Advanced Topics › Command Processing › How You Issue Commands through Indirect Command Routing

How You Issue Commands through Indirect Command Routing

Through indirect command routing, you can route commands between systems that are not directly connected to each other. Indirect routing can be used to issue cross-system commands, but not to collect unsolicited WTOs. Indirect command routing is done through an intermediary system.

For example, if systems A and B are communicating through a DASD control file, and systems B and C are connected through ICMF, then you can issue a command from system A to C, using system B as the intermediary. System A receives the response to the command executed on system C.

You can also use indirect command routing to issue commands between systems that use different control files. Although you can use indirect routing along with direct CA L Serv routes, you can use indirect routing instead of CA L Serv routes when you do not want to create more CA L Serv routes.

To create an indirect route, issue a series of LINK commands that connect a source system to an intermediary system and that connect the intermediary system to the system where the command will be executed. The LINK commands create a series of connections like this:

Source System > Intermediary System > Target System

Note the following important considerations:

• If you are using inactive or subsystem consoles as target consoles on the intermediary system, then you must specify PRODUCT=GCM on the LINK command you issue from the intermediary system.
• If you are using extended consoles as target consoles on the intermediary system, then you must specify CONSOLE=prefix* on the LINK command you issue from the intermediary system (where prefix is the prefix specified on the GCMINIT EXTCON command, and * is the wildcard character).
• If you use a mixture of console types for target consoles on the intermediary system, then you need to specify both types of LINK commands.

For example, suppose you are running CA MIC on three systems: SYSA, SYSB, and SYSC. Also suppose these systems are connected as in the previous section, with SYSA the source system, SYSB the intermediary system, and SYSC the target system.

1. To create an indirect route between console TAPECON1 on system SYSA and system SYSC, issue the following command on system SYSA:

   LINK CONSOLE=TAPECON1,SYSID=SYSB,AUTHORITY=INFO
   

2. Then, to create the intermediary linkage from system SYSB to system SYSC, issue one of the following commands on system SYSB:

   LINK PRODUCT=GCM,SYSID=SYSC
   LINK CONSOLE=GCM*,SYSID=SYSC 
   

   GCM

   Specifies the prefix specified on the GCMINIT EXTCON statement

Commands directed to system SYSC are executed, and the responses are routed back to the command source on SYSA through the intermediary system SYSB.

Assuming that the command character for CA MIM on both SYSA and SYSB is @, the following example show you how to issue a z/OS D J,L command from console TAPECON1 on system SYSA and have that command execute on system SYSC:

@SYSB, @SYSC, D J,L

When you issue this command, CA MIM on SYSA intercepts it and directs it to system SYSB through the linkage for console TAPECON1. System SYSB then receives and executes the command @SYSC, D J,L.

CA MIM then uses the prefix @SYSC to direct this command to system SYSC through the linkage to GCMF (created by specifying either PRODUCT=GCM or CONSOLE=GCM*).

SYSC then receives and executes the command D J,L. CA MIM on SYSC routes the command response back to console TAPECON1 on SYSA through the intermediary system SYSB.