Cloning a CICS region that is started as a batch job

When you clone a CICS® region that is started as a batch job, CICS DA guides you through the process and automates steps where possible. CICS DA proposes new names for data sets and jobs, but you can change these names. However you must provide some values, such as the new APPLID. The clone process creates a batch job to start the new region.

Before you begin

Ensure that the CICS region you want to clone is running, and that the region start policy is recorded and saved in the model. For more information about recording the start policy, see Specifying the region start policy.

Important: If you want to create the region startup JCL as a member in a data set, you must ensure that the data set exists. The clone process creates only the JCL member. The clone process does not create the data set.

Procedure

  1. In the DA Explorer view, double-click the CICS region you want to clone, or right-click the region and click Open. The CICS region editor opens showing the details of the selected region.
  2. Click Clone CICS Region. The Clone a CICS Region window box opens. The fields in the window are prefilled, showing the details of the CICS region you are cloning.
    A screen capture of the Clone a CICS Region window that shows the existing region details.
  3. Change the values to provide unique attributes and start policy for the new CICS region. Click Next. CICS DA reviews all the data sets in the original CICS region and attempts to identify any naming convention that you use. This information is used to propose new data set names for the new region. The window is updated to show the data sets used by the original CICS region, the proposed name for the new CICS and CICSPlex® SM data sets that CICS DA creates, and the share status of the data sets.
    A screen capture that shows the original data set names and the proposed new ones.
  4. Review the proposed names for the new data sets. You can choose to keep the proposed data set names or type over them in the window. You can choose to share some data sets between the two regions by selecting the Share check box:
    • If the new data set name is grayed out and the Share check box is selected but is unavailable, the data set must be shared.
    • If the new data set name is grayed out and the Share check box is selected but available, it is suggested that the data set is shared. If you choose to clear the check box and not share the data set, a new data set is created, with the name in the New Data set column.
    • If the new data set name and the Share check box are both available, you must either accept the proposed name, share the data set, or change the data set name.
    • If the new data set name is available and the Share check box is not available, then you cannot share the data set. However you can change the data set name.
  5. Click Next. The window is updated to show any JCL INCLUDE, SIT, or EYUPARM members that exist in the original started task, and the proposed name for the new members that CICS DA creates.
  6. Review the proposed member names. You can choose to keep the proposed member names or type over them in the window.
  7. Click Finish to save the settings and complete the clone operation.

Results

When you click Finish, CICS DA performs the following tasks:

  • Check to ensure that the new data sets and JCL data set members do not exist.
  • Allocate the data sets and, where necessary, initialize them.
  • Create the JCL to start the new CICS region, if necessary.
  • Create new JCL INCLUDEs and other input members if necessary.
  • Add the new region to your CICSPlex SM definitions and to the system model.
If any of the steps fail, CICS DA backs out all the changes and any new data sets are deleted. An error message is displayed in the window, which identifies the failure. You must review the error message to determine the cause of the failure, and then try the operation again.

If the steps are successful, CICS DA then adds the new region to your CICSPlex SM definitions and to the system model. Finally, the CICS region editor opens showing details of the CICS region, and a report is shown in the Console view, and also written to the audit log.

What to do next

You might need to take some further steps before you start the new CICS region. CICS DA is unable to identify or perform some actions, such as defining the region to your security policy, and some connectivity steps. When CICS DA completes all that it can do, a report is posted to the Console view. The report identifies the setup that was done, and the further steps that you must take. The report provides the following information:

  • An indication that the job completed successfully, showing the original and new region name
  • An indication as to which CICSplex the new region was added
  • A list of the WLM and RTA specifications that the region is associated with
  • The job name for the new region JCL
  • The member name and qualifiers for the new region JCL
  • A list of the SIT overrides that were updated in the new JCL
  • A list of the SIT members that were created
  • A list of the EYUPARM values that were updated in the new JCL
  • A list of the EYUPARM members that were created
  • A list of the JCL members that were created
  • A list of SIT overrides that must be applied manually
  • A list of SIT members that must be created manually
  • A list of the EYUPARM values that must be applied manually
  • A list of the EYUPARM members that must be created manually
  • A list of the JCL Include members that must be created manually
  • A list of the CICSPlex SM definitions that might require attention
  • The report also identifies some other tasks that you might consider performing for the new region. Examples include security definitions, CICS profile, task tables, VTAM® APPLID.