Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 1: Introduction

This document is for schedulers and operators who define, schedule, monitor, and
control workload using Autosys. The concepts in this document can
also help application programmers or developers who create custom applications to
work with Autosys.


This User Guide is a supplement to the Reference Guide and provides overview topics
and concepts. It also contains step-by-step procedures to help you define basic jobs.
The Reference Guide provides detailed information about commands, attributes, and JIL
(Job Information Language) syntax.


To use this document, you must be familiar with the operating system(s) where the jobs
run and any third-party products or software technology that the jobs use.



Automated Job Control : 

Autosys is an automated job control system for scheduling,
monitoring, and reporting.

A job is any single command, executable, script, or batch file. These jobs can reside on
any configured machine that is attached to a network. Corresponding job definitions
contain attributes that define the job properties, including the conditions specifying
when and where a job should run.

As with most control systems, there are many ways to correctly define and implement
jobs. It is likely that the way you use Autosys to address your
distributed computing needs will evolve over time. As you become more familiar with

the product features and the characteristics of your jobs, you can refine your use of Autosys.

Agents and Agent Plug-ins:

Agents are the key integration components of CA Technologies workload automation 

products. Agents let you automate, monitor, and manage workload on all major 

platforms, applications, and databases. To run workload on a particular system, you 

install an agent on that system. If your workload must run on a UNIX computer, for 

example, you can install and configure the CA WA Agent for UNIX. The agent lets you 

run UNIX scripts, execute UNIX commands, transfer files using FTP, monitor file activity 

on the agent computer, and perform many other tasks. 

You can extend the functionality of the agent by installing one or more agent plug-ins in 

the agent installation directory. If you have a relational database such as Oracle, for 

example, you can install a database agent plug-in to query and monitor the database. 

Other agent plug-ins are also available. For more information about agent plug-ins, see 

the Implementation Guide for the appropriate agent plug-in. 

Example: Workload with Different Types of Jobs 

The following workload contains z/OS jobs, a UNIX job, an SAP job, and a Windows job, 

running on different computers, in different locations, and at different times: 

agentparm.txt File :

The agent is installed with a configuration file named agentparm.txt. Some of the 

parameters in this file control the properties and behavior of job types. Your agent 

administrator can add and modify the parameters as required. 

Legacy Agent Replaced by CA Workload Automation Agent 

The CA Workload Automation Agent for UNIX, Linux, or Windows replaces the Remote 

Agent (auto_remote) that was provided with Unicenter AutoSys JM 4.5.1 and r11. The 

Release 11.3.6 documentation refers to auto_remote as the legacy agent. 

The new agent provides additional job types, including monitoring and FTP jobs. The 

agent is automatically installed on the computer where CA Workload Automation AE is 

installed. You can also install the agent on remote computers to run jobs on those 

computers. 

Jobs :

In the Autosys  environment, a job is a single action that can be 

performed on a valid agent computer. For example, on UNIX, you can run a script, issue 

a command, transfer files using FTP, and monitor file activity and processes on the agent 

computer. Similarly, on Windows, you can run an executable or batch file, issue a 

command, transfer files using FTP, and monitor files or processes. To run a job, you 

must create a job definition that specifies what the job does, when it runs, and where it 

runs. 

Events :

Autosys is event-driven. An event instructs the scheduler to initiate 

a specific action. The scheduler completes the action unless doing so violates internal 

rules or the event is not applicable. Autosys  server components 

internally generate certain events in certain circumstances, but you can also manually 

generate events using the sendevent command. 

Alarms :

Alarms are special events that notify operators of situations requiring their attention. 

The system issues alarms by internally generating an event, but these events are 

informational only. To resolve the issue that triggers an alarm, initiate the required 

action using the sendevent command. 

Some problems do not trigger the scheduler to generate an alarm. For example, when a 

problem quickly resolves itself without manual intervention. Sometimes, you need to 

notify someone to follow up on such problems so that they do not recur. In these cases, 

use the sendevent command to generate an alarm manually. 

The scheduler records alarms in the ujo_alarm table. The ujo_alarm table uses numeric 

codes to represent alarms. The numeric codes are resolved using the ujo_intcodes table. 

For information about alarms and other events.

Utilities :

Autosys uses its own specification language (JIL) and client utilities 

to help you define, control, and report on jobs. The JIL language is processed by the JIL 

client executable, which reads and interprets the JIL statements that you enter and then 

performs the appropriate actions. 

Autosys  also provides client programs for controlling and reporting 

on jobs. For example, the autorep command lets you generate a variety of reports about 

job execution, and the sendevent command lets you manually control job processing. 

Additional utilities are provided to help you troubleshoot, run monitors and reports, and 

start and stop Autosys  and its components. Autosys  also provides a database maintenance utility that runs daily by default. 

Commands :

CA Workload Automation AE(Autosys) commands let you define, monitor, and manage workload, 

and configure and control the system. 

The following commands start CA Workload Automation AE: 

■ as_server—Runs the application server. 

■ event_demon—Represents the binary (the scheduler) that runs CA Workload 

Automation AE. 

■ eventor—Starts the scheduler (the event demon). This command applies to UNIX 

only. 

The following commands maintain databases: 

■ archive_events—Archives data from the database to a flat file. 

■ archive_jobs—Deletes obsolete job versions from the database. 

■ autotimezone—Queries, adds, and deletes entries in the ujo_timezones table. 

■ autotrack—Tracks changes, such as job definition changes, sendevent calls, and job 

overrides, to the database. 

■ clean_files—Deletes old agent log files. This command applies to the legacy agent 

only. 

■ DBMaint—Runs the dbstatistics and archive_events commands to perform 

maintenance on the CA Workload Automation AE database. 

■ dbspace—Calculates and reports the disk space used by the CA Workload 

Automation AE database tables. 

■ dbstatistics—Generates statistics in the data servers to maintain an optimal 

performance environment. 

The following commands manage security: 

■ as_config—Manages the encryption keys for the application server and for CA 

Workload Automation Agent for UNIX, Linux, or Windows. 

■ as_safetool—Maintains authentication certificates and installs or removes CA EEM 

security policies. 

■ autosec_test—Simulates a call to the security subsystem. 

■ autosys_secure—Defines security settings. 

The following commands check system status: 

■ as_info—Returns installation information to standard output. 

■ autoflags—Returns system information. 

■ autoping—Verifies server and agent communication. 

■ chk_auto_up—Determines whether the application server, scheduler, and event 

server are running. 

■ time0—Calculates internal CA Workload Automation AE time. 

The following commands manage assets, such as jobs, machines, and calendars: 

■ astail—Displays the last 10 lines of a file. This command applies to UNIX only. 

■ autocal_asc—Adds, deletes, prints, exports, and imports calendars. 

■ autoprofm—(Windows only) Converts your profiles from a previous release of CA 

Workload Automation AE to a file format that works with the CA Workload 

Automation Agent. 

■ cron2jil—Converts UNIX crontab data to a JIL script or calendar file. This command 

applies to UNIX only. 

■ jil—Runs the Job Information Language processor that interprets the subcommands 

that add, update, and delete jobs, machines, monitors, and browsers (reports). 

The following commands monitor jobs and report job status: 

■ autoaggr—Generates reports based on the aggregated job, alarm, and scheduler 

statistics retrieved from the database. 

■ autorep—Reports information about jobs, user-defined job types, external 

instances, machines, virtual resources, and global variables defined in the database. 

■ autostatad—Reports the status of a CA AutoSys Workload Automation Adapter job 

to standard output. 

■ autostatus—Reports the status of a job or the value of a global variable to standard 

output. 

■ chase—Determines which jobs are in a STARTING or RUNNING state. The chase 

command also verifies the agent is running. 

■ forecast—Reports future job flow. 

■ job_depends—Generates detailed reports of job dependencies and conditions. 

■ monbro—Runs a monitor or report and returns the results to standard output. 

■ autosyslog—Displays the scheduler, application server, or agent log file for a 

specified job. 

The following command sends event commands: 

■ sendevent—Sends events to the scheduler. 

The following command provides integration with CA Service Desk: 

■ auto_svcdesk—Opens CA Service Desk tickets on behalf of a job or an action that 

may occur on CA Workload Automation AE.

Issue a Command on UNIX 

You issue commands to define, monitor, and manage workload. You can also issue 

commands to configure and control CA Workload Automation AE. For example, you can 

issue the jil command to define jobs and the autosys_secure command to define 

security settings. 

Note: The CA Workload Automation AE client must be installed on the computer where 

you want to issue commands. Before you can issue a command, ensure that your 

administrator has completed the following: 

■ Run the autosys.shellname.mymachine script for your shell program to source the 

environment. 

■ Defined your UNIX user ID and password on CA Workload Automation AE. 

Follow these steps: 

1. Run the shell that is sourced to use CA Workload Automation AE. 

2. Enter the command at the UNIX operating system prompt. 

The command is issued. 

Note: For more information about CA Workload Automation AE commands and their 

syntax, see the Reference Guide. You can also view the help for the commands by using 

the UNIX man command. For example, to view the reference page for the sendevent 

command, enter man sendevent at the command prompt. If you do not see the 

sendevent man page, check that the MANPATH environment variable is set correctly. 

This variable is usually set in the $AUTOUSER/autosys.shell.hostname files (for example, 

$AUTOUSER/autosys.ksh.myhostname). These files set up the CA Workload Automation 

AE environment. 

Issue a Command on Windows 

You issue commands to define, monitor, and manage workload. You can also issue 

commands to configure and control CA Workload Automation AE. For example, you can 

issue the jil command to define jobs and the autosys_secure command to define 

security settings. 

Note: The CA Workload Automation AE client must be installed on the computer where 

you want to issue commands. The client installs the CA Workload Automation AE 

Command Prompt, which is required to run commands. You cannot use the MS-DOS 

command prompt. 

Follow these steps: 

1. Click Start, All Programs, CA, Enterprise Workload Automation, Command 

Prompt(instance_name). 

The CA Workload Automation AE command prompt opens. The command prompt 

presets all the environment variables for the instance. 

2. Enter the command. 

The command is issued. 

Security 

CA Workload Automation AE includes features that let you secure objects such as jobs, 

calendars, cycles, global variables, machines, and resources. You can delegate 

administrative privileges to these objects to specific users or user groups. 

For more information about data encryption and system-level, native, or external 

security, see the CA Workload Automation Security Guide. 

For additional information about configuring encryption between CA Workload 

Automation AE and agents, see the UNIX Implementation Guide and Windows 

Implementation Guide.