How does it Work?

When you request remote promotion, ChangeMan ZMF constructs execution JCL based on the administration fields that you specified. (You can have execution JCL libraries similar to the installation JCL libraries.) Next, it invokes your transmission vehicle (IEBCOPY, Connect:Direct, etc.) to transmit the execution JCL library and copies of any needed Staging data sets to the remote system (site). Then, it uses the remote site’s internal reader to invoke jobs (in the execution JCL library) to copy members from the Staging to the remote promotion libraries. After these jobs complete, ChangeMan ZMF ‘cleans up’ the execution JCL and staging libraries at the remote site. When it returns successfully, ChangeMan ZMF copies the staging library members to the shadow library on the originating site (a shadow library as a duplicate or copy of what exists on the remote site). Next, it ‘cleans up’ the execution JCL that resides on that site. Finally, it notifies the user of the success or failure of the promotion request and updates the package master.

At installation time, ChangeMan ZMF only needs to transmit execution JCL to the remote site. This is because the execution JCLs sole function is to delete members. (This is similar to demotion). So, ChangeMan ZMF cleans up your promotion libraries at the remote site, as well as the shadow libraries that reside on the originating site. This means that if your remote site is only a test site, but you want it to simulate your production site, you must install ChangeMan ZMF on the test site. By doing this, you ‘synch up’ your production libraries. If you do not want to install ChangeMan ZMF on the test site and you do not want to ‘clean up’ the test promotion libraries, you must edit the installation skeletons to remove this functionality.

As delivered, the only program that is required at the remote site is CMNDELRN. This program must reside in an APF authorized library. The skeletons can be changed to use CMNxxxx or SERxxxx programs also, but that would also require those programs to be in an APF authorized library.