Enhanced HOLDDATA for z/OS
Enhanced HOLDDATA for z/OS replaces the HOLDDATA previously delivered on ESOs,
Corrective Service orders and PDOs.
Note: See FLASH10820
for important changes planned for z/OS preventive service ordering in 3Q 2014.
z/OS Release 10 and SMP/E Release 3.5 introduced FIXCAT HOLDDATA to
simplify identifying required service from PSP buckets and other categories such as Coexistence.
The new FIXCAT statements are available
only in the full.txt and full.bin files. SMP/E releases prior to SMP/E V3.5 cannot process the new
FIXCAT HOLDDATA. If you use a prior SMP/E release, you must install toleration APAR IO07480
(PTF UO00700 for SMP/E V3.3 or UO00701 for V3.4) to allow those releases to silently ignore the
FIXCAT HOLDDATA. Otherwise messages GIM20311E and GIM56701E will result.
Check the
SMP/E Reference
to learn more about FIXCAT HOLDDATA.
IBM Fix Category Values and Descriptions are available here.
Enhanced HOLDDATA for z/OS is a single source of ERROR HOLDDATA,
and provides several advantages over previous sources of ERROR HOLDDATA to
simplify identification and management of critical service (PEs and HIPERs).
- Enhanced HOLDDATA includes ERROR ++HOLDs not only for PE APARs, but also
for HIPER (High Impact) APARs. This
allows customers to use the SMP/E REPORT ERRSYSMODS to identify not only
missing PE fixes but missing HIPER fixes, and the report is
specific to the target system. The additional ++HOLDs for HIPERs
requires a procedure change for the installation of
FMIDs.
- Enhanced HOLDDATA includes the fixing PTF number in the comment field when
the PTF is available for either corrective service (COR closed) or
preventive service (PER closed). The two date fields in the ++HOLD statement
represent the date that the ++HOLD was updated, and not necessarily the
original date of the APAR flag.
- Any reason flags for HIPER APARs are included in the comment field (IPL,
data loss, major function loss, performance and pervasive). This can aid
prioritizing the review of any uninstalled HIPER fixes.
The reason flags are listed below.
- The SMP/E REPORT ERRSYSMODS provides a
summary report of missing critical service, and will identify whether any
fixing PTFs are in RECEIVE status (available for installation) and if the
chain of PTFs to fix the error has any outstanding PEs.
- Enhanced HOLDDATA is delivered with all ESO's, Corrective Service orders
and PDOs.
- The entire z/OS platform of SMP/E managed products is covered with a single set of
holddata which is cumulative and complete. There is no need to collect and
compile holddata from multiple sources for different systems at differing
times. Enhanced HOLDDATA serves as a single source of holddata for any
system. SMP/E ignores holddata for FMIDs not on the system (unless specified
otherwise on the RECEIVE command), so Enhanced HOLDDATA can serve any
system. Installations with many programmers receiving Enhanced HOLDDATA may
need to use caution to ensure that only the latest Enhanced HOLDDATA is
received. One way to ensure that latest Enhanced HOLDDATA is used is to get
electronic updates via the Internet (see next item).
- Daily updates to Enhanced HOLDDATA are available,
so customers can keep holddata as current as needed. Up to 3 years of
history is available. Customers using Enhanced HOLDDATA need only ensure
that the time period of the latest Enhanced HOLDDATA to be received overlaps
any previously received holddata. With the use of FTP/FTPS from
the Host and job scheduling, retrieving updated data and generation of
reports can be automated. Additionally, SMP/E 3.4 and above provides functions
to download and receive HOLDDATA using the RECEIVE ORDER command. More information
on the RECEIVE ORDER command can be found in the SMP/E Commands manual. You can find
the manual corresponding to your system level at
https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/zos/2.3.0?topic=3-smpe-zos-commands.
HOLDDATA for Security/Integrity fixes is available through the IBM Z and LinuxONE Security Portal. Information
on registration and accessing the IBM Z and LinuxONE Security Portal is available at
https://www.ibm.com/it-infrastructure/z/capabilities/system-integrity.
If you are already registered you can link directly to the
IBM Resource Link Security Alerts.
The HOLDDATA available from the IBM Z and LinuxONE Security Portal adds a new HOLD CLASS, SECINT, and the HOLD SYMPTOMS
contains the CVSS Base and Temporal scores. Further information about CVSS and a guide to scoring can be found
on the FIRST (Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams) web site
http://www.first.org/cvss/ .
Additional
information is available in the
IBM Z and LinuxONE Security Portal Frequently Asked Questions page.
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Download the file that will overlap the time from your last update of
Enhanced HOLDDATA. Receiving the same HOLDDATA again causes no problems, but
missing HOLDDATA may result in installation of a known PE and thus impact system
availability. Always select a time period long enough to overlap your last
update, normally just use one of the 'full' files to get the previous 2 years's
ERROR and FIXCAT holddata.
To identify your last update of Enhanced HOLDDATA, check the
production date of your last service deliverable that included Enhanced HOLDDATA,
the date of your last electronic Enhanced HOLDDATA update, the comments in the
header of your last Enhanced HOLDDATA file, or list your already-received
HOLDDATA.
To use the data, use the SMP/E RECEIVE command to receive Enhanced HOLDDATA
into your global CSI.
All files are updated daily.
To download the plain text files with a web browser:
- Click on the name in the Download Now column, the data will be downloaded
to your workstation. Most browsers will use a chached copy of previsouly
displayed pages, so you may need to use the reload/refresh button of the browser
to retrieve the latest copy from the server.
- Use "file/save-as" to save the data to the specified file on the
workstation. (This command will vary depending upon the web browser you are
using).
- Upload to the z/OS Host system using any file transfer facility, note
that the resultant dataset on the Host must be FB80. See note
below.
To download the Packed data files with a web
browser:
- Click on the name in the Download Now column, the data will be downloaded
to your workstation. Most browsers will use a chached copy of previsouly
displayed pages, so you may need to use the reload/refresh button of the browser
to retrieve the latest copy from the server.
- Use "file/save-as" to save the data to the specified file on the
workstation. (This command will vary depending upon the web browser you are
using).
- Upload to the z/OS Host system as binary data using any file transfer
facility. Note that the resultant dataset on the Host must be RECFM=FB LRECL=1024.
- Use AMATERSE to unpack the packed file into a dataset.
| Name |
Time Span |
Plain Text |
Packed Data |
FIXCATs
Included |
| Size |
Download
NOW |
Size |
Download
NOW |
| Month |
Last 30 days |
~ 100 Kb |
Month |
~ 24 Kb |
Month.bin |
No |
| Quarter |
Last 90 days |
~ 300 Kb |
Quarter |
~ 47 Kb |
Quarter.bin |
No |
| Year |
Last 365 days |
~1200 Kb |
Year |
~ 200 Kb |
Year.bin |
No |
| Full |
Last 730 days |
~2250 Kb |
Full |
~ 400 Kb |
Full.bin |
YES |
| YRS3 |
Last 3 years |
n/a * |
n/a * |
~600 Kb |
YRS3.bin |
No |
* The 3 year file is only available in compressed (TRSMAIN) format.
Note: SMP/E requires the dataset containing HOLDDATA to be
recfm=FB and lrecl=80. FTP and emulator program uploads will usually default to
a dataset with a format of VB. Pre-allocate the target dataset prior to running Batch
FTP or uploading to the z/OS Host or specify parameters that will create a
FB-80 dataset.
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FTP/FTPS may be used to download Enhanced HOLDDATA. Request and receipt of
Enhanced HOLDDATA can be automated if FTP/FTPS capability is in place on the z/OS
host system.
FTP/FTPS anonymously to "public.dhe.ibm.com". Change directories to
"/s390/holddata". Get the appropriate file: "month.txt",
"quarter.txt", "year.txt", or "full.txt".
Note: SMP/E requires the dataset containing HOLDDATA to be recfm=FB and lrecl=80.
FTP will normally default to a dataset with a format of VB. Pre-allocate the target dataset
prior to running Batch FTP or specify parameters that will result in a FB-80
dataset.
Link to
Sample Batch FTP Job.
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Enhanced HOLDDATA is processed the same way previously-provided HOLDDATA was
processed. Use SMP/E's RECEIVE HOLDDATA command to receive Enhanced HOLDDATA
into the Global zone.
Enhanced HOLDDATA introduces ERROR holds against product FMIDs for HIPER
APARs. This enables customers to easily check that all PE and HIPER
recommended service in the product PSP bucket is installed when the FMID is
being APPLYed.
Furthermore, it enables SMP/E's REPORT ERRSYSMODS to be used to identify any
HIPER fixes that are identified later.
Therefore you need to change the parameters specified on the APPLY command
when installing FMIDs unless you are a ServerPac customer. ServerPac
delivers a system with the FMIDs already installed.
There are two methods to complete an FMID installation:
- To ensure that all critical service is installed with the FMID, add
the SOURCEIDs of PRP, HIPER to the APPLY command. There may be
some HIPER APARs that do not have resolving PTFs available yet. You need to
analyze the symptom flags to determine if you want to BYPASS the specific
ERROR HOLDs and continue the FMID installation.
APPLY S(fmid,fmid,...)
FORFMID(fmid,fmid,...)
SOURCEID(PRP,HIPER,...)
GROUPEXTEND .
This method requires more initial research, but will provide resolution
for all HIPERs that have fixes available and are not in a PE chain.
- To install the FMID as it would have been installed prior to Enhanced
HOLDDATA, you can add a BYPASS(HOLDCLASS(HIPER)) operand to the APPLY
command. This will allow the FMID to be installed even though there are HIPER
ERROR HOLDs against it. Note that not all ERROR HOLDs were bypassed,
only the HIPER ERROR HOLDs. After the FMID(s) are installed, the
SMP/E REPORT ERRSYSMODS command should be run to identify an missing HIPER
maintenance.
APPLY S(fmid,fmid,...)
BYPASS(HOLDCLASS(HIPER))
...any other parameters documented in the program directory...
This method is the quicker of the two, but requires subsequent work to
investigate any HIPERs.
One other procedural point about Enhanced HOLDDATA. Since it is likely (and
advantageous) to receive updates to Enhanced HOLDDATA between the APPLY and
ACCEPT steps for a system, it is possible to encounter ++HOLDs on the ACCEPT
that were not identified at the time of the APPLY. Reviewing the REPORT
ERRSYSMODS before the ACCEPT will identify any outstanding PEs or HIPERs on the
target system.
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Below are the currently delivered flags and their meanings.
| Flag |
Keyword |
Description |
| DAL |
DATALOSS |
Destruction and/or contamination of customer data. |
| FUL |
FUNCTIONLOSS |
Causes a major loss of function on the customer's system. |
| IPL |
SYSTEMOUTAGE |
Causes the customer to re-IPL, reboot, recycle or restart one or more
systems or subsystems. |
| PRF |
PERFORMANCE |
Causes severe impact to system performance/throughput. |
| PRV |
PERVASIVE |
Problem may affect many customers. |
| YR2000 |
Year 2000 |
Identifies APARs that provide Year 2000 function, or fix a Year
2000-related problem. |
| SYSPLXDS |
SYSPLEXDS |
Identifies HIPER fixes needed to support and implement SYSPLEX Data
Sharing. |
| XSYS |
XSYSTEM |
Identifies HIPER fixes which provide cross-system, migration,
compatability or toleration support. |
| MSYSPLX |
MSYS-PLEX |
Identifies HIPER fixes which affect multiple systems of the entire
sysplex. The problem causes a severe customer impact to more than one system in the sysplex or to the entire
sysplex. |
| D/Tnnnn |
D/Tnnnn |
Identifies HIPER fixes which pertain to the Hardware device number nnnn.
|
| CST |
CST |
Indicates a fix that has been installed in CST outside the normal schedule for
installing maintenance in CST (i.e. to fix a problem in CST or to add new function such as hardware).
|
| DST2007 |
DST2007 |
Identifies HIPER fixes which support a provision of the
Energy Policy Act of 2005, extending Daylight Saving Time (DST) by four weeks, beginning in 2007.
|
| EURO99 |
EURO99 |
Identifies HIPER fixes which support the EURO currency
symbol introduced in 1999.
|
| Bx.x |
BASE |
The CVSS Base score. See
IBM System z Security Portal Frequently Asked Questions.
|
| Tx.x |
TEMPORAL |
The CVSS Temporal score. See
IBM System z Security Portal Frequently Asked Questions.
|
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Suspected errors in Enhanced HOLDDATA can be reported to the IBM Support
Center (Level 1).
Suspected errors and comments can also be directed via feedback:
Provide
Feedback on z/OS Enhanced HOLDDATA.
In the event that you have ++HOLDs in your global zone which contain an incorrect APAR prefix, use
feedback
to report the problem.
For example, the correct ++HOLD for APAR OW12345 should be AW12345,
but the ++HOLD contains OW12345. This will result in the ++HOLD
statement never being satisfied when the fixing PTF is installed, because the
PTF will supersede AW12345 and the ++HOLD was for OW12345.
If the incorrect prefix was introduced by
Enhanced HOLDDATA, the appropriate ++RELEASE and ++HOLD statements will be included
in a subsequent update to Enhanced HOLDDATA. In addition,
there is a sample REXX utility available that will create appropriate ++RELEASE and
++HOLD statements based on output from your system. The REXX utility was written for the specific format
of ++HOLDs created by Ehnanced HOLDDATA, but it can be modified to scan and correct ++HOLDs
from sources other than Enhanced HOLDDATA.
To receive the REXX utility with the instructions, click on each of the
following to download:
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PAGE 0001 - NOW SET TO GLOBAL ZONE DATE 12/01/11 TIME 17:09:57 SMP/E 36.09
EXCEPTION SYSMOD REPORT FOR ZONE TGT113
HOLD SYSMOD APAR ---RESOLVING SYSMOD---- HOLD HOLD
FMID NAME NUMBER NAME STATUS RECEIVED CLASS SYMPTOMS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HBB7780 HBB7780 AA35954 UA62955 GOOD YES HIPER IPL
AA36906 UA63106 GOOD YES HIPER FUL
AA37264 UA62997 GOOD YES HIPER IPL,FUL,XSYS,SYSPLXDS
AA37287 UA62566 GOOD YES HIPER FUL
AA37312 UA62801 GOOD YES HIPER FUL
AA37341 UA63229 GOOD YES HIPER FUL
AA37420 UA63185 GOOD YES HIPER DAL
AA37467 UA63002 GOOD YES HIPER FUL,XSYS,SYSPLXDS
AA37646 UA62885 GOOD YES HIPER IPL,PRV,SYSPLXDS
AA37743 UA62909 GOOD YES HIPER IPL,FUL
AA37832 UA62686 GOOD YES HIPER IPL
AA37893 UA63069 GOOD YES HIPER FUL,SYSPLXDS
AA37905 ***NONE HIPER FUL
AA98765 UA12345 GOOD YES SECINT B6.9,T6.0
AA37985 UA63165 GOOD YES HIPER IPL
AA38058 ***NONE HIPER FUL,XSYS,SYSPLXDS
AA38061 UA63180 GOOD YES HIPER IPL,FUL
AA38087 ***NONE HIPER IPL
AA38094 ***NONE HIPER IPL
UA60368 AA37940 ***NONE PE
UA62375 AA38061 UA63180 GOOD YES PE
HCR7780 HCR7780 AA37708 UA62975 GOOD YES HIPER FUL
HDZ1D1N HDZ1D1N AA36568 UA62316 GOOD YES HIPER FUL
AA37513 UA62912 GOOD YES HIPER DAL
AA37964 UA62316 GOOD YES HIPER FUL
HDZ1D10 HDZ1D10 AA35877 UA62482 GOOD YES HIPER FUL,PRV
AA36920 ***NONE HIPER IPL
AA37293 UA62923 GOOD YES HIPER FUL
AA37313 UA62129 GOOD NO HIPER PRF,PRV
AA37360 ***NONE HIPER DAL
AA37396 UA61969 GOOD YES HIPER IPL
AA37423 ***NONE HIPER DAL
AA37456 ***NONE HIPER FUL,PRV
AA37503 UA62933 GOOD YES HIPER DAL
AA37639 UA62703 GOOD YES HIPER FUL
AA37640 UA63211 GOOD YES HIPER DAL,PRV
AA37750 ***NONE HIPER FUL,PRF
AA37954 ***NONE HIPER DAL,PRV
AA38047 ***NONE HIPER FUL
AA87654 UA23456 GOOD YES SECINT B7.2,T6.3
UA60512 AA37956 ***NONE PE
UA60543 AA38119 ***NONE PE
UA60559 AA38073 ***NONE PE
HIP61D0 HIP61D0 AM48616 UK72410 GOOD YES HIPER FUL
AM48924 UK72621 GOOD YES HIPER IPL
AM49510 UK72808 GOOD YES HIPER FUL
AM49829 ***NONE HIPER IPL
HJE7780 HJE7780 GA37654 UA62711 GOOD YES HIPER FUL
GA37835 UA62866 GOOD YES HIPER DAL
HJS7780 HJS7780 WA37432 UA62720 GOOD YES HIPER FUL
HVT61D0 HVT61D0 AA37473 ***NONE HIPER IPL
AA37606 UA62442 GOOD YES HIPER FUL
AA37978 ***NONE HIPER IPL,FUL
AA37994 ***NONE HIPER IPL
HZFS3D0 HZFS3D0 AA37623 ***NONE HIPER FUL
AA37710 ***NONE HIPER FUL
AA37744 ***NONE HIPER FUL,XSYS
AA37950 ***NONE HIPER PRF
PAGE 0002 - NOW SET TO GLOBAL ZONE DATE 12/01/11 TIME 17:09:57 SMP/E 36.09
EXCEPTION SYSMOD REPORT SUMMARY
ZONE FMID TOTAL APARS TOTAL RESOLVING
AGAINST FMID SYSMODS AGAINST FMID
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TGT113 HBB7780 20 15
HCR7780 1 1
HDZ1D1N 3 2
HDZ1D10 18 8
HIP61D0 4 3
HJE7780 2 2
HJS7780 1 1
HVT61D0 4 1
HZFS3D0 4 0
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The APAR NUMBER column in the SMP/E EXCEPTION SYSMOD REPORT is similar to but not the same as the
the APAR number in RETAIN.
The APAR SYSMOD ID has the same second through seventh characters as the APAR number in RETAIN. The first
character of the APAR SYSMOD ID is used to denote various release or fix levels of an APAR.
The naming convention for IBM APAR SYSMOD IDs is tannnnn where:
t = Type of SYSMOD.
a = Any alphabetic character.
nnnnn = any additional identifier.
An APAR SYSMOD ID from the EXCEPTION SYSMOD REPORT can be mapped to the RETAIN APAR number using the
the second character of the SYSMOD ID to determine the first character for the RETAIN APAR number
using the following table:
2nd
Char
SYSMOD |
RETAIN
APAR
Prefix |
| A |
OA |
| H |
PH |
| I |
PI |
| K |
PK |
| L |
PL |
| M |
PM |
| N |
PN |
| O |
IO |
| P |
PP |
| Q |
PQ |
| R |
IR |
| W |
OW |
| Y |
OY |
| Z |
OZ |
For example, APAR number AI12345 in the report corresponds to PI12345 in RETAIN, and APAR number
AO98765 in the report corresponds to IO98765 in RETAIN.
From the sample report above, AA35954 corresponds to OA35954 in RETAIN, WA37432 corresponds to OA37432
and AM48616 corresponds to PM48616.
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This page last updated July, 2021.
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