Parameters › Command-related Parameters › EXTCONSPREFIX Parameter

EXTCONSPREFIX Parameter

This parameter specifies a one- to six-character prefix for CA OPS/MVS to use when it generates extended console names. The prefix must begin with an uppercase alphabetic character or one of the following special characters: #, $, or @. The second through last characters of the prefix must be alphanumeric characters or any of these special characters: #, $, or @.

As many as 99 extended consoles may be active; the setting of the EXTENDEDCONSOLES parameter determines the number of extended consoles CA OPS/MVS activates at startup. To create a unique name for each extended console, CA OPS/MVS adds a two-digit suffix (01-99) to the prefix. For example, if the value of EXTCONSPREFIX is OPSEXT and the value of EXTENDEDCONSOLES is 3, CA OPS/MVS activates these consoles:

• OPSEXT01
• OPSEXT02
• OPSEXT03

When you specify a value for the EXTCONSPREFIX parameter, make sure that the value does not conflict with the values of the EXTRAEXTPREFIX parameter. If CA OPS/MVS detects a conflict, it reverts to its default prefix values.

Default value

CA OPS/MVS uses this pattern to generate a default prefix:

• Character 1 is E, to indicate extended.
• The next 1 to 4 characters (characters 2 through 5) are the 1- to 4-byte SMFID of the current system. The length of this string depends on the length of the SMFID.

  Because some SMFIDs contain characters that are not allowed in extended console names, in certain cases you will not be able to use the default prefix; instead, specify a value for the EXTCONSPREFIX parameter.

• The next character is the fourth character of the subsystem ID.
• The last two characters are a number from 01 through 99, depending upon the number of consoles requested.

Other possible values

Any valid one- to six-character prefix having these characteristics:

• The prefix must begin with an uppercase alphabetic character or any of these special characters: #, $, or @.
• The second through last characters must be alphanumeric characters or any of these special characters: #, $, or @.

Set or modify this parameter

At initialization

Example: EXTCONSPREFIX

This function sets the extended console prefix to EXTCON.

OPSPRM('SET','EXTCONSPREFIX','EXTCON')

Note: For more information about the CA OPS/MVS support for extended consoles, see the Administration Guide.