
README.TXT for CICS OS/2 V2.0 - 24 September 1993.
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This file documents the latest updates to the CICS OS/2 system.



  ************************************************************************
  *                                                                      *
  *        IMPORTANT      IMPORTANT      IMPORTANT      IMPORTANT        *
  *        ---------      ---------      ---------      ---------        *
  *                                                                      *
  *   A problem may occur starting CICS OS/2 on some systems. The        *
  *   symptom is a system wait of about 5 minutes during initialization. *
  *   The system will recover and operate correctly.                     *
  *                                                                      *
  *   The bypass is to update the default Btrieve value for the          *
  *   'Maximum number of cursors'. This value, for the supplied system,  *
  *   should be increased from 60 to at least 500. For systems with      *
  *   additional files and more tasks defined this number will require   *
  *   to be higher.                                                      *
  *                                                                      *
  *   Instructions on how to update the value are provided below.        *
  *                                                                      *
  ************************************************************************



Additional information on the CICS OS/2 internal file manager, Btrieve
version 6.15 from Novell.

Btrieve is discussed in Chapters 6 and 7 of the CICS OS/2 Operations
manual.

Starting the File manager.

  When CICS OS/2 is initiated it normally starts the file manager
  automatically. On occasions it may be necessary to start the file
  manager manually, for example, to change the default value of an option.
  To start the file manager set the current directory to the
  \CICS200\BIN directory and type the following at an OS/2 prompt.

    START BTRIEVE

  When the file manager initialises it will display a logo panel, click on
  the OK pushbutton or press Enter to display the control panel.

File manager Home directory.

  The CICS OS/2 installation procedure allocates a directory, \BTRIEVE, on
  the boot drive. This directory is known as the HOME directory.
  This directory may be moved to an alternative drive and also renamed to
  another name.  If it is necessary to change the directory Btrieve must
  be manually started and the home directory named in the 'Activities'
  pull down option.
  The Home directory normally contains the specified file manager options
  in a file named 'NOVDB.INI' and the manager's log file.

Modifying the default Brieve options.

  The OPTIONS pulldown menu contains items for setting the initialization
  options. Options may only be changed when CICS OS/2 is not active. In
  addition, the file manager must be stopped and restarted before any
  changes take effect.
  A common problem when changing the Btrieve options is not to save the
  values. After any options have been modified they should be saved by
  selecting the  'Save current settings' from the OPTIONS pulldown. The
  named home directory must exist before the values may be saved.

File Manager options.

  These are discussed in the Operations manual.

  However, the following options need careful review.

  Initialization.

  The CICS system may fail to successfully initialise if the values of the
  following options are too small.

  - Maximum open files.
    Ensure the value of this option is at least 10 higher than the number
    of files defined in the file control table (FCT).
  - Maximum number of cursors.
    The recommended value for this option is the maximum number of tasks
    defined in the System Initialization table (SIT) plus one, multiplied
    by the number of files defined in the file control table (FCT).
    Experience has shown, on some hardware systems, this calculated number
    is insufficient and should be increased by 100. If this number is too
    small the system may wait for about 5 minutes during initialization.
  - Number of Btrieve worker threads.
    The minimum value for this should be 10.
  - Number of I/O threads.
    See the Operation's guide, chapter 6, for recommended values. We suggest
    the minimum value for this should be 10.

  File integrity.

  The Transaction durability option, if selected, will force the file
  manager to write the data to disk before returning to the application
  program.  If this option is not selected any committed data is held in
  the file manager's cache buffer prior to writing the data to disk, thus
  if a system failure occurs prior to the cache buffer being flushed data
  may be lost. Note, there may be a performance degradation if this option
  is selected.


Environment variable.

  The file manager uses an environment variable BTRINTF to locate its home
  directory. This variable is set, by the CICSENV command file, to the
  \BIN sub-directory of the CICS system.

      eg    'SET BTRINTF=/H:'cicsdir'\BIN'

  where cicsdir is the drive and path of the CICS system.



File Manager Utilities.

BUTIL.

  This is a general purpose utility to manipulate Btrieve files and is
  documented in Chapter 6 of the CICS Operations manual.

  The environment variable BRQPARMS is provided to override the default
  BUTIL record size. This is necessary if the file manager memory option
  'maximum record size' has a value of less than 57000. If this value is
  less than Butil's maximum record size, default 57000, status 97 will
  occur. To set Butil's maximum record size specify the environment
  variable BRQPARMS.

  eg  set BRQPARMS=/d:16500

  NOTE: CICS OS/2 supports a maximum file record size of 32767.


PBROLL.

  This utility is provided to recover a Btrieve file from a back up copy
  and the log file. It is documented in Chapter 6 of the CICS Operations
  manual.

  The manual documents the steps necessary to create a log file as:

  - Create the log configuration file, BLOG.CFG
  - Back up your data files before logging begins.

  In addition, logging requires to be activated by selecting the 'Log all
  operations' option in the Control panel.



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