Long before 'RSU' was a twinkle in IBM's eye, we adopted a 'level tracking' system based on an arbitrary alpha designation from A - Z. For example, R13S. Each time maintenance is applied to the z/OS target zone, the level is incremented and zapped into NUCLEUS. This field was chosen decades ago because it displays early in IPL:
IEA008I R13S PARMS FOLLOW FOR z/OS 01.13.00 HBB7780 The reason for incrementing the level after every maintenance exercise is that sometimes selected corrective PTFs are installed in lieu of (or in addition to) a standard package. With multiple sysplexes to manage, we have found it easier and more precise to track our designated levels as maintenance migrates around the enterprise. To help us track actually installed maintenance, when we create a new level, we copy MVST100 target within the GLOBAL CSI using a name tied to the level: e.g. OSR13S . This target, which stays around indefinitely, allows us to query any down-level system in the enterprise as to the PTFs installed there. . . JO.Skip Robinson Southern California Edison Company Electric Dragon Team Paddler SHARE MVS Program Co-Manager 626-302-7535 Office 323-715-0595 Mobile [email protected] From: Mark Zelden <[email protected]> To: [email protected], Date: 12/23/2013 07:29 AM Subject: Re: Identifying the RSU level Sent by: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <[email protected]> On Mon, 23 Dec 2013 14:11:59 +0000, Bob Shannon <[email protected]> wrote: >It's a usermod to the operating system. CVTVERID is a customer-updatable field in CSECT IEACVT. We use it to verify which maintenance level we're using as we roll maintenance frequently. It can be browsed, viewed in storage, or displayed by some monitors such as MXI. It requiring zapping SYS1.NUCLEUS, IEANUCxx CSECT IEACVT. It's refreshed after an IPL. It does not alter system behavior. > A number of shops use this method. I added code to my IPLINFO exec back in 2005 (per user request) to display what's in CVTVERID if something is found. Regards, Mark -- Mark Zelden - Zelden Consulting Services - z/OS, OS/390 and MVS ITIL v3 Foundation Certified mailto:[email protected] Mark's MVS Utilities: http://www.mzelden.com/mvsutil.html Systems Programming expert at http://search390.techtarget.com/ateExperts/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
