1. OVERVIEW › 1.3 Overview of Tailoring CA MICS Accounting and Chargeback Option › 1.3.4 External File Specifications

1.3.4 External File Specifications

You can charge for non-CA MICS data sources using external
files.  You can also charge for CA MICS data sources outside
of CA MICS DAILY processing. For example, you can charge for
the data from a CA MICS file summarized to a higher timespan
than the DETAILS timespan.

External files can be charged for at the complex or at the
unit level.  In either case, you create a SAS input routine
and submit a generated job to compute the charges as often as
you want, normally once or twice a month.  (If the data must
be processed daily, consider creating a CA MICS
field-developed application instead of an external file.)

External journal files are processed just like standard
journal files except there is no associated CA MICS DAILY
processing to create the journal files.  Instead, they are
created as follows:

o You create a CA MICS unit with only Accounting and
  Chargeback installed.  This is called an external file
  unit.

o You use Journal File Eligibility to define a journal file
  for each external file to be processed.

o You use the Rate Table panels to code an input routine and
  activate the journal files in the external file unit.  You
  submit the MAGRUN job to generate a update job for each
  external file.

o You submit the update job for each external file to create
  the associated journal file and update the ledger file.

o You submit the normal CA MICS MONTHLY job to age the ledger
  file.

Because the CA MICS scheduling facility does not support the
external file update jobs, it cannot submit a backup job
automatically when each one runs.  You should submit the
backup job manually or with your own scheduling facility.

Complex-level external files have no associated journal,
ledger, or audit files and they do not update the Journal Run
Status Log.  Instead, charges are output to the Debit File,
one record per charging element.  They are created using the
External File Definition panels.