Hardcopy processing allows your installation to have a permanent record of system activity and helps you audit the use of operator commands. You can record system messages and, optionally, commands, by using either the system log (SYSLOG) or the operations log (OPERLOG). The group of messages and commands that is recorded is called the hardcopy message set. The system log or operations log is called the hardcopy medium.

Hardcopy processing is required in a sysplex.