Currently the SCP data field is 4096 bytes in size under z/VM and 265 bytes in size under LPAR. The format is UTF8, but currently only the first 127 characters are supported, which means ASCII. SCP stands for system control program. And with the SCP data field it is possible to give some information to the loaded operating system, similar to PARM or LOADPARM, but more flexible. But this is currently not yet supported by Linux. It is imaginable to use it to append or overwrite Linux kernel parameters or to give some commands to the Linux SCSI dump tool.
regards :) Volker Linux on zSeries Development IBM Deutschland Entwicklung GmbH > It seems that Linux knows whether it's booting from SCSI or ECKD. In the > former case, it can use the SCPDATA (which is up to 128 EBCDIC characters > that have been UTF-8 encoded by CP or LPAR), which Linux does. In the > latter case, Linux can use PARMs (with the patch). > > I don't see the imperative to change CP further. What problem is solved > that cannot be solved more simply in Linux? > > Alan Altmark ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For LINUX-390 subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: INFO LINUX-390 or visit http://www.marist.edu/htbin/wlvindex?LINUX-390
