Convert your existing IBM Health Checker for z/OS setup for automatic start-up

Description

Before z/OS V2R1, IBM Health Checker for z/OS users had to perform a set up procedure and start manually. As of z/OS V2R1 the system starts IBM Health Checker for z/OS automatically.

Table 1 provides more details about the migration action. Use this information to plan your changes to the system.

Table 1. Information about this migration action
Element or feature:	BCP.
When change was introduced:	z/OS V2R1.
Applies to migration from:	z/OS V1R13.
Timing:	Before the first IPL of z/OS V2R2.
Is the migration action required?	Yes, if you are currently using the IBM Health Checker for z/OS and wish to continue to use it as you have customized it. This migration action is strongly recommended for those that have not used the IBM Health Checker for z/OS on each system yet.
Target system hardware requirements:	None.
Target system software requirements:	None.
Other system (coexistence or fallback) requirements:	None.
Restrictions:	None.
System impacts:	If you have not started IBM Health Checker for z/OS before, you will probably see exception messages. For information about how to handle the exceptions, see IBM Health Checker for z/OS User's Guide
Related IBM Health Checker for z/OS check:	None.

Steps to take

For first time users of IBM Health Checker for z/OS, follow the steps for optimizing IBM Health Checker for z/OS in IBM Health Checker for z/OS User's Guide.

For users with existing IBM Health Checker for z/OS setup, use the following migration actions to convert systems to the IBM Health Checker for z/OS automatic start-up:

Make sure the system knows the name of your HZSPROC procedure if you renamed it from the default HZSPROC: The start-up procedure for IBM Health Checker for z/OS is called HZSPROC, by default. If you customized your hzsproc name, you must specify it to the system, using the new HZSPROC system parameter in IEASYSxx.
Remove any existing START HZSPROC invocations that start IBM Health Checker for z/OS and rely on the automatic start-up: Because IBM Health Checker for z/OS now starts automatically, you must look for instances of START HZSPROC invocations in your installation. For example, look for START HZSPROC invocations in the COMMNDxx, parmlib member.
After the system brings IBM Health Checker for z/OS up automatically, the system rejects any attempt to bring up a second instance. The system issues one of the two following warning messages:
```
HZS0101I – ...HEALTH CHECKER... IS ALREADY ACTIVE
```
or if the automatically started IPL-time instance is still initializing:
```
HZS0116I – ...HEALTH CHECKER... START PENDING
```
Change the way you specify the HZSPRMxx parmlib members you want the system to use: Before z/OS V2R1, users typically specified the HZSPRMxx parmlib members for IBM Health Checker for z/OS in the HZSPROC procedure. Now starting with z/OS V2R1, IBM recommends that you do the following to tell the system which members of HZSPRMxx to use:
1. Specify the HZSPRMxx parmlib members for your installation in the new HZS system parameter of IEASYSxx. This provides the default for the automatic start of IBM Health Checker for z/OS at IPL-time.
2. In your hzsproc procedure, default to or define HZSPRM='PREV':
```
//HZSPROC  PROC HZSPRM='PREV' 
//HZSSTEP  EXEC   PGM=HZSINIT,REGION=0K,TIME=NOLIMIT,
//         PARM='SET PARMLIB=&HZSPRM' 
//*HZSPDATA DD   DSN=SYS1.&SYSNAME..HZSPDATA,DISP=OLD    
//        PEND      
//        EXEC HZSPROC  
```
3. HZSPRM='PREV' specifies the following:
  - For the initial automatic start, the system will use the HZSPRMxx suffixes listed in the HZS system parameter.
  - For manual restarts after the initial automatic start, IBM Health Checker for z/OS initially uses the HZSPRMxx parmlib members that were in effect just before the previous Health Checker instance was stopped. This action will in particular include any parmlib members specified through a MODIFY HZSPROC,ADD,PARMLIB or MODIFY HZSPROC,REPLACE,PARMLIB command, while this first instance was running.
    For example, assume HZSPRM=PREV was specified when that first instance was started and system parameter HZS was set to (00,01). Then this first instance would have initially used HZSPRM00 and HZSPRM01.
    
    Now assume a MODIFY HZSPROC,ADD,PARMLIB=(02,03) was specified and then later this first instance is stopped. A manual restart, still with HZSPRM=PREV, will initially use HZSPRM00, HZSPMR01, HZSPRM02, and HZSPRM03, as in the previous instance before it was stopped.
    
    If MODIFY HZSPROC,REPLACE,PARMLIB=(02,03) is used instead, the secondary instance initially only uses HZSPRM02 and HZSPRM03.
  Specifying HZSPRM='PREV' makes occasional manual restarts (after applying service, for example) easy and consistent.
Optionally specify an HZSPDATA data set for persistent data in the HZSPRMxx parmlib member: Before z/OS V2R1, you could only specify the HZSPDATA in the HZSPROC startup procedure. Now you can define your HZSPDATA data set in either the HZSPROC startup procedure or on the HZSPDATA parameter of the HZSPRMxx parmlib member.

Reference information

For more information, see the following references:

For system parameters HZS and HZSPROC, see IEASYSxx (system parameter list) in z/OS MVS Initialization and Tuning Reference.
For information about specifying the HZSPRMxx parmlib members to be used, see IBM Health Checker for z/OS User's Guide.
For information about the HZSPROC procedure, see IBM Health Checker for z/OS User's Guide.
For information about specifying the HZSPDATA data set for persistent data, see IBM Health Checker for z/OS User's Guide.