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Promotion Restrictions, Rules, and Options

Promotion Security

Each promotion level in an application is associated with a security entity, which is defined in your mainframe security system (RACF®, CA-ACF2®, or CA-Top Secret®).

Ask your administrator which promotion levels you have access to for promotion. Find out the procedure you must use to have your package promoted to levels to which you have not been granted promotion privileges.

Promotion Rule

The behavior of the promotion function is governed by the Promotion Rule. Your administrator selected a Promotion Rule for your application, and perhaps for individual promotion levels, that provide the level of management for change packages, components, and promotion libraries that is required by your application.

There are five promotion rules. The following table describes how the Promotion Rule determines the requirements for promoting and demoting packages and components.

Rule Restrictions
0 Full and selective promote and demote are allowed without freezing the package first. Full promote can skip promotion levels. Requires the following sequence to change a promoted package component:
  • Selective unfreeze (only if the package is frozen)
  • Edit
  • Stage (Restage)
  • Selective freeze of the component (only if the package is frozen)
  • Selective promotion to any level up to the package promotion level
1 Package must be frozen for promote and demote. Full promote cannot skip promotion levels. Requires the following sequence to change a promoted package component:
  • Selective demote of the component
  • Selective unfreeze
  • Edit
  • Stage
  • Audit package
  • Selective freeze of the component
  • Selective promotion back to the package promotion level
2 Package must be frozen for promote and demote. Full promote cannot skip promotion levels. Requires the following sequence to change a promoted package component:
  • Selective demote of the component
  • Selective unfreeze
  • Edit
  • Stage
  • Audit package
  • Selective freeze of the component
  • Selective promotion through all intermediate levels to the package promotion level
3 Package must be frozen for promote and demote. Full promote cannot skip promotion levels. Requires the following sequence to change a promoted package component:
  • Full demote of the package
  • Selective unfreeze of the component
  • Edit
  • Stage
  • Audit package
  • Selective freeze of the component
  • Full promotion through all promotion levels up to the original promotion level
4 Package must be frozen for promote and demote. Full promote cannot skip promotion levels. Requires the following sequence to change a promoted package component:
  • Full demote of the package
  • Revert the package to development status
  • Edit
  • Stage
  • Audit package
  • Freeze package
  • Full promotion through all intermediate levels to the package promotion level

Note

The Promotion Rule does not change the requirements for audit. If audit is required before freeze, then audit is required before selective freeze.

Ask your administrator which promotion rule applies to each promotion level that you will use.

Promotion Rule 0

In addition to the requirements listed in the Promotion Rule table above, the relaxed controls for Promotion Rule 0 include:

  • Components that are not ACTIVE that are in library types eligible for promotion are bypassed and a message is displayed.

  • Restaging a component sets the component promotion level to 0. The package promotion level is not changed.

  • Package may be promoted to levels that are not the next contiguous level.

First Promote

When a package is at promotion level 0 (not promoted), special procedures apply to the first promotion action. These procedures, especially in combination with Promotion Rule 0, can be useful for testing individual package components before the entire package is ready for testing.

  • You can selectively promote a component when the change package is at Level 0 (not promoted). A selective promote in these circumstances is labeled a first promote.

  • When all components are promoted to the same level as the first promote, the package promotion level is changed to that level. The package may be fully promoted or demoted from this new level.

  • You cannot promote a package where components have been promoted with first promote until all components are selectively promoted to that level.

General Restrictions And Options

These are general rules for promoting and demoting packages and components:

  • Except for first promote, you cannot selectively promote a component to a promotion level higher than the package promotion level.

  • Except for first promote, the package promotion level is set only by a full promotion. The package promotion level is reset after a full demotion, not after all components have been selectively demoted.

  • A package can not be promoted or demoted until all of the components eligible for promotion are at the package level. You may have to selectively promote or demote components to align components at the package level.

  • A package can not be promoted to its current promotion level. A component can not be selectively promoted to its current promotion level.

  • A package can be fully promoted, or a component can be selectively promoted, to a lower level. The prior level is cleaned up, even if it is a higher level.

  • Your administrator can configure your application to allow a package to be promoted to levels in more than one site at the same time, or they may require you to demote your package in one site before promoting your package in another site.

  • Promotion or demotion for local sites is accomplished in one batch job. Promotion or demotion for remote sites requires three batch jobs, one of which runs at the remote location.

  • All promotion jobs that run on the same MVS image as the user obtain JOB card information from the Promote Options Panel. Promotion jobs that run at remote sites obtain JOB card information from the Site Definition in application administration. If you have access to the remote JES queue, ask your administrator for the JOB name used for each remote site.

Scheduled Promotion/Demotion

You can schedule a package promotion/demotion at a future date or time. These rules apply.

  • You can schedule package promotion/demotion only; ERO promotion cannot be scheduled, nor can any type of demotion.

  • The scheduler holds only one scheduled promotion/demotion request at a time for a package.

  • Anyone with monitor privileges can change or delete the schedule for a scheduled promotion/demotion using the monitor function.

  • When you request a scheduled promotion/demotion for a package, the package must be in a valid promotion/demotion status (DEV, FRZ, APR).

  • If the package contents or status change after you schedule a promotion/demotion, the scheduled promotion/demotion is not changed. You accept the risk that package contents and package status can change between the time that you request the scheduled promotion/demotion and the time that the promotion/demotion is initiated by the scheduler.

  • A scheduled promotion/demotion may be full or selective. For full promotion/demotion, the component list is generated at run time. For selective promotion/demotion, you specify the list of components to be promoted or demoted when you request the scheduled promotion/demotion.

  • The only scheduler available for scheduled promotion/demotion is CMN. The OTHER scheduler is not available for scheduled promotion/demotion, and MANUAL is equivalent to non-scheduled promotion/demotion.