Implementation and Restart/Recovery Considerations

The tableBASE PC Server provides support for running CICS threadsafe transactions which access tableBASE. The tableBASE PC Server support was introduced in Modification Level 7 of tableBASE Release 6.0.2. It also supports a task-end cleanup exit for jobsteps accessing tableBASE.

In order to prevent tableBASE application problems, tableBASE (at Modification Level 7 and above) will not initialize in a CICS region if a PC Server at the same or higher maintenance level is not running when tableBASE is first initialized in a CICS region.

It is intended that the tableBASE PC Server be started at IPL of an LPAR and never stopped. If it is stopped, it should be immediately restarted. Since the PC Server does not execute any code except during its initialization or termination, it will not abend. However, operations or other personnel authorized to stop or cancel jobs on a z/OS system could stop it.

Once the tableBASE PC Server is successfully started, the PC-routine module is resident in memory. This module, which is used by tableBASE transactions, remains in memory and is not released when the PC Server goes down. Therefore, tableBASE transactions running in regions on that LPAR will continue to process tableBASE transactions without problems. (They do not access the PC Server directly; they use the PC-routine module in memory.)

However, if these CICS regions are recycled without the PC Server running, the in-memory PC-routine module will not exist, and therefore tableBASE will not initialize in these regions and no tableBASE transactions will work. The message displayed in these regions will be:

"DK100567E The tableBASE PC Server must be running for tableBASE to initialize."

If the tableBASE PC Server is successfully restarted before the CICS regions are recycled, the in-memory PC-routine will be generated, and any newly recycled CICS regions will access the new copy of the in-memory PC-routine. tableBASE will initialize successfully and tableBASE transactions will work. The existing CICS regions will continue to access the old copy of the in-memory PC-routine and will continue to work.

In order to move from an environment in which no PC Server was running on an LPAR or an older version of the PC Server was running, the following procedures are recommended.