August 3, 2006

(E)JES Users,

This letter is to alert you to a potentially serious issue with service item V4R3.0002 (PTFs PEJ0485 and PEJ0486).

The object modules distributed by V4R3.0002 are properly recognized by the binder only on driving systems running z/OS 1.7 and higher. The result when using back-level binders is that a) the fix is ineffective -- that is, the original flaws are still in the executed instruction path -- and b) there is a potential for abend0C4 when the modules are referenced.

Service item V4R3.0003 (PTFs PEJ0487 and PEJ0489) redistributes the "problem" object modules in a format understood by the older binders.

If you installed V4R3.0002 on a driving system running z/OS 1.7 or higher, you have no issue. You can install V4R3.0003 at your leisure.

If you have not yet installed V4R3.0002, be sure to download and RECEIVE V4R3.0003 and APPLY both service items (all four PTFs) together. (Sample JCL to perform a "mass" APPLY of maintenance can be found in member EJES$PAP.) When both service items are installed together, SMP/E will use the corrected modules from V4R3.0003 and no problems will result.

If you already installed V4R3.0002 on a driving system running z/OS 1.6 or lower, the results were not as intended/expected and you MUST follow the corrective procedure outlined in the ACTION HOLD that accompanies PEJ0487. This procedure involves ACCEPTing all maintenance and relinking the "problem" modules outside of SMP/E. (Note: It might have been possible to use the 'LINK LMODS' command to perform the necessary relink in the most-recent SMP/E releases, but we chose to document/test a single solution that will work for everyone.)

We hope you find this letter both timely and informative. We apologize for any inconvenience this unfortunate issue may cause you.

Sincerely,

Phoenix Software International (E)JES Technical Support Team