1. System Start-Up and Shutdown
Initializing and Terminating the z/OS System
Understanding the System Initialization Process
45 minutes
35 minutes
Working with System Data Sets
1 hour
Working with System Parameter Lists
Initializing and Terminating the System
70 minutes
z/OS System Shutdown and IPL Console Simulations
15minutes
Graphic: Insert your organization’s name in the above slide.
Audio: will need to cover the following:
Welcome to the “System Start-up and Shutdown” presentation. My name is _____, I work in the ___ department and have worked in our organization’s data center for ___ years (This should be expanded so the learner is confident that you have the right credentials to create this presentation).
This presentation follows on from several Datatrain system initialization and termination modules and expands on this content to explain how this relates to our data center processes. It also describes how system startup and shutdown affects our organization and the role of our IT personnel in these processes. Any questions about the content of this presentation or the Datatrain modules mentioned above should be forwarded to _______ so they can be included in the Webinar, which appears at the end of the “Monitoring the z/OS” learning pathway.
System Start-Up and Shutdown
Company Name
PowerPoint
System Start-Up and Shutdown
Copyright © Interskill Learning Pty Ltd 2011 – Commercial in Confidence
= Datatrain Course Modules

2. Presentation Topics An overview of system start-up
System start-up process
System termination
Audio: will need to cover the following:
The Datatrain modules you have completed in this pathway, described how system definitions can be created and invoked for a system restart. In this section you will see why we require system restarts and who is responsible for defining the parameters that are invoked. We will also look at different perspectives of a system restart and the impact it has on the organization and on individuals.
You will see how system restarts are performed in our organization looking at the processes, procedures, and the people that execute them. You will also look at some problems that our organization has encountered during system restart and the affect it had.
Finally, we will look at some system termination scenarios and the processes required when performed in our environment. This includes: who has the authority to order or initiate a termination, how it is performed, which termination activities are automated, and the consequences and problem resolution practices if products or applications can not be brought down.
Copyright © Interskill Learning Pty Ltd 2011 – Commercial in Confidence

3. An overview of system start-up
Real-life situations that have required that a restart be performed.
What procedures do we have that cover system restart?
Do we need to restart all our systems?
Audio: will need to cover the following:
While the Datatrain modules described how to perform a system restart they don’t describe the situations where they are required. This is a good opportunity to describe some of the planned and unplanned system restart scenarios that have occurred in our environment. Planned scenarios could include z/OS upgrades, system maintenance or other system activity where changes can not be made dynamically. Unplanned scenarios could be the result of a number of different events occurring including hardware failure, software problems, power supply problems, human error. You should look back through your problem management log for some real-life examples.
You will want to highlight that there are procedures in place if a system restart is required. You will need to mention where they are located and who should use them. You will need to discuss how system restart information is logged and who was notified as part of this process.
You can expand on the scenarios above and describe how in some situations only individual systems needed to be restarted but with others, all systems required this action.
Copyright © Interskill Learning Pty Ltd 2011 – Commercial in Confidence

4. What impact does a system restart have?
Unplanned restarts and who it affects.
System outage impact and how it affects our organization.
How am I affected when a system restart is required?
Audio: will need to cover the following:
Discuss how an unplanned restart usually is associated with system downtime and some or all of our internal and external users and customers not being able to access what they need. You could expand on the scenarios from the previous page and describe the groups and numbers of people.
You need to describe the cost that a system outage has on the organization and why the speed of a system recovery/restart is paramount. You will want to explain the costs associated with an entire system outage such as: direct costs (wages and related expenses associated with IT personnel and end user downtime), indirect costs (reputational damage, amount of time, effort and resources spent to restart the system) and opportunity costs (potential customers are unable to access your core systems).
This is a good opportunity to describe the role that they (and the groups that the learners work in) may need to perform when a system restart is required. This may be anything from: notifying the correct personnel on the action being taken and the estimated system availability to, actually performing the restart. Each area is likely to have their own procedures for system restart.
Copyright © Interskill Learning Pty Ltd 2011 – Commercial in Confidence

5. Who is involved in our system start-up process?
System startup appreciation.
Role of the operator/system programmer.
Audio: will need to cover the following:
It is good for every Data Center person to have an appreciation of the people and processes involved when a system restart needs to be performed. Explain that when it is an unplanned situation there is obviously a lot of people with a vested interest that want the system back up and running as soon as possible…so there is likely to be a lot of stress and pressure associated with this type of scenario. Explain that if all goes to plan, the person executing the system restart usually just has to wait until the system messages indicate that the system has been started correctly.
You will need to talk about the role of the people/person involved in the system restart. This may include the system programmer who may need to analyze why the system failed in the first place and may need to provide a fix before it can be restarted. It will also include the operator who accesses the HMC to perform the process to restart the system.
You will need to mention if the operator is required to respond to messages during the startup process, and what these messages are.
You should also mention other tasks (i.e. problem notification, logging) that these people will be involved with as a result of the system restart.
Copyright © Interskill Learning Pty Ltd 2011 – Commercial in Confidence

6. What processes and procedures are executed during system start-up?
Steps taken during a restart.
Automated and manual restart activities.
Common restart messages on our system.
Graphics: You may want to expand this page by supplying screen captures of the types of messages encountered during a system restart.
Audio: will need to cover the following:
Go through the steps taken during a system restart and how these might differ from those described in the Datatrain courses. Mention where default parameters are stored and maybe go through some of the more important ones so that learners can understand how software and applications are started.
Describe which products are started automatically, and why, and which ones need to be started manually.
You will need to describe some of the more important messages displayed on the console during startup, describing why they are important and any responses that are required.
Copyright © Interskill Learning Pty Ltd 2011 – Commercial in Confidence

7. Real life examples during system start-up
Scenarios where only partial or no system restart was possible.
Action taken when system restart problems occurred.
Audio: will need to cover the following:
It is good to provide these scenarios so that learners understand that system restarts don’t always run smoothly. You should describe what occurred and what the consequences were (i.e. partial recovery or none at all, and how long it took to get the system up and running) and the steps taken to prevent it from occurring again.
Copyright © Interskill Learning Pty Ltd 2011 – Commercial in Confidence

8. Under what situations do we need to terminate a system?
Real life scenarios that required a system to be terminated.
What procedures are there for this situation?
Audio: will need to cover the following:
You will need to describe the types of situations that occur/have occurred where your system has needed to be brought down (i.e. some were planned while others were not).
You need to explain where procedures relating to this action are stored and who is likely to use them.
Copyright © Interskill Learning Pty Ltd 2011 – Commercial in Confidence

9. How automated is our system termination process?
Commands used to terminate the system and who issues them.
What if there is a problem with this automation?
Audio: will need to cover the following:
You will need to look at the commands mentioned in the Datatrain modules and explain how these differ to the commands used to terminate your system.
You should also describe how automated the system termination process is (i.e. there is usually only a couple of commands that an operator might need to enter). You should also mention how the operator knows when the system is down, so that they can begin a restart.
Describe the process if automation is not available (i.e. manual practices).
Copyright © Interskill Learning Pty Ltd 2011 – Commercial in Confidence

10. What action is taken if products/software do not respond to termination requests?
Consequences if products are not terminated gracefully.
Who is responsible for the decision taken when a product does not respond?
Scenarios of problems encountered.
Audio: will need to cover the following:
Need to describe the process that occurs if a product will not respond to your termination request (i.e. permission to cancel it may need to be obtained, sometimes a force is required). Describe the types of commands that may need to be used to obtain more information on the reason why the product can not be stopped.
Describe who has the authority on the action to be taken when a product will not terminate properly.
Obtain some real-life scenarios relating to problems with system terminations and describe how the problem was resolved.
Copyright © Interskill Learning Pty Ltd 2011 – Commercial in Confidence

11. Summary An overview of the system startup System startup process
Initializing and Terminating the z/OS System
Understanding the System Initialization Process
Summary
45 minutes
An overview of the system startup
System startup process
System termination
35 minutes
Working with System Data Sets
1 hour
Working with System Parameter Lists
Initializing and Terminating the System
70 minutes
z/OS System Shutdown and IPL Console Simulations
15minutes
Audio: will need to cover the following:
This presentation provided a number of real-life system startup and termination scenarios and the processes and procedures used to perform those tasks. It also discussed the automation involved with these activities and any manual responses required from the operator or system programmer.
Your next training step is the “Monitoring the z/OS System” learning pathway that contains both a PowerPoint presentation and Webinar.
Thank you for attending.
PowerPoint
System Start-Up and Shutdown
Copyright © Interskill Learning Pty Ltd 2011 – Commercial in Confidence
= Datatrain Course Modules