Mirror Database

In addition to the primary database installed with CONTROL-M/Server, a secondary database is built on another Database Server computer. All updates to the primary CONTROL-M/Server database are written to the secondary mirror database.

If updates to the mirror database fails, the mirror database is considered damaged and writing to it is disabled. Normal CONTROL-M/Server operation is not affected. Mirroring can be re-initialized after you repair the communications link.

If the CONTROL-M/Server primary database server fails, or if the primary database loses integrity, CONTROL-M/Server operation can be restored using either of the following manual interventions:

You can direct CONTROL-M/Server to use the mirror database instead of the primary database. The primary CONTROL-M/Server database can be rebuilt when time allows.

This method ensures that CONTROL-M/Server functionality is resumed as soon as possible. However, mirroring is not resumed until after you repair the failed primary database and restore it from the mirror database.

You can repair and rebuild the CONTROL-M/Server primary database and restore it from the mirror database.

This method allows mirroring of the CONTROL-M/Server database to continue without interruption. However, depending on database size and the cause of the failure of the database, it may take some time to rebuild the CONTROL-M/Server database before CONTROL-M/Server can be restarted.

Implementing a Mirror Database

Database mirroring can be initialized any time after CONTROL-M/Server has been installed.

The mirror database should be built on a separate database server, independent of the database server that hosts the primary CONTROL-M/Server database.

Several administrative functions are used to initialize, enable, and restore CONTROL-M/Server database mirroring. These functions are accessed from the Database Mirroring menu of the CONTROL-M/Server Main Menu.

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Failover Planning

As CONTROL-M is integrated in the production environment of the data center, it becomes increasingly important to ensure that interruptions of CONTROL-M functionality are as short as possible.

A properly designed and executed failover plan ensures that CONTROL-M functions are resumed as soon as possible if a recovery is necessary.

Failover planning for CONTROL-M should provide for the following contingencies:

1. Loss of integrity in the CONTROL-M/Server primary database due to a failure of the SQL server that maintains the database


2. Failure of the computer on which CONTROL-M/Server runs (server computer) Ideally, your failover plan should include a complete backup for both the server computer and the CONTROL-M/Server database.

You can implement either one of the following levels of failover capability:

Mirror Database: a database on an independent database server mirrors the CONTROL-M/Server database. If this level of failover is implemented, only CONTROL-M/Server database is backed-up and will be available in case of loss. There is no failover support for any loss of information affecting the CONTROL-M/Server installation. Readmore...

Failover Server: a secondary CONTROL-M/Server installation on a different computer. The CONTROL-M/Server database of the secondary installation is considered the mirror database. If this level of failover is implemented, failover support is provided for loss of information affecting both the CONTROL-M/Server installation and the CONTROL-M/Server database. Readmore...

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Control-M New Day Process(NDP)

• At a set time each day (defined during installation as the start of day at the site), CONTROL-M performs New Day processing, during which:
• CONTROL-M performs a number of maintenance and cleanup functions that the operator would otherwise have to perform manually.
• Job scheduling definitions are selected from the scheduling tables (based on their basic scheduling criteria) and are placed in the Active Jobs file. These jobs can then be submitted and tracked by the CONTROL-M monitor.
• During New Day processing, jobs that have ended OK or whose retention period has expired according to job scheduling definition parameters are deleted from the Active Jobs file.
• In simple terms "this loads all of the jobs that Control-M knows should run that day. Control-M does not necessarily know all of the jobs to run. it only knows the ones scheduled to run that day. In process of cleanup Control-M will clear all the jobs (ended OK, Deleted Jobs, Maxwait expired jobs, Eligible Failed jobs) except the jobs which are in Hold and Jobs which are having MAXWAIT". 
• Note: The jobs which were ended OK will be retained for one day.

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Understanding the flow diagram in AJF and Workspace

In the flow diagram, components of the environment (definition environment or active environment) are represented by node boxes. The information displayed in a node varies depending on the type of node and on customization options

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AJF (Active Job File)

In Control-M EM GUI, where you can see the currently running jobs for today is called AJF (Active Job File).

The CONTROL-M/Enterprise Manager window (AJF) consists of the following parts:

Ø  Navigation Tree – Hierarchical view of jobs in the current environment.

Ø  Flow Diagram – Graphic representation of job production flow, based on job dependencies established by prerequisite conditions specified in job processing definitions. Components of the active environment are represented by boxes called nodes. The information displayed in a node varies depending on the type of node and on how certain customization options.

Ø  Net Overview – Miniature version of the flow diagram, indicating the part of the network currently displayed in the Flow Diagram view. By ragging the selected area in this view to a different part of the network, you can quickly navigate in a complex environment.

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Control-M Desktop Collection Feature to Mass Update

The purpose of this article is to provide information on how to do a mass update on a group of jobs using the Job Collections feature in Control-M Desktop.

I just would like to give step by step process using pictures to guide any one who is new to Control-M scheduling.


The version of Control-M used here is 6.3.01

Click on “View -> Filter…” or click on “Filter…” Icon on standard Toolbar

 It will display the Filter dialog box. Enter your filtering criteria and click on OK when finishes. (In this example I’m filtering the jobs start with ‘job’)

All the jobs are still there but only the ones from the collection will show or be affected by Mass Updates. To change the draft back to all jobs select View / Filter then ‘Select the Full Draft’.

Go to ‘Edit -> Find and Update…’ or click the  Icon on standard toolbar.

   This will display ‘Find and Update’ dialog box, enter your criteria and click on ‘OK’. Here I'm changing the group to ‘test’. Make sure ‘Collection’ radio button is selected else all the jobs in the draft with the matching criteria will be changed.

Now you can select the full draft in the ‘Filter’ window to have look at entire table.

I hope this gives you some sort of idea how do a mass update. The dialog boxes may differ from version to version.

Share with your friends and colleagues if you like my site.

Cheers,
Mahi

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Dynamic Filter in Control-M EM GUI

A dynamic filter is a filter that you define locally as you need it. You can then discard it or save it for reuse.

To define a dynamic filter:

1. If the Dynamic Filter Definition dialog box is not currently displayed, display it by performing one of the following tasks (whichever is appropriate):
• If the Select ViewPoint dialog box is currently displayed (that is, you are in the process of opening a ViewPoint), after you select the ViewPoint, click Dynamic Filter.
• If the ViewPoint is currently displayed, select <Dynamic Filter> in the Filter list box.
• The Dynamic Filter Definition dialog box displays the last-used dynamic filtering criteria.
2. To edit an existing filter, select it in the Filter Presets field and click OK. To create a new filter, specify a name for it in the Filter Presets field.
3. Fill in filtering criteria.
4. To save this definition for later reuse, click SAVE Button.

Consider the following when filling in filtering criteria:

• Most fields are self-explanatory. If you need a description of the fields that correspond to fields in the job editing form,
• You can use the LIKE operator for all text fields except the Odate and Time parameters. For Odate From and Time From, use the >= operator. For the Odate To and Time To fields, use the <= operator.
• For Odate From and Odate To, use the yymmdd format. For Time From and Time To, use the hh:mm format.
• Fields can contain several criteria separated by commas (for example, CONTROLM = A*,B*).
• If you specify values for Time From and To fields in the filter, the filter processes values in the Start Time and End Time fields in the Job Detail screen (not the From and Until fields in the Job Detail screen).
• The Job Status and TaskType fields each have a button, when clicked, opens an appropriate dialog box (with relevant check boxes):
• For BMC Batch Impact Manager users: Check the Included in Business Service checkbox to filter on jobs belong to a critical batch service.

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Find jobs in Control-M

To find jobs in the flow diagram that conform to specific criteria

1. In CONTROL-M/Desktop or CONTROL-M/EM, select Edit => Find Jobs.
2. In the Find Job dialog box, fill in the criteria (you can specify pattern-matching strings in certain fields).
3. In CONTROL-M/EM only, to save the specified Find criteria for future use, assign a name in the Find Presets field, and click Save.
4. Click Find, which selects all nodes matching the criteria, and displays the first node that fits the criteria.

To change the focus (navigate among multiple selected nodes)

Click the appropriate navigation button (First)  , (Previous) , (Next) , or (Last) ,  or use the View => Toggle Selection menu.

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Prerequisite Conditions

"Prerequisite Condition is a flag representing a user-specified situation or condition. Submission of a job for execution can be made dependent upon the existence of one or more conditions. Conditions are recorded in the Conditions table in Control-M EM Server database"

Job dependencies in the flow diagram are represented by lines and arrows connecting

job nodes, for example.These lines can even indicate dependencies between jobs in different CONTROL-Ms. The direction of arrows at the ends of the lines indicates the flow direction (predecessor and successor relationship) of the connected nodes.

Dotted lines between two jobs indicates a conditional link between the two jobs (for example, optional In conditions defined using OR logic).

An arrow without a connecting line at the top or bottom of a node indicates one of the following condition types:

Arrow at the top of the Job — a manual In prerequisite condition. This is a condition that does not get added automatically by another job, but rather must be manually added.

Arrow at the bottom of the Job — The Out prerequisite condition has no corresponding In condition or job dependent upon the condition.

In CONTROL-M/EM, the connecting lines between conditions are

■ Green —condition exists (active)
■ Black — condition does not exist yet (inactive)

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Control-M Job Actions

Actions that can be performed on jobs:

Action	Description
Confirm	Confirm the job.
Delete	Delete the job.
Documentation	View the job's documentation.
Edit JCL/Script	Edit the job's JCL or job script statements.
Enhanced Why	View the predecessor’s jobs and Group Scheduling table for a selected job or Group Scheduling table. It is selectable only from Flow Diagram.
Force OK	Set the job status to OK.
Free	Free the job.
Hold	Hold the job.
Kill	Terminate the job and its associated processes.
Log	View log messages for the job.
Reactivate	[OS/390] Reactivate post-processing for the selected job.
Rerun	Rerun the job.
Restart	[OS/390] Restart the job using CONTROL-R.
Statistics	View statistics of the job's latest runs.
Undelete	Undelete the deleted job.
View JCL/Script	View the job's JCL or job script statements.
Sysout	View the job's Sysouts.
Why	Determine why the job has not yet been executed.

Menu options can be disabled in specific situations.

For example:

•  The Why option is disabled when the job is executing or has completed.
•  The Hold option is disabled when the job is already held.
•  All options (excluding the Properties option) are disabled when communication is temporarily not synchronized.
•  When any one of these actions is selected, CONTROL-M/EM accesses and/or updates the relevant CONTROL-M installation's database.

Before updating a job's details, you must HOLD the job. After updating, you can FREE the job.

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