How have you implemented CA VM:Spool V/Seg Plus in an SSI environment? Below you will find a draft of our recommendations. Do they differ from your experience? Do you have any best practices? Is the information below helpful and adequate?
Feel free to edit this document, adding information that you think could be of use to other customers. Please collaborate with us on creating a set of recommendations.
Convert Server to IDENTITY
CA recommends that V/SEG service virtual machines you choose to use be deployed as IDENTITY virtual machines on each member of the complex.
The technique described here to deploy an IDENTITY virtual machine, is to use VMANAGER to install the product material and define and allocate the server virtual machine as a normal user ID with all minidisks allocated on shared DASD volumes. You then convert the directory entry created by VMALLOC to an IDENTITY and add BUILD ON and SUBCONFIG statements for each member of the complex.
The steps you will need to perform in order to convert the server to an IDENTITY virtual machine are as follows:
- Examine the directory entry for the server you just allocated to determine the minidisks that have to be reallocated on private DASD volumes via MDISK statements in SUBCONFIG directory entries. Those minidisks are private minidisks because they are updated by the server when it runs. They typically have a link mode of MR. Minidisks with a link mode of RR should be left allocated on the shared DASD volumes as they will contain the program material that is written only by VMANAGER.
- Modify the server directory entry by changing the USER record to IDENTITY and by adding new BUILD ON statements with corresponding SUBCONFIGs for each member. Allocate the new minidisks in each SUBCONFIG corresponding to the private minidisks you identified in the previous step making sure to place them on private DASD volumes visible from that member. Remove the original minidisks that you have reallocated from the server directory entry.
Complete Deployment
Now on each member perform the following manipulations to complete the server deployment on each member system:
- Logon to VMANAGER and perform the deployment as follows: On the initial member do a normal ‘VMDEPLOY server INIT” command to cause a set of default configuration files and the startup PROFILE EXEC to be placed on that server’s 0191 MDISK. The minidisks defined on the DEPLOY tag are also populated with product material. On the other members do a “VMDEPLOY server INIT ONLY” command to cause a set of default configuration files and a startup PROFILE EXEC to be placed on that server’s 0191 MDISK without repopulating the product material on the shared minidisks.
- Logon to the server and complete the manual steps necessary to tailor the configurations files.
Linux and DCSS
If a Linux guest uses discontiguous saved segments (DCSSs) and is to be relocated to another member of the SSI complex the same DCSS must exist on that system otherwise live guest relocation is not possible. The SPDISK utility of V/SEG-PLUS can be used to back up a DCSS used by Linux and restore it on another SSI member.
The UNPURGER Service Virtual Machine
SSI copy files can be unpurged. To support this feature an UNPURGER SVM must be running on all members of the SSI complex. When an SSI copy file is purged it is transferred to the UNPURGER SVM on the SSI member where the spool file originated from. Spool files that were unpurged can only be restored on their respective system of origin.