Configuration Best Practices › Enhanced MAS Support

Enhanced MAS Support

Consider using an EMAS complex to run CA Spool in a parallel sysplex while allowing users who are communicating with multiple systems to view real-time printer status.

EMAS support enables one CA Spool system to handle all printer sessions by receiving commands from the other systems through an NJE connection. The primary system will execute the commands and send the replies back to the originating system to present to the user. In this way, the user always sees the real status of the printer in the network owning system.

Business Value:

In a MAS/EMAS complex, the CA Spool systems logically share a common CA Spool file queue. If one system in the configuration fails, the others can continue processing from the common queue because all systems are functionally the same. Only the work in process on the failed system is interrupted.

An EMAS environment has the added benefit of providing central control of all printer sessions in each Spool system while communicating accurate printer status information to the end users of each system.

Additional Considerations:

To implement EMAS, there are some conditions which must be observed:

• The printer definitions must be identical on all systems.
• Each system must have an NJE connection to all other systems in the EMAS configuration.
• Each Snn parameter definition must specify the NJE name of the corresponding EMAS member.
• The users must be defined to the security system in the network owning CA Spool system.

Be aware of the following:

• The first CA Spool system started becomes the network owner. If this system is shut down or its network is drained, the lowest numbered active EMAS member becomes by default the network owner.
• The NETOWNER parameter on the SNET, PNET, and TNET commands is used to explicitly select the system, which must take over the role as the network owner.
• NJE connections are configured so all the EMAS network owners try to start these NJE connections.

For best performance, we recommend that you use the supplied default MAS/EMAS initialization parameters:

MINDORM=0     (0 SEC.)  MIN TIME BETWEEN ACCESS TO QUEUES   
MAXDORM=200   (2 SEC.)  MAX TIME BETWEEN ACCESS TO QUEUES   
MINHOLD=1   (.01 SEC.)  MIN TIME QUEUES MUST BE CONTROLLED  
MAXHOLD=10   (.1 SEC.)  MAX TIME QUEUES MUST BE CONTROLLED  
SYNCTOL=300   (5 MIN.)  SYNCHRONIZATION TIME INTERVAL
WARNTIM=1000 (10 SEC.)  WARNING TIME FOR DENIED REQUESTS.