The system authorization facility (SAF) provides a system that gets control in response to a request from a resource manager. SAF conditionally directs control to RACF®, if RACF or an installation-supplied processing routine, or both, is present. SAF does not require any other licensed program as a prerequisite, but overall system security functions are greatly enhanced and complemented by the concurrent use of RACF. The key element in SAF is the SAF router (ICHSFR00).