Responding to customer requests, SumTotal announced in October 2006 that version 7.9.1 Service Pack 1 (SP1) is available for download from a SumTotal FTP site. This means that mainframe PHOENIX and PREFERENCE customers upgrading to 7.9.1 sp1 no longer need to order and wait for a physical cartridge to arrive in order to implement the latest release. The download method has additional administrative advantages as there are no tapes or cartridges to misplace, catalogue or archive.

Within a week of the FTP availability announcement numerous requests were made for FTP download of 7.9.1 SP1.

"We have long considered making PHOENIX/PREFERENCE available for download from an FTP Site, and to see this idea come to fruition demonstrates the adaptability of our legacy product delivery methods within a complex technical environment," observes Bob Idle, a senior software architect in the SumTotal Columbus, OH mainframe group. "But the real excitement comes from being able to help our customers, based on their own input, succeed with our products. That is the ultimate benefit of the FTP availability."

While the announcement of FTP availability pertains only to release 7.9.1 SP1, it is anticipated that future releases will also be made available from the FTP site.

» Click here to read the October 2006 announcement of FTP availability, including how to request release delivery via SumTotal's FTP site.
 

Coming soon: The upcoming release of version 8.0 of PHOENIX and PREFERENCE will address a long-standing issue regarding online user file maintenance. The enhancement will allow customers to remove all users registered to a course or volume that is no longer on the system from the system user file.

Additionally, users that have been inactive from a specified date will be able to be removed from the system on a course-by-course basis. This new functionality can be carried out entirely online, and will be available through the Supervisor Course Manager and Volume Manager facilities.

This 8.0 enhancement will effectively enable our customers to 'clean up' the system user file, and reclaim records in the user file taken up by inactive users. While procedures already exist for carrying out this task, they lack the efficiency of the 8.0 tool. For example, as part of the enhancement, a list can be generated and previewed showing which courses have users inactive since a specified date.

» Watch your eNews for more information on PHOENIX/PREFERENCE 8.0

How to resolve a GC516 GOALSYS - termination due to CSA buffer shortage

This situation may occur when the number of CSA Buffers is too small to accommodate the number of concurrent requests from the cross-region partner(s).

Consider the following example situation:

• PHOENIX/PREFERENCE is running at a much lower priority than CICS

• A maximum of 100 cross-region users can concurrently access PHOENIX/PREFERENCE (XREGMAX=100)

• The number of LDAS= and # CSA Buffers may be default values (this would be 100/8 = 13 rounded)

• If multiple users request help, the first 13 will be assigned a CSA buffer.

• Until processing has completed for at least one of the first 13, new requests will be queued to retry for up to 90 seconds or when a CSA Buffer becomes available (which ever is shorter).

• If the system is busy and PHOENIX/PREFERENCE is not dispatched, then when the 90 seconds are up users receive a GC516

• It is possible that some users are processed, but not all are processed within the 90 seconds waiting period due to the low priority of PHOENIX/PREFERENCE.

What can be done?

First a bit of background. The number of CSA Buffers to be allocated is controlled by the XREGBN= startup operating parameter documented in the PHOENIX System Guide on page 3.31 and the PREFERENCE System Guide on page 3.24.

If the PHOENIX/PREFERENCE system is running at a priority equal to or higher than the cross-region partner(s) and both XREGBN= and LDAS= were not specified, then the default value for XREGBN= should be fine (maximum users/8).

If PHOENIX/PREFERENCE is running at a lower priority than its cross-region partner(s), then the default value for the XREGBN= parameter is too small. A value equal to the XREGMAX= parameter may be required to eliminate this termination condition. In the example above where XREGMAX=100, modify XREGBN so that XREGBN=100 instead of =8. This will not speed up the processing. It will only prevent the user's request from being terminated. To speed up the throughput, the PHOENIX/PREFERENCE priority must be set equal to or higher than the cross-region partner(s).

» Send Us Your Tips!

Have a tip of your own to share? If so, please send it along to us at pathtalk@sumtotalsystems.com. You can also visit more tips located on the mainframe website at: http://www.pathlore-mainframe.com/customer/technical_tips.asp.

The zaps and patches below are all for PHOENIX/PREFERENCE version 7.9.1 and have been written since the release of 7.9.1 SP1. Included below are descriptions and links to the fixes.

S791004
PHO/PREF

Writers or Authors using the extended block highlighting feature may have a problem setting and unsetting extended highlighting.
» Click here to access fix

S791005
PHO/PREF

Our CICS XZCIN Exit was erroneously detecting that a TCT entry was flagged as being a "Permanent Transaction Code" due to a change in the TCT layout with CICS TS 3.1. Since TCT's are generally auto-installed, it is highly unlikely that "Permanent Transaction Codes" are used.

This ZAP has been created to eliminate PHOENIX/PREFERENCE support of "Permanent Transaction Code" processing and their resultant anomalies. For example, users may be unable to continue in their application after returning from a help or screen capture request.
» Click here to access fix

Z791013
PHOENIX

When a student exits from a PHOENIX course accessed through Pathlore LMS (PHOENIX Connector), PHO incorrectly specifies whether the course is 'complete' or 'in progress' and passes the incorrect information to the LMS.

This PTF results in correct 'complete'/'in progress' student information passed to the LMS.
» Click here to access fix

For additional Technical Tips, Zaps & Patches, and latest updates be sure to visit SumTotal's Pathlore Mainframe website.