DB2 DIAGNOSE DISPLAY MEPL

DIAGNOSE is a DB2 for z/OS utility that, as the name suggests, is used in diagnosing problems. It generates information that is useful in diagnosing problems. But you should use this utility only under the direction of IBM Software Support staff, except for DIAGNOSE DISPLAY MEPL.

You can use the DISPLAY MEPL even without contacting IBM in the following scenario.

First of all, MEPL is an acronym for Module Entry Point List (MEPL). DIAGNOSE DISPLAY MEPL dumps module entry point lists to SYSPRINT.

Recently, we had an issue with a query after applying the maintenance RSU1304. I opened a SR (Service Request) with IBM and the support staff found a PTF in PE status. It took about 2 months to find a fix and eventually when I applied a PTF to fix the PTF in PE, it didn't work. The query still had the same problem.

IBM asked me to run this utility to find if the PTF is in fact applied to the subsystem that we were testing the query. The SYSPRINT from this utility didn't show the PTF. That's when I realized that the PTF was applied to the maintenance library, but the load module was not copied to the production run time library. After copying the load module from maintenance library to run time library, the query ran good.

Usually I do search the SMPPTS library to see if PTF that was applied recently is found, but that's not foolproof. This method of running the DIAGNOSE DISPLAY MEPL utility looks foolproof. Lesson learnt !!

Here is a sample job to run this utility:

//jobcard
//JOBLIB   DD  DISP=SHR,DSN=SYS2.DB2.DBxx.SDSNLOAD
//STEP0010 EXEC PGM=DSNUTILB,PARM='DBxx,MEPL',REGION=4M
//SYSPRINT DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSUDUMP DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSIN    DD  *
  DIAGNOSE DISPLAY MEPL
/*

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SMP/E Errors

Well, I've been asked to install Omegamon XE for DB2 PM in our shop. I downloaded the required components from the IBM Shop z website and did a SMP/E RECEIVE. When I started the SMP/E APPLY (with CHECK option), I started getting all kinds of errors. I'm new to SMP/E, so I'll try to document what I find from my experience. It might be useful for those novices who have starting doing SMP/E installs.

These are the steps I follow when I install a product or apply maintenance(PTF) on an existing product:

1. If you are applying maintenance on an existing product, use ADRDSSU to backup ALL the datasets related to the product

2. Download the product CBDBO/PTF from IBM Shop z series website to your PC

3. FTP the product/PTF to mainframe

4. If the PTF is in tersed (IBM way of compressing) format, UNTERSE using TRSMAIN program with UNPACK option - if you need a sample job to run TRSMAIN, please put your request in the comment section

5. For new product installs, allocate SMP/E global zone and target/distribution datasets and all other related SMP/E datasets like SMPLOG, SMPPTS, SMPLTS, SMPMTS etc. Usually when you download the product,you'll get a sample job that allocates these datasets and defines them to the appropriate DD names. Go through the Program Directory to find info on the sample job. You may have to talk to your storage administrator about which volume to use for the new datasets.

6. Run SMP/E APPLY job with CHECK option (CHECK option ensures that you do not update any datasets. In our shop we usually install new product in the "base" libraries and all PTFs in the "maintenance" libraries. After installing thePTFs in the maintenance libraries, if everything goes well, we copy them to the base libraries. With the CHECK option you can see which datasets will be updated and if you do see any issue with updating a particular dataset, you can change the DDDEF - DD definition - in SMP/E and resubmit the job with CHECK option)

7. Run SMP/E APPLY job with CHECK option commented.

8. After a satisfactory testing, run SMP/E ACCEPT with CHECK option (this is in most cases not necessary unless you are going to back out any changes - in my little experience, if I've to backout a PTF, I just RESTORE all the datasets from the ADRSSU backup taken before applying the PTF)

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