(E)JES is a systems management tool that provides you with information to monitor, manage, and control your z/OS JESplex. With (E)JES, you can:

(E)JES consists of panels that provide immediate and current information about jobs, printers, queues, and resources in a z/OS JESplex.

From this series of panels, you can enter (E)JES commands to control the processing of jobs and the operation of system resources. You can also issue system commands from the (E)JES panels. With (E)JES you can easily access and modify all attributes for jobs, started tasks, TSO users, APPC/MVS transaction jobs, or z/OS UNIX processes running anywhere in your JESplex. Simple commands and rapid accessibility not only save you time, but also make interaction with your JES and other subsystems easy.

Important features of (E)JES include the ability to collect and display more data than any product of its kind and the power to view and alter data at the data set, data set group, and job level. With (E)JES, you can quickly change modes and access data in all queues, not just the Hold queue, and you can display real-time system updates, as well as extract scrollable data to any DASD or sysout data set of your choosing. (E)JES is also quick to install, learn, interpret and use, and its on-line HELP facilities are available from every screen, making operation easy.

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Benefits of Using (E)JES

With (E)JES you can better manage jobs, output, devices, and system resources.

Improved Job Management

(E)JES provides an easy way to manage JES jobs, which can help you work more efficiently. It gives immediate, up-to-date, JESplex-wide information about jobs waiting to be processed or in execution, such as:

• The status, class, priority, date and time of a specific job
• All jobs on a specific queue, such as the input or held output queue
• Detail for a job no matter where it is in the JESplex
• Reasons a job might be delayed
• Output from a job as it is created no matter where the job is running in the JESplex

Using the (E)JES panels, primary and line commands, and by overtyping panel columns, you can hold or release jobs, cancel jobs, or change a job's priority, class, destination, or any other important attributes. You can easily filter the displays to show just the jobs that interest you, or work with all jobs in the JESplex.

Improved Output Management

(E)JES displays detailed information about output that is ready to be printed, including:

• The total number of lines to be printed
• Classes the output is assigned to
• Forms needed for printing
• Date the output was created

(E)JES allows you to control how and where your output is printed. You can browse the output, including page-mode output. You can print selected portions of the output, hold the output or purge it. You can change the output's class, destination or forms, or virtually any important attributes that affect how it will be printed. You can work with all of the output for a job or individual output data sets.

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Improved Device Control

Control Local and Remote Printers and Punches

The Printer/Punch panel lets you control local and remote printers and punches. (E)JES displays the status of all printers and punches in the JESplex, the output classes associated with each printer, and information about the job currently being processed on each device. Using this information, you can better decide how to schedule output for printing. By simply typing over certain columns, you can further select jobs and specify modes of printer or punch operation. You can limit the number of local and remote printers or punches displayed through filtering. (E)JES makes it easy to schedule output for processing by remote printers or punches. You can call, start, stop, restart, forward space, and backward space remote printers and punches.

Control Spool Partitions and Volumes

The Spool Partitions and Spool Volumes panels allow you to inspect and control your spool partitions and spool extents (volumes). You can see which partitions/extents are filling and assign overflow partitions and/or move spool extents between partitions to compensate. Simple line commands allow you to drain, hold, use or release spool extents.

Control Functional Subsystems (JES3)

The FSS panel lets you control your writer and CI functional subsystems. (E)JES displays the status of all functional subsystems in the JESplex and allows you to easily make any required changes. You can invoke the Printer/Punch panel directly from the FSS panel to show the status of each device and/or FSA (functional subsystem application) associated with a writer FSS.

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Improved System Resource Management

(E)JES provides an effective way of managing resources, which can help your system run more efficiently.

Control and Manage JESplex Parameters, Job Classes, JES-managed Initiators (JES2), JES Resource Monitoring (JES2), and Job Class Groups (JES3)

These displays help you control job scheduling to make optimal use of system resources.

Control NJE Resources

(E)JES displays the status of each node known to the current JESplex. Simple line commands allow you to start, stop, and manage the lines connecting the NJE nodes. JES2 users can view and control NJE lines as well.

Control and Manage WLM Resources

A Scheduling Environment panel lets you see all the scheduling environments that are defined, their description, and the systems on which they are available. From this panel you can display all jobs requiring a scheduling environment. You can also display, on the Resource panel, the WLM resources that make up the scheduling environment. The Resource panel can also be made to show all the WLM resources that have been defined. You can use it to display and modify the state of each resource on any system in the JESplex or sysplex.

Control WLM Enclaves and z/OS UNIX Processes

Modern z/OS systems consist of much more than just batch jobs, STCs and TSO users. Evolving workloads have led to the creation of new resources that need to be monitored and managed. (E)JES provides displays for viewing and managing WLM enclaves and z/OS UNIX processes.

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Control the z/OS Health Checker

(E)JES provides robust support to help you manage checks registered to the z/OS Health Checker.

Control and Manage System Requests

A System Requests panel lets you see all outstanding system requests for the sysplex. These can be operator replies (WTORs) or action messages, retained by the Action Message Retention Facility (AMRF). You can delete or respond to these requests.

Reduce Problem Management Time

Problem management often involves reviewing the system log and issuing various system commands to understand the nature of the problem.

(E)JES lets you view the system log online and search for specific information using (E)JES commands. You can also view and filter the MVS Operations Log (a merged sysplex-wide log managed by the MVS System Logger).

The system's response to operator commands often fills the system log. With the same information available on full-screen panels, you can issue these commands less often and use less spool space. Problem management is simpler with fewer extraneous commands and responses.

Individual users can have a private online log of their own activity, known as the User Log, which records commands and responses for each user's personal MCS Extended Console.

(E)JES also helps you diagnose jobs that appear "stuck" during job scheduling or execution by providing detailed contention analysis reports. Using these reports, you can understand which required resources are not available to your job.

Issue System Commands

You can enter system commands from the command line on any (E)JES display. The response to the command is displayed on the (E)JES panel and in your user log (ULOG).

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Exploit zIIP Specialty Engines

(E)JES makes a significant portion of execution resources eligible for
redirection to zIIP processors. This support is leveraged:

• In all end-user interactive host client environments except CICS
• In all batch scripts running in the background or foreground under TSO/E
• When calling the (E)JES Application Programming Interface (including when it’s used internally by the (E)JES REXX API)
• In the JES3 global data gathering routines within the CAS server that runs on the JES3 global processor
• When running (E)JES as the Operating System Interface (OSI) within the workstation component server

Improved Automation of Routine Tasks

Powerful (E)JES functionality is available to programs via the Application Programming Interface (API). A companion REXX API provides these same capabilities to programs written in the REXX language. Here are a few ways these interfaces might prove useful:

• Users can become more productive by leveraging these interfaces to perform routine or repetitive tasks.
• Installation-written applications can use these interfaces to obtain information that would otherwise require knowledge of MVS or JES internals and control blocks.
• Using System REXX — a facility available in z/OS V1.9 and higher — operators without TSO/E access can be given “smart” tools and commands, greatly surpassing the capabilities offered by traditional system commands

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Controlling User Access

You can tailor (E)JES to meet the needs of your users and the security requirements of your system. For example, you can decide which columns of information on a panel are displayed to each user and what those columns are named. You also can control:

• Who can use (E)JES
• Which users can issue (E)JES control commands
• Which users can issue system commands
• For which jobs users can issue commands
• Which jobs and output you want displayed on (E)JES panels
• Which users can display output data sets

(E)JES allows you to implement these controls:

• Through the System Authorization Facility (SAF) interface and an external security program (such as RACF)
• By coding parameters in (E)JES's internal security module
• With a combination of both security schemes

Hardware Support

(E)JES runs on the following processors:

• IBM System z processors, or OEM equivalent
• IBM zSeries processors, or equivalent
• IBM S/390 Parallel Enterprise Servers—G2 or higher models, or equivalent
• All models of the IBM Multiprise 3000 Enterprise Server, or equivalent

Operating System Support

The (E)JES-JES Compatibility Matrix provides a historical look at which JES2/JES3 releases are supported by the last six (E)JES releases. This matrix is for informational purposes only. The appearance of any back-level z/OS or OS/390 release does not in any way imply that the release is currently supported or maintained by IBM.

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Run-Time Environments

Interactive Environments

(E)JES provides support for interactive users in the following environments:

• TSO/ISPF
• TSO Command Processor (no ISPF services needed)
• CICS
• Phoenix TP Monitor (a stand-alone multi-user VTAM environment

Programmable Environments

Batch Interface

The (E)JES batch interface provides much of the power of the on-line environment to automated programs or scripts. It may be used to automatically perform specific functions under the control of a TSO/E CLIST, REXX exec, or any program written in System/390 assembler language or compatible high-level language. The batch interface may be invoked as:

• A TSO Command Processor. In this environment, (E)JES uses TSO GETLINE/PUTLINE services to receive commands and surface responses.
• A program invoked via MVS LINK or ATTACH services or High-Level Language equivalents. In this environment, (E)JES uses QSAM to receive commands and surface responses.

Application Programming Interfaces

The (E)JES Application Programming Interface is similar to the batch interface in concept, but provides much more powerful programming capabilities. The API can be called from programming languages such as Assembler, COBOL, PL/I, and C. It supports ordinary problem state and privileged callers alike.

You can also harness the versatility of REXX to interface and interact with (E)JES. This support provides a REXX program with nearly all of the capabilities available to an interactive (E)JES user.

ISFCALLS REXX

On occasions when customers want to run IBM-, ISV-, or user-written REXX execs that leverage IBM's ISFCALLS REXX host command environment for SDSF, such execs will usually run unchanged with (E)JES.

Customer Application Infrastructure (CAI)

The Customer Application Infrastructure is an integrated framework for TSO/ISPF that runs REXX-based customer and end user plug-in applications for customizing and extending the capabilities of (E)JES in local environments.

Performance Issues

(E)JES uses MVS cross memory services to obtain real-time information from JES and other running address spaces in the system. This avoids contention for JES resources and eliminates unnecessary I/O.

In a sysplex environment, (E)JES utilizes XCF signaling services to perform event-driven signaling and to move information from one z/OS image to another.

(E)JES is designed for a large user base and eliminates redundant query activities by utilizing buffered "lazy update" techniques.

(E)JES uses advanced I/O techniques including the use of zHPF on z10 processors with DS8100 DASD, MIDAWs, and a sophisticated caching algorithm that minimizes SPOOL I/O.

(E)JES can redirect a significant portion of execution resources to zIIP processors, which results in increased computing capacity and performance, as well as lower overall costs.

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Strategic Product Highlights

(E)JES provides full support for and exploits the latest z/OS features including:

System REXX zHPF channel programs zIIP and zAAP processors z/Architecture and 64-bit virtual storage Workload Management Goal Mode WLM Scheduling Environments and Resources WLM-Managed Batch Initiators WLM Enclaves Automatic Restart Manager Sysplex Operations Log MCS Extended Consoles APPC/MVS Transaction Jobs z/OS UNIX Processes Advanced Function Printing Integration with System Monitoring Tools (e.g., RMF) System Managed Storage Large Spool Data Sets Large Job Queues: 200,000 JES2; 999,999 JES3 NJE via TCP/IP JES Resource Monitoring Parallel sysplex

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Release Status

An (E)JES release is either active (new PTFs will be written), stabilized (no new PTFs will be written), or no longer supported (maintenance PTFs no longer available).

The following table shows the current status of all (E)JES releases.

Usually a release becomes stabilized three to six months after it becomes the "n‑2" release, and is no longer supported two years after that.

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