Understanding system data issued with the check messages

In the examples of check messages in other topics, you probably noticed data above and below the check messages - IBM® Health Checker for z/OS® issues this system data to accompany each check message. Fields such as START TIME:, CHECK DATE:, and END TIME: are not part of the message input specified by the check developer. The system issues this data automatically, as appropriate.

The example below shows a subset of some system data you might see with a check message. The system data is highlighted in bold:

CHECK(IBMRSM,RSM_MAXCADS)                          
SYSPLEX:    PLEX1     SYSTEM: SY39                 
START TIME: 05/15/2013 13:23:58.867122             
CHECK DATE: 20041006  CHECK SEVERITY: MEDIUM       
CHECK PARM: THRESHOLD(80%)                                                   
                                                                              
                                                                              
IARH108I The current number of in use CADS entries is 17, which               
represents 34% of the total allowed CADS entries of 50. The highest           
usage of CADS entries during this IPL is 34%, or 17 total entries. This       
is below the current IBMRSM supplied threshold of 80%.                        
                                                                              
END TIME: 05/15/2013 13:23:58.867225  STATUS: SUCCESSFUL

Most of the system data fields you might see, such as START TIME: and END TIME: are self-explanatory. However, the list below includes fields that might need a little explanation:

CHECK(check_owner,check_name)

The CHECK field displays the owning component or product for the check, as well as the check name. In this example, IBMRSM or RSM is the owner of the check that issued this message. The SYSPLEX and SYSTEM fields further qualify the check name and indicate where exactly this check ran. This can be helpful for example when viewing the message buffer via the SDSF CK panel while it shows checks from multiple systems in one panel.

CHECK SEVERITY: severity

This field displays the severity defined for the check that issued the message.

CHECK PARM: parameter

This field displays the parameters that are passed to the check routine when it runs.

STATUS: status

The STATUS field shows the status of the check when it completed running. There are many status values possible for a check, as shown in display output or the message buffer. See the status field in message HZS0200I in z/OS MVS System Messages, Vol 6 (GOS-IEA) for a list of all the possible values for the check status.

ABENDED. TIME: time DIAG: sdwaabcc_sdwacrc

In the event that a check abends, the system will issue this line along with the check message. In this line of data:

TIME: time: The time the check abended.
DIAG: sdwaabcc_sdwacrc: sdwaabcc is the abend code, and sdwacrc is the abend reason code. sdwacrc will display zeros if there is no abend reason code for the abend. See z/OS MVS System Codes for information on abends.