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New CL Features in Advanced Job Scheduler

An inside look at the new CL commands for Advanced Job Schduler in IBM i 6.1

While one of the new features of Advanced Job Scheduler (AJS) in IBM i 6.1 is a Web interface, I know many of you still use CL to run the tool. In i 6.1, AJS offers several new CL features.

First, specific commands within the command list can now be bypassed. This can help when a command is temporarily unneeded but you don’t want to remove it from the list. From the properties of a scheduled job using the GUI, de-select the check box that enables a command for processing. This will cause the command to be bypassed the next time the job is run.

Second, the maximum command length was increased from 512 to 4,096. This huge increase means you’ll likely never run out of space using CL commands.

Third, commands can run on non-System i platforms such as PCs. They can be processed on a single system or a group of systems. When processing commands on a group of systems, each command must complete normally on each system within the group before the next command is processed. The Run Remote Command (RUNRMTCMD) command is being used to issue the commands on the remote systems. RUNRMTCMD allows server users to run a command on a remote system that’s running the target portion of this function. The target portion of this function can be a remote executing daemon (REXECD). The Incoming Remote Command (IRC) service of the IBM System i Access for Windows is recommended on the remote systems to process the commands.

One warning: Commands processed on non-System i platforms may report that the command ended normally even though it didn’t. The main reason is that the REXECD being used doesn’t return the appropriate error-code information to the RUNRMTCMD. The process will produce a spooled file with information about the process that may help to determine whether the command completed normally. AJS can’t use the spooled file to determine job completion because of translation issues and inconsistencies.

To take advantage of this new feature, it’ll be helpful to run through a quick test outside of AJS. First, get the remote system ready to receive commands by setting up the REXECD. Refer to the Information Center regarding the IRC service. You’ll have several choices to make concerning the amount of security you need to allow commands to be processed on the remote computer.

This quick test is for processing commands on a computer running Microsoft Windows requiring virtually no security. IBM System i Access for Windows must be installed on the computer.

From the IBM System i Access for Windows list of options, choose “System i Access for Windows Properties.” Select the Incoming Remote Command tab. The following values for the IRC parameters will let your system accept commands with no authorization. Once you’re familiar with the IRC, you can add any necessary security authorization.

Command mode: Detached
Cache security: Not checked
Allow generic security: Checked
Generic security runs command as logged-on user: Checked
Run as system: Checked
Load user profile when command run in user context: Not checked

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