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Questions?

The questions below were submitted to our SupportLine by our customers and identified as an FAQ by summarizing the problem database collected by the DDL Systems Automated Response and Tracking (D.A.R.T.) system. Use our Feedback form to submit your questions and/or comments to our SupportLine. We welcome your input and look forward to reviewing your suggestions.

• Installation
• Message Action file
• Message Queues
• Modems
• Operating Systems
• Security
• System Maintenance
• System Reply List

Installation

Q: How do I determine if a resource id is not occupied by another line definition?

A: Use the work with hardware resources (WRKHWDRSC) command to locate the line definition that is currently using the resource id and vary the line off.

Q: I just installed OS/400 V3R2 (CISC) on my System i and ACO is not sending pager messages. Is there anything specific to this release that could be causing a problem?

A: IBM has changed the default authorities for certain OS/400 commands used by ACO PAGER™. To perform message queue monitoring and paging functions, ACO PAGER™ must run under a user profile that has *ALLOBJ and *IOSYSCFG special authorities. By default, objects on the distribution media are owned by the QPGMR user profile. If this profile does not exist on your system, or if you do not want to grant these authorities to the QPGMR user profile, you should create a new user profile using the steps identified below. They are as follows:

Create User Profile

YOU MUST COMPLETE EACH STEP BELOW FOR THE AUTHORITY CHANGES TO BECOME EFFECTIVE

1. Sign-on as QSECOFR and create a new user profile using the command below:

CRTUSRPRF USRPRF(ACO) USRCLS(*SECOFR) INLPGM(ACOPAGER/ACOMENU) SPCAUT(*SAVSYS *JOBCTL *SECADM *ALLOBJ *SERVICE *SPLCTL *IOSYSCFG) JOBD(ACOPAGER/ACOPAGER)

2. Sign-off, and then sign-on again as "ACO". You should see the ACO PAGER™ main menu.

3. Access the Maintenance window by pressing the <TAB> key once, then press <Enter>.

4. Select option 5 (Execution Options) from the Maintenance window and press <Enter>.

5. Set the user profile name option to a value of "ACO" and press <Enter>.

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Message Action File

Q: Do I have to define every message in the message action file that I need to monitor?

A: Absolutely not. Start by entering only the messages you care about right away. Build the message file over time and use the *ANY message id to respond and notify you when priority problems occur. Set up a *ANY message action record with a severity code of eighty (80) and your pager id. As a result, if any message is received with a severity of eighty or above, you will be notified.

Q: Do I need to define a generic (*ANY) message action file entry to automatically forward messages (without a specific entry in the message action file) to the alternate operator message queue?

A: No. you do not need to create a *ANY entry in the message action file. Messages that do not exist within the message action file are automatically forwarded to the alternate operator message queue. A typical use of the *ANY entry is to monitor for any message that exceeds a specific severity level (e.g. 80), and as a result, perform a specific action such as paging a technical support person. If a received message does not exceed the severity level set in the generic *ANY action record, then the message is automatically forwarded on to the alternate system operator message queue.

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Message Queues

Q: Is there any way I can avoid forwarding a message to a message queue (e.g. DSP01) and retain it in QSYSOPR once the message is replied to?

A: Yes. Create a message action entry (sequence 50) for this message id and enter a value of fifty (50) in the "Severity" field and a nine (9) (filter) in the "action code" field. Create a second message action record (sequence 100) with an "action code" five (5) and enter ‘QHST’ in the "Forward to *MSGQ" field. Whenever an inquiry message is sent to QSYSOPR, the Message Monitor will select sequence fifty (50) and retain the message in the QSYSOPR message queue. If this message is sent as an information message, sequence sixty (60) will be selected and the message will be forwarded to QHST and also retained in QSYSOPR.

Note: Alternatively, use ACO Message Queue Maintenance to change the "severity level" on the QSYS/QSYSOPR message queue. Messages whose severity's are lower than that specified here are NOT forwarded (regardless of the specific action defined in the message action record selected).

Q: When you press F1 on a message forwarded to a message queue and then F9 to review the message details, the originating job information is not shown (e.g. message is always from ACOPAGMON). Is there any way to retain the original job information on the message?

A: Use ACO PAGER™ Message Queue Maintenance to change the "Send job message" field to a value of ‘1’ or ‘2’ for the monitored message queue (e.g. QSYS/QSYSOPR). This option will instruct the Message Monitor to send an informational message (containing the original job information from the received message) to the forwarded message queue (or the ACO ESI™ Message Interface) just prior to forwarding the received message. This special job message (AC00068) contains the complete job sender information including job, program, user, name, date, and time of the received message.

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Modems

Q: What are the basic modem requirements for ACO PAGER™?

A: Your modem should have the following features:

• Asynchronous transmission capabilities.
• 100% Hayes AT compatible with extended command set.
• Must support &C, &D, and &S commands.
  &C - Track presence of data carrier.
  &D - Hang up and assume command state when an on-to-off transition of DTR occurs.
  &S - Track presence of DSR signal.

Q: What modems are tested and supported for use with ACO PAGER™?

A: The following modems have been tested. However, any modem that supports the minimum requirements listed above should work.

• IBM 5853 2400 bps modem.
• IBM 7852-400 33.6K modem (IBM ECS modem supports dynamic protocol switching).
• US Robotics Sportster 56K (FREE with purchase).

Note: If you are not sure if your modem is supported or do not have one of the modems on the above list, call or send e-mail to our SupportLine. We can quickly determine if your modem will work with ACO PAGER™.

Q: How do I reset the factory setting on the IBM 5853 2400 bps modem?

A: Follow the steps below to reset the modem to factory settings:

• Power OFF the modem.
• Push IN all front panel switches.
• Power the modem ON.
• Wait five (5) seconds, then power modem OFF.
• Press OUT all front panel switches.
• Turn modem ON. If after ten (10) seconds all front panel lights are ON or TST light is blinking, modem is bad and should be replaced.

Q: How do I configure the IBM 5853 2400 bps modem for use with ACOPAGER™?

A: Follow the steps below to configure the modem:

• Reset the modem to factory settings by following the procedure above.
• Set the front panel switches to the OUT position. This will set the modem for asynchronous communications.
• Set the rear panel dip switches to the UP position.

Q: Can I share the IBM ECS modem and line with ACOPAGER™?

A: At this time the only modem that supports automatic switching between Async/Sync protocols is the IBM 7852 model 400. Follow the steps below to configure the modem:

• Reset the modem to factory settings (if necessary). The modem is shipped with the factory settings to work with ECS.
• The modem should be attached to a standard V.24 port.
• There are 16 numbered switches on the side of the modem. From left to right, the following numbers must be set to the down position: 3 4 8 9 11. All other switches must be set to the up position.
• Push the switch on the front of the modem to the DOWN (ORIGINATE) position.
• Run the following command on the System i to set the ACOPAGER line description: CHGLINASC LIND(ACOPAGER) SETMDMASC('END').
• Use Work with Execution Options to set the modem initialization string to a value of &F&M0X1. Press enter on all subsequent panels.

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Operating Systems

Q: I am planning to convert to OS/400 V5 soon. What pre-installation activities are necessary to install ACO PAGER™ on this release?

A: Follow the IBM conversion instructions you received with your V5 operating system. ACO PAGER™ will run without modification on V5, however, there are a few considerations:

V5 Planning Checklist

• If your system serial number or model number will change as part of your upgrade you will need a new permanent security code before you can run ACO PAGER™ on V4. Call DDL Systems at 866-559-0800 option 1 to obtain your software key

• You must be running ACO PAGER™ v5.0.00 or higher

• If you are running ACO ESI™, it must be at revision level v2.0.04 or higher

• IBM has changed the default authorities for certain OS/400 commands used by ACO PAGER™. To perform message queue monitoring and paging functions, ACO PAGER™ must run under a user profile that has *ALLOBJ and *IOSYSCFG special authorities. If you have not already done so, follow the instructions in the Installation section of this document to create a new user profile with these special authorities

• Please make a backup of the ACOPAGER™ and ACOESI™ product libraries prior to starting the IBM conversion

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Q: How is the millennium date implemented within ACO and what versions are millennium compliant?

A: See our millennium date compliance checklist.

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Security

Q: How can I prevent our system operators from changing the QSYSOPR message queue to break delivery and still allow them to issue the CHGMSGQ command to set the alternate system operator message queue to break delivery?

A: If your operators are accessing QSYSOPR via *PUBLIC authorities, then change the authorities using the Edit Object Authority (EDTOBJAUT) command. Change the *PUBLIC authorities to have only Operational, Read, and Add rights. This will allow your operators to send, display, and reply to messages in QSYSOPR, however, they will not be able to remove messages or change the message queue (via CHGMSGQ). The example above only revokes the authorities to the QSYSOPR message queue, therefore, they will still be able to change the attributes of other message queues via the CHGMSGQ command.

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System Maintenance

Q: I recently discovered that the ACO Message Transaction (ACP0200) and the Message History (ACP0300) files had grown to over one million deleted records. Is there any way for ACO to automatically reorganize these files?

A: If you use the ACOSTRUP command to start the message monitors (after your scheduled IPL, system backup, or other scheduled downtime etc.), the ACP0200, ACP0250, and ACP0300 files are automatically reorganized. If you use this command, make sure the "Automatic IPL startup" parameter is set to 'Y' (in Message Queue Maintenance) for the message queues you want the ACOSTRUP command to start. In addition, make sure the "Maximum number of days to retain message history" parameter (in Execution Options) is set to something other than the default value of 365 days (e.g. 10 days). The Message Monitor purges the history file during normal shutdown processing for all records older than the value you specify. You should also use the ACOSTRUP command to end the Message Monitors as well.

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System Reply List

Q: Does ACO PAGER™ work with the system reply list?

A: Yes. However, you should setup matching entries in the message action file since the ACO Message Monitor will process these messages subsequent to being processed by the system.