Robot HA

October 2023

Version 13.08

October 16, 2023

New Features

Added Robot GUIDE to simplify setup process for new installs. See installation guide for more information on Robot GUIDE.
Enhanced product to add the ability to hold/release a library, IFS and Group sync attribute. When an attribute is held:
- Sync job will not run.
- Apply job will not start.
- Swap Audit will not pass since we are not swap ready if on hold.
- Compares will not check the held attribute (CHKLIBRSF, CHGGRPRSF, CHKIFSRSF).
- CHKCDN process will not check the held attribute.
- Swap will not start if an attribute is on hold. It can be manually started.
- Reports will reflect if an attribute is on hold.
- Held status indicated on main Work with Sync Attributes panel.
- Option 9 - sync authorities will not process when attribute is on hold.
- Clean will not process for an attribute on hold.

Simplified manual synchronization process with built-in operations to reduce the chances of user error during the process with new begin tape (BT) and end tape (ET) processes.
Added new RHACHGDDM command to allow changes to your DDM security settings.

Enhancements

Improved usability of group attribute definitions by removing server field on the 'libraries to include' parameter.
Improved product support for data in ASPs 2-32.
Improved journal receiver handling to fix issue causing receivers to be resent more often than necessary when there is an unexpected error.
Improved ability to locate remote jobs.
Added ability to disable triggers and constraints for QS36F library.
Improved trigger and constraint handling for QS36F library.
Reduced number of messages sent in Journal apply log when refreshes occur.
Improved usability for Group sync attributes by preventing invalid setup of journals.
Enhanced security for storing saved credentials.
Improved accuracy of data transfer rates displayed.
Improved recommendations for DDM connection security.
Added intelligent QAUDJRN management and retention that adapts seamlessly to unique system configurations, ensuring maximum functionality and requiring minimum user input for audit journal management.
RDB entries are now created based on CHGDDMTCPA 'Lowest authentication method' parameter.
Changed default value from *NO to *YES for OMITRUN parameter on SYNCATTRSF command. *YES helps limit duplicate sync jobs from being submitted when starting sync jobs from the menu or startup programs.
Improved support for the command RGZPFM where Allow Cancel *YES is specified.
Improved install and update process.

Fixes

Fixed issue where positioning cursor to certain areas of the Audit History panel caused errors.
INZRSFHA will retain *AUTL and *USRPRF sync attribute settings if it has been previously run.
*JOBQ type objects are no longer incorrectly flagged as needing to be refreshed on a library compare.
Fixed issue where the journal name on the sync attribute setup were not retained correctly when rolling through setup panels.
Fixed error handling when a manual sync point is run in batch so error messages are now reported correctly.
Group Synchronization Attributes report now reflects the ‘Days to keep receiver’ parameter correctly.
Improved usability of include and omit definitions on sync attributes.
Fixed issue with IFS syncing when a file starts with special characters. We now support files starting with the following special characters: single quote, double quote, asterisk, question mark, and tilde.
Improved performance by preventing the ability to cancel a refresh of a file by sending RSF7110 as an informational message, instead of an inquiry.
Fixed issue with unexpected errors causing job to continue to have elevated authority.
Fixed issue with clearing standby journals.
Fixed issue where library or group journal apply jobs receive object lock errors when refreshing files.
Fixed issue with F4 prompting when cursor is on 'position to' field on Work with Sync Attributes panel.

December 2022

Version 13.07

December 13, 2022

Enhancements

Enhanced CHKLIBRSF to honor the *NOCMTBDY value if defined on the sync attributes.
QPWDRULES now supports *ALLCRTCHG.
Improved performance of refresh when processing libraries and groups.
Security values from CHGDDMTCPA are now retained during role swap with *SWAPIP.
Improved IFS sync performance.
Improved authority check during product install.
Improved authority check in swap process and CFG sync processes.
Improved attribute setup for IBM libraries to prevent issues.
ROBOTHA profile is now created at install or update time (if it doesn't already exist). RSFUSER/RSFHA jobd is updated so that all sync jobs will now run under the ROBOTHA profile.
Improved journal management for receivers.
Per 13.02 release notes, SAVDTAQRSF, RSTDTAQRSF, and CPYSYSRSF have been removed from Robot HA.
Improved identification to distinguish between a refresh and a new journalable object in a library.
Enhanced sync attribute setup for *JRN and *OTHER processing.
The default value for the FIRSTRUN parameter on the SYNCxxxRSF commands have been changed from *NOW to *ATTR. The *ATTR option will respect the 'restrict to window' parameter. Any existing CL programs that use these commands may require modification.
IBM Scheduler job for RSFCHKLIB is now created with REFRESH(*YES) by default.
Improved *USRPRF syncing process. Support added for: Block password change, Group authority type, User expiration date, and User expiration interval.
Group sync attributes now allow for 300 libraries within a group.
Robot HA 13.07 will be the last release to support OS 7.2.

Fixes

An authorization list can now be correctly changed to *NONE on a file within a directory.
Fixed issue with RDB Directory Entries not being added back when running SWAP for *SWAPIP
Fixed CHGAUTLE for authorization list with multiple users.
Changed default value for 'maximum objects to refresh' to *NOMAX for IFS and Library attributes.
Fixed issue with IFS not reporting errors encountered in the sync job
Fixed issue where synchronizing user profiles results in CPF223F error in certain configurations
Fixed issue with group ending in error after group is deleted and then added with same name.
Fixed issue with RDB entries being incorrectly changed at sync time.
Updated SETICOLRSF command to not show an error when
max value is reached on next available identity column value."
Improved journal apply performance by reducing unexpected secondary refreshes in environments with high levels of activity during a refresh.
Robot HA jobs set up within the IBM Scheduler are now qualified with RBTHALIB.
Fixed issue with IFS sync attributes panel not showing additional options for IFS setup.
Automated the recovery for Authorization List failures.
Fixed issue with TCP/IP server job failing when not authorized to outq.
DSPLIBRSF no longer logs C2M3003.
Fixed issue with the List Object (option 7) authority on 'Work With Synchronization Attributes - Libraries' screen

May 2022

Version 13.06

May 23, 2022

Robot HA now supports IBM i 7.5.
Additional PTFs are needed if syncing from OS 7.5 to 7.4 or 7.3.
- 7.4=SI76821
- 7.3=SI76822
Clarified messaging when sync jobs cannot save objects.

April 2022

Version 13.05

April 27, 2022

Enhancements

Improved efficiency of check lag.
Role swap process now always creates a joblog.
INZRSFHA command now sets RSFCHKLIB job to run CHKATTRSF command with *RLS and *JRN.
Improved spool and transfer lag for groups process.
Default sync interval for RBTHALIB is now every 10 minutes.
Improved the check library process:

New field added to output that indicates if objects will be refreshed.
Journal and journal receivers will no longer be compared.
Now identifies when a LF is mismatched.
Compare for *USRSPC type no longer updates last used date on object.
CHKATTRSF for libraries now processes attributes with multiple sets correctly .
NULL error corrected for BLOB/CLOB field.
Compare handling for locked objects improved.

Fixes

Fixed issue with errors in group sync job during role swap.
Fixed issue with IFS sync errors when setting authority on directories and files that have been omitted.
Fixed issue with group journal apply job receiving error ‘CPF7054- FROM and TO values not valid’.
Logical files members are now removed correctly.
Fixed issue with swap audit failing with error 'Cannot check secondary startup program'.
CLRLIBRSF override now specifies QTEMP. Change to: Fixed CLRLIBRSF override issue.
Fixed issue with iASP RDB entries removed during swap with *SWAPIP.

December 2021

Version 13.04

December 1, 2021

New Synchronization Attributes Report provides list of synchronization attributes and system information.
Up to a 20% reduction in CPU utilization and 49% reduction of IO for the target system remote journal apply jobs.
Fixed issue with directory sync errors caused by lack of authority.
Fixed issue with syncing authority lists in directory.
Authority errors now correctly removed when object no longer exists.
Improved format for output of CHKLIBRSF command.
Fixed issue with Group Apply job is not getting restarted when the sequence number is reset.
CHKATTRSF command processing now handles library attributes with multiple sets properly.
CHKLIBRSF now identifies setup issues when an object is not journaled correctly.

June 2021

Version 13.03

June 23, 2021

For new installations, user profile RSFSRV password is set to *NONE.
INZRSFHA no longer changes DDM TCP authentication method to *USRID.
Improved performance for synchronization.
Fixed issue with library containing *both and *after images.

May 2021

Version 13.02

May 4, 2021

New Features

Reduced impact from Robot HA on the production system performance when processing private authorities.
Increased success and confidence in role swaps with improved visibility and simplified recovery for authority related errors.
A new system type sync attribute has been added. *PVTAUT will be used to sync authorities.
New Private Authority Status Report provides a way to see the status of authorities being synchronized.

Enhancements

Updated license agreement.
QSYS* libraries can no longer be synchronized.
INZRSFHA command has been changed to no longer have the CLNDIRRSF command run by default.
When new sync attributes are created, the parameter “Sync Authorities” has been changed to default to *YES.

Fixes

Fixed *file object refresh issue when journal images parameter is changed.
Fixed issue with sync attribute parameter "SAVACT record change wait" changing from *NOCMTBDY to *NOCMTBOD.
Elevated authority issue resolved when an IFS sync attribute fails to be deleted.
When creating a new IFS directory sync attribute, the job name correctly shows as the directory name and does not include _IFS.
Fixed issue with SETICOLRSF command failing when there is a file with no member.
Fixed issue with Audit History Report submission.
Fixed issue with cursor placement on RHA3005.
SAVDTAQRSF, RSTDTAQRSF, and CPYSYSRSF commands will no longer be available in future releases. Any existing CL programs that use these commands may require modification

July 2020

Version 13.01

July 22, 2020

CHGTRGRSF now checks trigger state prior to changing file.
Fixed issue with spooled file sync failing on spooled files with 0 pages.
Option ER now correctly ends the remote apply job.

Version 13.00

July 14, 2020

New Features

New Work With Sync Attributes panel improves usability and visibility of important information with a 27x132 display.
New Subset window allows you to select a subset of Sync Attributes to be displayed.
HA status, audit status, and general information can now be monitored using Insite Analytics within HelpSystems Insite

Enhancements

Key fields on Sync Attributes are not editable after creation.
New Work With Sync Attributes panel is now only available as option 1 from the Robot HA Main Menu
New Work With Sync Attributes panel now refreshes after new Sync Attribute is added.

Fixes

Fixed issue with Add IFS Sync Attribute not accepting directory paths that include single or double quotation marks.
Fixed issue with DSPSYSRSF ending with "Value cannot be converted to type implied by receiver".

March 2020

Version 12.09

March 11, 2020

Improvements made to the processing of authorities.

January 2020

Version 12.08

January 29, 2020

User Profile and other System Sync Attributes now allow up to 300 omits or includes.
The remote journal apply job will now be a unique name that coordinates with the sync job. The job name will start with J_.
Role swap and audit now correctly report if library is missing on backup.
For libraries with multiple sets, a unique journal and remote journal are now required for each set.
The sync job default name is not editable after creation.

October 2019

Version 12.07

New Features

Assure MIMIX to Robot HA transition now available.

Enhancements

During the upgrade, we will be recompiling QCLSRC in library RSFUSER. If you have customized any programs in RSFUSER, you will need to manually recreate those changes after the upgrade.

Fixes

Fixed issue with sync jobs intermittently showing as late/lagging when they should not be.
Data queues are now being replaced correctly on backup when sync jobs run.
Fixed issue with QS36F for triggers and clean process.
RHA1031 and CHGRSFSA no longer allows OMIT (*ALL/*ALL).
Journal entry types D-CG and F-MC now handled correctly.
Fixed issue with journal apply job receiving error while deleting SQL tables.
Now saving access paths when doing a refresh of a file.

November 2018

Version 12.06

Enhancements

Robot HA now supports the following types of role swaps when integrated with PowerHA:
- *NOSWAPIP
- *ONE_TO_N (One to Many)
NOTE: *SWAPIP role swap type in Robot HA and Takeover IP Address in PowerHA are not currently supported. Also, ‘cascade flow’ (A to B1 to B2) for data replication is not currently supported.

Fixes

SQL Triggers are now retained on the backup system when completing a production to backup role swap.

NOTE: Robot HA will not maintain the changes to an SQL trigger on the backup systems after the initial sync. Any changes made on the production system must also be done on the backup systems.
Robot HA can now refresh a physical file with more than 300 dependent objects.

August 2018

Version 12.05

Enhancements

In an effort to increase the number of includes a user can specify from the previous maximum of 100, the 'Objects to include' (INCLOBJ) parameter of the Change Library Sync Attribute (CHGRSFSA) command has been modified to accept two new single values (*JRN and *OTHER). Note: *JRN and *OTHER are for library processing, not IFS.
- *JRN means : Include all objects in this set that are journaled to the journal specified on the Journal (JRN) parameter. The set of included objects updates dynamically as objects are added to or removed from the specified journal. There can be multiple INCLOBJ(*JRN) sync attribute sets for a given From-Lib, To-Lib, Server-ID combination.
  Note: If this library entry is included in a group, then the group journal overrides the library journal. In that case, the group journal is used to determine what objects are included.
  
  When *JRN is specified, the following also applies:
  - *NONE cannot be specified for the Journal (JRN) parameter.
  - *NONE cannot be specified for the remote journal (RMTJRN) parameter.
  - *NONE must be specified for the 'Objects to omit' (OMITOBJ) parameter.
- *OTHER means: Objects in the library being replicated are included in this set if they are not included in any other specification for the set collection. A set collection is all specifications with the same from-lib, to-lib, and server-ID values. Only one INCLOBJ(*OTHER) set is allowed for a given From-Lib, To-Lib, Server-ID combination.
Option 7 - List Objects has been added to the Work with Synchronization Attributes panel. This option lists objects specified by those sync attributes using the *JRN and *OTHER options. A physical file or a spool file can be created that shows the objects which will be synchronized when Option 8 - Submit is run. Note: This option will not list IFS objects.
The default for the parameter Fix Objects Using Wrong Journal (FIXJRN) on command CHGRSFSA has been changed to *NO. Note: FIXJRN will always default to *NO when groups are used or *JRN or *OTHER values are specified.

May 2018

Version 12.04

Enhancements

The messaging displayed to the user after an error occurs during a role swap has been made more instructive and user-friendly.
As part of the roll swap process, a completion status message now is sent to the panel.
The F21 function key is now available from the Role Swap Menu.
User is prevented from running a role swap if BACKUP settings have not been replicated.
The data created when the command CHGACTPRFL is run within a role swap is now replicated and swapped.
The swaps now handle *BREAK mode, and restarting of controlling subsystem. Messages are now displayed on the menu screens for failed swaps and when the job is waiting for restricted state.
More details have been added to the 'Restarting the system' message.
User must press F3 or F12 to exit the WRKRSFSA display. Also, the WRKRSFSA display will automatically refresh after an item is deleted.
Validation will now take place to ensure that QAUDJRN exists on the backup system.
A warning will be displayed if QAUDJRN journal receivers are not in the same library on the production and backup systems.

Fixes

The Swap Audit recovery option for the startup program now defaults to 'N' for the recovery option.
The first message when starting a swap now is 'was submitted' instead of 'currently running'.
All SWAPTOxxx programs are now changed to wait for restricted state before starting the controlling subsystem at the end of the swap.
A completion message now displays on the console after a successful swap-while-active role swap.
When doing a *SWAPIP when TEST is not *YES there is now a prompt at the start of the swap. The Swap only proceeds if F16 is pressed to confirm IPL of the system.
The sync attribute for RBTHALIB no longer allows journaling to be set to ON.
RSFSWAP Library text has been changed to 'Robot HA Swap library. Do not delete'.
The default value for 'Fix obj using wrong journal' in Sync attributes has been changed to *NO.
Robot Network notification in Auditing now works correctly on a network node.
Shipped source programs now compile when CCSID is different.
Message WRK3001 in WRKMSG is now formatted correctly.
For one-to-many role swaps, there was an issue where a server ID was being stored in the data area instead of a system name. This has been fixed.
Role swap will now continue when there are missing identity entries to allow the user to investigate.
A check is now made that the logged-in profile has *AUDIT authority.
After a successful role swap, when you swap back to backup, the IBM Job Scheduler jobs are now correctly being removed.
The verbiage "RSF" has been changed to "Robot HA" within messages.
A message will be displayed in the product loader when QCLSRC/SWAPTOBKP in RSFUSER has been changed.
Command STRRSFSRV has been changed to allow *NONE for the subsystem to start.
At install, the creation of JOBDs will be based on what already exists in the system library list.
EXTCFGRSF / APYCFGRSF have been changed in the *SWAPIP type swap so that the RDB entries are restored with the values from the file instead of the current default values.
The swap process will check that the sync attributes files can be allocated before beginning.
Within a swap audit, *USRPRF, *CFG and *AUTL will no longer auto-recover.

November 2017

Version 12.03

New Features

Functionality allowing the creation and running of Audits has been added to Robot HA. For the 12.03 release, you now have the ability to create and run a type of Audit called a Swap audit, which helps ensure that both the production system and the backup system are in a swap-ready state. Some of the added audit functionality:
- Starting and ending audit monitoring
- Ability to create an audit with steps designed to help ensure swap-readiness
- Maintaining an audit to ensure that the audit job run schedule and people notified are aligned with a swap-ready environment
- Audit status notification options, which include email, Robot Alert, and Robot Network
- Viewing Audit History, which details audit run results and potential areas of concern

Enhancements

The Robot HA menu structure has been updated to provide enhanced usability and to better align with the addition of the Audit functionality.

Other Updates

You can now change the Sync object authorities and Sync spooled files parameters without error within Set Lib Sync Attributes (SETRSFSA).
Replication of groups now completes normally if the library is not created first.
You can now choose *ALL in the 'Type of libraries to include' parm within Work with Sync Attributes (WRKRSFSA).

March 2017

Version 12.02

If you are a RSF-HA customer, you can now convert from RSF-HA 11 to Robot HA 12. See our conversion instructions for more details.

February 2017

Version 12.01

The APYCFGRSF command now properly applies constraint information.
Added two CLRLIBRSF functions for RSFTEMP into the IBM Job Scheduler entries (one for source and one for target).
Updated the INZRSFHA command to archive a previous version of the model program whenever a new one is installed into RSFUSER.
Updated the compare/audit operation commands CHKLIBRSF and CHKOBJRSF to support Groups.
Fixed replication of *USRPRFs with a *LOCALE path name.

October 2016

Version 12.0

Robot HA, a high availability product built on RSF-HA software, is now available!

You can find a list of key features here: Robot HA 12 Features

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Last Published: 202411151135