Installation operators and programmers previously
referred to MVS™ consoles only by console IDs. IBM® now
requires that you use names when referring to MCS consoles. Using
names can help operators and programmers:
- Remember which console they want to reference in commands or programs.
For example, if your installation establishes one console to receive
information about tapes, and uses the console name TAPE, operators
and programmers can more easily remember TAPE than a console ID such
as 03.
- Connect information in messages and the hardcopy log to the correct
console. If your installation uses console IDs, operators and programmers
might have difficulty identifying the console to which messages and
hardcopy log information applies, because the system uses console
names in messages and the hardcopy log.
Using console names rather than IDs can also avoid confusion when
a console ID might change. If your installation has set up a sysplex
environment, and uses console IDs to identify consoles, those IDs
can change from one IPL to the next, or when systems are added or
removed from the sysplex. A console ID is not guaranteed to be associated
with one console for the life of a sysplex.