errors prevented the scanning of something within the scope of the scan request. In this case, you must assess the impact of the missing data and decide to either fix some or all of the errors and rerun the scan, or proceed with running IQ Import using the data collected by this run.
Another cause of completion code 8 is the failure to rename an output data set to append the low-level qualifier specified in the LLQ= parameter setting. In this case, check data set references to ensure that you process the output data you are expecting to process, and correct the data set naming problem as appropriate.
12 – No usable output was produced. One or more severe error messages (with a suffix of S) were issued which indicate that either no importable data was found by the scan or processing was terminated due to an invalid request or a request that was incompatible with the execution environment.
16 – Processing was terminated due to an unacceptable execution environment. One or more unrecoverable error messages (with a suffix of U) were issued describing the problem encountered. Missing file allocations is the most common cause of completion code 16.
20 – Processing was terminated due to a missing or unusable SYSPRINT allocation or a missing message module. Check the issued unrecoverable error message (with a suffix of U) to determine the cause and take remedial action.