Considerations for issuing RVARY from the RACFRCVY started procedure

You might find the following information helpful if you are running without the RACF® subsystem. (If you have the RACF subsystem installed, you can enter the RVARY command as an MVS™ operator command. In that case, the started procedure described below is not needed.)

The RVARY command is normally executed from a TSO session. However, should the database become disabled, in some cases, no TSO user can logon to enter the RVARY command. To circumvent this situation, the installation can establish an alternative recovery environment by means of the RACFRCVY (RACF recovery) started procedure.

Note: To set up this started procedure, you must have TSO/E installed. The installation can implement the procedure in the following way:

Before IPL, the system programmer should do the following:

Ensure that the programs that constitute the RACFRCVY procedure have been compiled, assembled, and placed in the appropriate libraries. (The RACFRCVY procedure with associated programs and CLIST is shipped as members RACRVRY1, RACRVRY2, and RACRVRY3 of SYS1.SAMPLIB.) In addition, ensure that the name of the procedure has been assigned a RACF user ID. (See Associating started procedures and jobs with user IDs for information.)
Update COMMNDxx in SYS1.PARMLIB, so it starts at IPL time, (or, for testing purposes, have the console operator start RACFRCVY after IPL).

At IPL time, when RACFRCVY is started, it issues a WTOR, with an accompanying response number, which identifies the RACFRCVY procedure to the operator. Unless there is a problem with the RACF database, the operator would not respond to this WTOR; this leaves the procedure poised, ready if needed.

Should a problem occur with the RACF database, and the operator wants to use the RACFRCVY procedure to execute the RVARY command, the operator does the following:

Types in the response number that was indicated on the WTOR, followed by the RVARY command and the desired operand; for example, R num RVARY SWITCH.
Depending on the operand, RVARY, executing under the control of RACFRCVY, might prompt the operator for a password. The operator enters it, and RACF completes the command.
After the command completes, the RACFRCVY procedure prompts the operator to enter a C (to continue the procedure) or R (to redisplay the output from the executed command as often as required). If the operator types in C, the procedure responds by asking if the operator wants another command or if the operator wants to quit. The operator can do one of three things: type in another command, type in QUIT, which ends the procedure, or type in nothing, which results in the procedure remaining in a poised state, waiting to be summoned if another RACF database problem occurs.

Note that if the operator types in QUIT, RACFRCVY ends and must be started again in order to be used for recovery purposes. To start RACFRCVY again, the console operator types in START RACFRCVY.

If you choose not to use the RACF sample and you have multiple data sets in your RACF database, you should consider having an individual started procedure to control each data set. The user ID and group names assigned to each of these procedures should be in a data set other than the data set that the procedure controls. Each PROC should be set up to issue the appropriate RVARY command when it is started by use of the TMP (Terminal Monitor Program).