Prepare 44 release pkgs with ASC

Supporting a customer through a fairly significant release of ChangeMan ZMF via ASC was a breeze. The actual release consisted of 44 ChangeMan ZMF packages (and the ERO-option was not available). Compared to their predecessors which took literally days for a similar "release" and still managed to make a slew of mistakes along the way, executing the solution took a mere 12 minutes. It was handled by the deployment team, who didn't even fully grasp the intricacies of what was happening behind the scenes (i.e. the numerous XML requests triggered via ASC to orchestrate, in the correct order, ChangeMan ZMF lifecycle functions such as audit, freeze, approve, etc.).

Deployment Team's ChangeMan ZMF Package Preparation Workflow

That afternoon, the deployment team completed all necessary preparation steps for 44 ChangeMan ZMF packages to be approved and installed the following day during the standard release window. The list of ChangeMan ZMF packages, presented in CSV format, was generated using an SBM report. The workflow for each of these packages included:

  • Checking the status of each pkg, which could be either DEV or FRZ (pkgs with any other status were ignored).

  • Ensuring that none of the DEV-pkgs still contained comps in statuses other than ACTIVE (if so: skip those pkgs).

  • For DEV pkgs, perform an update install date to 20230916 for each selected (between 1 and 3) remote site (like the U7-cmd).

  • For FRZ pkgs, perform an update install date to 20230916 for each selected (between 1 and 3) remote site (like the U7-cmd). However, according to CMN/ZMF rules, each of these pkgs required prior unfreezing (like the F3-cmd) and subsequent refreezing (like the F3-cmd).

  • Launch an audit for each of the selected DEV-pkgs (like the AP-cmd).

  • Verify the audit RC, and for those pkgs with audit RC=12, reset the audit RC to 03 (yes, we know it would be much better to really solve the audit RC=12, but the CMN/ZMF users were not prepared for that specific enforcement rule, hence our RC=03 compromise). For pkgs with RC above 12, skip them from further processing (no such pkgs in this case).

  • For all audited pkgs (which at this point have an audit RC of max 08, which is considered acceptable), perform a FRZ of these pkgs (to get the Xnodes created).

Below is a partial screenshot displaying the 44 processed packages.

DEV#B                         Change Package List            Row 1 to 19 of 44 
 Command ===>                                                  Scroll ===> CSR  
                                                                                
    Package     Sta Install  Lvl  Type  Work request Dept Promote    Aud Creator 
    FZP 001788  FRZ 20230916 PART PL/PE R7.1.COPY    DFR  00          03 ABM6013 
    FZP 001792  FRZ 20230916 SMPL PL/PE R7.1.JCL     DFR  10 PROMITF  00 ABM6013 
    FZP 001793  FRZ 20230916 SMPL PL/PE R7.1.DDL     DFR  10 PROMITF  00 ABM6013 
    FZP 001807  FRZ 20230916 PART PL/PE R7.1.SW PROD DFR  00          03 ABM6013 
    GST 000222  FRZ 20230916 SMPL PL/PE DDL 16092023      01 PROMDEV  00 ABM6196 
    GEH 005388  FRZ 20230916 SMPL PL/PE STD_T2S_XXX  BDE  09 PROMNFT  00 ABM6028 
    GEH 005421  FRZ 20230916 SMPL PL/PE STD_T2S_XXX  BDE  09 PROMNFT  04 ABM6214 
…
    STV 003036  FRZ 20230916 PART PL/PE R7.1 V23     BDE  10 PROMITF  03 ABM6171 
    STV 003059  FRZ 20230916 SMPL PL/PE STD_T2S_XXX  BDE  10 PROMITF  03 ABM6214 
    STV 000406  FRZ 20230916 PART PL/PE R7.1 V18     BDE  10 PROMITF  03 ABM6028 
    STV 000410  FRZ 20230916 PART PL/PE R7.1 V20     BDE  10 PROMITF  03 ABM6204 
    STV 000687  FRZ 20230916 PART PL/PE R7.1 V20     BDE  10 PROMITF  03 ABM6204 
    STV 000689  FRZ 20230916 PART PL/PE R7.1 V21     BDE  10 PROMITF  03 ABM6204 
 ******************************* Bottom of data ********************************   

Unveiling the Magic: Achieving Efficiency in 12 Minutes

What's not evident above is the magic behind accomplishing the task within a mere 12 minutes. Here is a partial view of the relevant "AbitMORE SCM Auditor" report (not to be confused with ChangeMan ZMF’s audit of a pkg), showcasing all the tasks (XML requests) executed during that brief timeframe (between 150244 and 151429):

 ASR1       ABM3143.ABM.SCM.AUDITOR.RESULTS                 Columns 00001 00072 
 Command ===>                                                  Scroll ===> CSR  
 ****** ***************************** Top of Data ******************************
 000001 20230915<1502441203<07<ABM2081 <FZP 001788<S2DEV        SITE/UPDATE/PKG 
 000002 20230915<1502443312<07<ABM2081 <FZP 001788<S2PRD        SITE/UPDATE/PKG 
 000003 20230915<1502445294<07<ABM2081 <FZP 001788<S2USR        SITE/UPDATE/PKG 
 000004 20230915<1502447112<07<ABM2081 <FZP 001792<S2USR        SITE/UPDATE/PKG 
 000005 20230915<1502450629<07<ABM2081 <FZP 001792<S2PRD        SITE/UPDATE/PKG 
 000006 20230915<1502452908<07<ABM2081 <FZP 001793<S2USR        SITE/UPDATE/PKG 
 000007 20230915<1502454475<07<ABM2081 <FZP 001793<S2PRD        SITE/UPDATE/PKG 
 - - -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -   611 Line(s) not Displayed 
 000619 20230915<1514190142<07<ABM2081 <IVV 000579<PACKAGE/UPDATE/USR_RECS      
 000620 20230915<1514190646<07<ABM2081 <IVV 000581<PACKAGE/UPDATE/USR_RECS      
 000621 20230915<1514191538<07<ABM2081 <IVV 000598<PACKAGE/UPDATE/USR_RECS      
 000622 20230915<1514192324<07<ABM2081 <IVV 000599<PACKAGE/UPDATE/USR_RECS      
 000623 20230915<1514296500<07<ABM2081 <IVV 000600<PACKAGE/UPDATE/USR_RECS      
 ****** **************************** Bottom of Data **************************** 

For further insight into the aforementioned tasks, delve into the executed jobs below:

DSLIST  VIEW      CHGMAN.B.RLC.JCL                      Row 0000001 of 0000006 
 Command ===>                                                  Scroll ===> CSR  
          Name      Prompt       Size  Created          Changed         ID   
_________ RLC1PKGS                362  2022/09/16  2023/09/15 15:01:56  ABM2081
_________ RLC2DATE                568  2022/09/16  2023/09/15 15:03:15  ABM2081
_________ RLC4AUDT                280  2022/09/14  2023/09/15 15:03:56  ABM2081
_________ RLC5AUDC                139  2022/09/15  2023/09/15 15:04:33  ABM2081
_________ RLC6AUDR                149  2022/09/16  2023/09/15 15:10:49  ABM2081
_________ RLC7FRZE                234  2022/09/16  2023/09/15 15:11:08  ABM2081
           **End**                                                                

Each of these jobs take advantage of the so-called batch interface to AbitMORE SCM Commander, whereas the real magic to get the job done came from ASC’s capabilities, which include lots of improvements to ChangeMan ZMF’s powerful XML services. At its core, these improvements are all about ASC’s unique basket processing capabilities, which makes it possible for the output of a FIRST XML service, to be used as input for another (2ND, 3RD, …) XML service.

Importantly, this functionality remains largely independent of the ChangeMan ZMF release or patch level (because it’s all based on some popular XML services, which are compatible with any release of ChangeMan ZMF).

Later that same afternoon, we received a chat message from the user who completed all the aforementioned steps within those 12 minutes, unaware that ASC was the tool being used. They simply stated: “Your tool worked perfectly.”


Ready to experience efficiency like never before?

Are you curious about how ASC managed to accomplish all this? Or do you have any inquiries about the inner workings of the jobs that invoke the batch interface to ASC? Implementing (not just installing) a fully functional ASC trial license in your environment, only takes a few hours, let's say half a day. Should you decide to continue using it, converting to a permanent license would be a matter of minutes.

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