Recently one of the issues we supported for a customer was their inability to reset a sequence number or change a journal during business hours. It was a requirement that they had not automated yet. The administrator would manually go in every couple of months, during off hours, and manually make the change.
To make this change, the admin would hold the thousands of QSQSRVR and QZDASOINIT jobs running on their system, issue their CHGJRN command, and then release the jobs when complete.
The reason they called us was that they had forgotten to run their process and their applications came to a halt and their users were no longer able to work.
Although they successfully held most of the jobs, they continued to receive CPF7018 messages whenever trying the CHGJRN command.
The customer was very frustrated with all the time lost. Although the help text shows the issue the WRKRNA command, it does not cover the next steps of F19 – Display Journal Objects and then option 6 for Commitment Definitions. Fortunately, we suggested the Work with Commitment Definitions command (WRKCMTDFN). Using the command and its defaults, we were able to narrow the scope of the thousands of jobs the customer held to the one they needed to process, and then their CHGJRN command worked, and processing went back to normal.
Many of us know about commitment control, but rarely have to troubleshoot. WRKCMTDFN command is one of those commands you should add to your notes for when that unusual error interrupts your day.
More From This Month:
- Function Junction – Securing Applications
- The Grass is Always Greener Over The Septic Field – An Argument for Modernization Over Replacement
- [NEXT WEEK] Register Now: iAdmin Fall 2022
- iTech iTip Videos
- Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
- iBasics: IBM i Education for the Beginner System Administrator
- Watch Replay: Tactical Security Day
- iPOWER Hour Episode 40: Security Vulnerabilities on Your IBM i
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- IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (October 2022)
