Local and remote modes of operation

An RRSF node can operate in either local mode or remote mode.

When an RRSF node operates in local mode, it is not configured to communicate with other RRSF nodes. A node operating in local mode provides limited remote sharing functions:

Users with multiple user IDs on the node can synchronize passwords and password phrase between those user IDs.
Users with multiple user IDs on the node can direct commands to run under the other user IDs.
Users can direct commands to run in the RACF® subsystem on the local node.

When an RRSF node operates in remote mode, it is configured to communicate with other RRSF nodes. A node operating in remote mode provides the full power of the RACF remote sharing facility to perform RACF functions across a network.

If you define a node to communicate with another node using the APPC/MVS protocol, both the local mode functions and the remote mode functions must initialize successfully before the connection can enter the operative active state. An error in initializing the local mode functions (for example, a VSAM error on the local nodes's workspace data sets) prevents remote connections from being established. An error in initializing the remote mode functions (for example, an APPC server initialization failure) prevents local mode functions from being performed.

If you define a node to communicate with another node using the TCP/IP protocol, an error in initializing the local mode functions (for example, a VSAM error on the local nodes's workspace data sets) prevents remote connections from being established. However, unlike the APPC/MVS protocol, an error in initializing the remote mode functions for TCP/IP does not prevent the local mode functions from being performed.

If a node communicates with other nodes using both TCP/IP and APPC/MVS, an error initializing the APPC remote functions prevents the TCP/IP remote functions from being used. However, an error starting the TCP/IP remote functions does not prevent the APPC remote functions from being used.

RACF creates a listener process on the local node for each protocol that the node uses. The listener process listens for incoming connection requests from remote nodes. The local node cannot establish new remote connections for a protocol unless its listener for the protocol is active. The listener for a protocol can be in one of the following states:

active: The listener has been established and is listening for connection requests from remote nodes. New connections can be established with remote nodes.
inactive: The listener is not currently available. This state can occur when the local node has been made dormant, or, for the TCP/IP listener, if there is a problem with z/OS® UNIX. Remote connections that are already active remain active and continue to communicate, but new connections cannot be established. To make the listener active, issue a TARGET OPERATIVE command or a RESTART CONNECTION command for the local node.
initializing: The listener is attempting to start, but has not been able to start successfully. The listener will retry periodically until it starts successfully or the local node is made dormant. If the listener cannot start within a time period of approximately 30 minutes, it stops retrying and goes into inactive state. The initializing state can occur when there is a problem with TCP/IP, or if a host name was specified for the local node and the domain name server (DNS) is not responding for host name resolution, or if an incorrect host name or IP address was specified. Remote connections that are already active remain active and continue to communicate, but new connections cannot be established.

The TARGET LIST command for the local node displays the status of the listener processes for the local node.