IBM i Installation - Installation Requirements

Owned by Stonebranch
Jun 19, 2023
5 min read

Currently, IBM i runs Workload Automation 5.1.1.   These pages provide information for that version.

System Requirements

The requirements for installation of Workload Automation 5 for IBM i are:

  • IBM i V5R4M0 or above.
  • TCP/IP.
  • User profile with *ALLOBJ, *SPLCTL, *JOBCTL, and *SECADM authorities.
  • About 360 megabytes of disk space.
  • Network-attached workstation.
  • PTF SI27629 installed on V5R4 systems.
    For additional information, see the documentation for APAR SE28859 and PTF SI27629 at both:
    • https://www\-912.ibm.com/n\_dir/nas4apar.nsf/aaf5d88f9cc2ee10862571020058635c/a2b5a3b3ac874a9d862572d8003c7457?OpenDocument&Highlight=2,QGYOLJBL
    • https://www\-912.ibm.com/a\_dir/as4ptf.nsf/c2fd98f5d2eccb83862574ce00520341/7529dd654f63941b862572eb00581099?OpenDocument

The Workload Automation 5 for IBM i installation process creates a product user profile, UNVUBR511, that is given *ALLOBJ special authority. UNVUBR511, with *ALLOBJ special authority, is required to successfully complete the installation.

Note

Some organizations and companies require the removal of *ALLOBJ authority from non-administrative user profiles. Workload Automation may be configured to run without *ALLOBJ authority; however, to do so requires additional administrative overhead. The steps required to remove product *ALLOBJ authority are described in Universal Broker Security.

The *BASE option contains the complete installation. This includes all of the components and utilities listed above.

Platform Requirements

Since platform requirements may change with new releases of a product, please consult the Platform Support for Universal Controller 7.2.x and Universal Agent 7.2.x page to make sure that your platform is supported before performing an installation.

Libraries and Logs

Under the IBM i native file system, Workload Automation write to product files residing in various libraries and write information to job logs.

This section specifies the following information for various libraries and logs:

  • Estimated amount of space required
  • Required security access
  • Location of the production files

Universal Broker Job Log

Under IBM i, Universal Broker writes its messages to the UBROKER job log.

Space

Job log file growth is dependent on use of the Workload Automation Servers. The disposition and size of the job log depends on the job definition as well as system variables QJOBMSGQMX (maximum job log size) and QJOBMSGQFL (action when job log is full).

Security

Since Universal Broker uses a normal job log, no special security is required.

Command Reference Library

Universal Command Server can execute commands of type cmdref. A command reference is a predefined command or script to which the Universal Command Manager refers by its file name.

The default command reference library name is UNVCMDREF. For security reasons, the name of this library can be changed only via the Universal Command Server configuration, located in the UNVCONF file and UCMDS member. The configuration file entry has precedence over the default value. If the name is changed to something other than the default or configured value, Universal Command Manager will no longer be able to read the command reference files; it will generate appropriate error messages if an attempt is made to do so.

Space

The amount of space is dependent solely on the number of command reference files defined.

Security

Universal Command Server requires read access to the UNVCMDREF library files. Administrator accounts require appropriate access in order to maintain the command reference files. No general user access is required.

Trace File Location Library

Universal Broker and its server components (for example, Universal Command Server) create product trace files when configured to do so. A trace file is used by Stonebranch, Inc. Customer Support to resolve product problems.

On IBM i, Workload Automation trace files normally are written to *CURLIB (current library). Under Universal Broker and the associated servers, the current library is the temporary library designated at installation time (UNVTMP511).

Otherwise, current library is the default current library of the user.

Space

Trace files can grow to significant size, depending on how long the trace is active and how much work the program is doing during the tracing period. Due to the information associated with IBM i pointers and fact that physical database files are fixed record lengths, trace files quickly can grow very large on a system with high Universal Broker and server activity.

If the trace file size is increased beyond 500,000 records, the maximum file size must be changed or the associated job will hang. The hang results from a system generated inquiry message, which is issued when the maximum file size is exceeded. By default, trace files wrap before reaching the maximum file size, thus avoiding the system inquiry message.

The MAX_TRACE_LINES configuration option sets the number of records at which the trace file wrapping occurs. When the maximum size is reached, the trace file will wrap to the beginning.

No space is required under normal operation for trace files. Trace files are requested by Stonebranch, Inc. Customer Support only for problem resolution. When trace files are required, at least 40MB of disk space should be available.

Security

The UNVUBR511 user profile requires at least *CHANGE authority to the UNVTMP511 library to create and use the Universal Broker and server trace files. No general user access is required.

Spool Library

The spool library is used to store the following types of information:

  • Execution information for Workload Automation components started by Universal Broker, UBR_CMP_DB.
  • Universal Command Server status, SRV_CMP_DB.
  • Redirected standard I/O files (stdin, stdout, and stderr) captured by Universal Command when run with manager fault tolerance enabled.

Spool files are stored in the UNVSPL511 library.

Space

The spool files are located in the UNVSPL511 library. The amount of disk space required for the spool directory depends on these factors:

  1. Number of spooling user processes that will be executing simultaneously.
    A user process is created for each command requested by a Universal Command Manager. The default maximum number is 50. Once a user process ends and a Manager has received all the spool files, the spool files themselves are deleted.
  2. Average number of records of the user processes for standard input, output, and error files.
    Each record is 32764 bytes in length. Keep in mind that spooling is not intended as a feature for file transfer purposes. File transfer related processes should execute without spooling enabled.

Once these numbers are determined, the average amount of disk space is calculated with the following formula:

MAX-PROCESSES x AVERAGE NUMBER-OF-REC0RDS x 32764 = required disk space.

As an example, if the maximum number simultaneous user processes is estimated at 20 and the average number of records in files is 1,000 bytes, the average amount of required disk space is 655MB (20 x 1000 x 32764).

The Universal Command Server is configured with spooling disabled to prevent unintentional disk utilization. The feature must be turned on through the ALLOW_SPOOLING configuration settings.

Further details on the Manager Fault Tolerant feature and the spooling of redirected standard I/O files can be found in the Universal Agent 7.3.x User Guide.

Security

The UNVUBR511 user profile requires at least *CHANGE authority to the UNVSPL511 library to create and use the spool files. No general user access is required.

No other Workload Automation 5 for IBM i components access the spool library.