Performing a Swap-While-Active Role Swap in Robot HA

A swap-while-active role swap allows you to perform a test swap during working hours and continue to update files on the production system.

Before You Begin

Read the following considerations before you perform a swap-while-active role swap.

• Read Preparing for a Role Swap in the Role Swap User Guide. There are several steps you must take to ensure your data is replicated and up-to-date.

• Determine which third-party products you have running on your system that should be ended before attempting to run a role swap. 

• Run a Swap Audit to ensure that you are prepared for a successful role swap.

• Check the Initialize Robot HA (INZRSFHA) command before you attempt this role swap. If *SWAPIP is listed as the role swap type, ensure that when you execute the role swap on the Role Swap panel (option 7, Role Swap Menu from the Robot HA Main Menu. Then, select 10, Role Swap) that the 'Set test flag' field is set to *YES. In this scenario, setting the test flag to *YES will not swap IP and you will be able to run the swap test without the IP address changing.

  *SWAPIP changes the backup system's IP address and system name to match the production system's IP address and system name if the 'Set test flag' field is set to *NO during Role Swap execution. This is useful when the production system goes down during a full role swap, but in a swap-while-active role swap, the production system is not "down," only invisible. Because of this, *SWAPIP with 'Set test flag' set to *NO will attempt to have two systems running with the same IP address and won't allow TCP/IP to start on the backup system.

• The role swap must be run with a QSECOFR-like profile (with *AUDIT authority).

• Decide whether you want to run the role swap interactively or in batch:

  • If running interactively, you must be signed on to the system console.

  • If running in batch, the role swap should be running in a job queue in the controlling subsystem (QBASE or QCTL, for example).

• We recommend you sync library RBTHALIB before attempting a swap-while-active role swap.

• Contact Technical Support to ensure everything is ready on both systems. They'll guide you through the process and make sure the role swap completes successfully.

The Swap-While-Active Role Swap

To perform the role swap:

Make sure all sync jobs have ended, then continue with the following steps.

On the production system:

1. [ ] Sign on as QSECOFR or equivalent.

2. [ ] From the Robot HA Main Menu, select option 2, Control Menu.

3. [ ] Select option 6 to end audit monitor.

4. [ ] Select option 4 to end all synchronization jobs.

5. [ ] Select option 2 to end the TCP/IP servers.

The production system should now be invisible to the backup system because the communication link has been ended (Step 5 above).

On the backup system:

1. [ ] Sign off the system prior to running the role swap. This releases any locks you might have from working in the product.

2. [ ] Select option 7, Role Swap Menu from the Robot HA Main Menu. Then, select 10, Role Swap.

3. [ ] Do the following on the Role Swap to Production panel:

   1. [ ] Choose whether you want to run the role swap from the system console, or specify *YES for Run in batch to submit the job to a job queue.

   2. [ ] If you want to flag the role swap as a test run, change Set test flag to *YES. Otherwise, leave the default as *NO. The option *NOCHG uses the value specified during the last role swap (this is helpful if your role swap needs to be restarted).

      Specifying *YES allows you to run different system startup programs, since it's flagged as a test role swap instead of a real one.

   3. [ ] Specify *YES for Are you sure?, otherwise the role swap won't proceed.

   4. [ ] Press Enter. This swaps the backup system to the production role.

4. [ ] After submitting the role swap, watch for messages in the following places:

   • If running interactively, the messages will show up on the screen or in your interactive joblog.

   • If running in batch, watch for messages in QSYSOPR until the swap completes successfully.

5. [ ] Then, ensure the TCP/IP server has started and subsystem RSFHA is active. You may need to start them manually.

   • To check the server, navigate to the Control Menu and view the "TCP/IP Server is" status.

   • To check the subsystem, execute the WRKSBS command and look for RSFHA in the list of subsystems.

When the role swap completes, users can sign on. The production system should be hidden (the communication link was ended), and the backup system is in the production role.

Verify your data is correct. It is recommended that you do not allow changes to the backup system (currently in the production role) during the test.

To end the role swap:

On the system in the production role or the backup system in the production role:

1. [ ] Sign off the system prior to running the role swap. This releases any locks you might have from working in the product.

2. [ ] On the system in the production role or the backup system in the production role, execute the following command to clear the RSFUSER job queue and remove any synchronization jobs that might not have been submitted in a previous step:

   CLRJOBQ JOBQ(RSFUSER/RSFHA) LOG(*NONE)

   This ensures that any journal changes made on the backup system during the swap-while-active role swap aren't applied to the production system.

3. [ ] Select option 7, Role Swap Menu from the Robot HA Main Menu. Then, select 10, Role Swap.

4. [ ] Do the following on the Role Swap to Backup panel:

   1. [ ] Choose whether you want to run the role swap from the system console, or specify *YES for Run in batch to submit the job to a job queue.

   2. [ ] Specify *YES for Are you sure?, otherwise the role swap won't proceed.

   3. [ ] Press Enter. This swaps the system back to the backup role.

5. [ ] After submitting the role swap, watch for messages in the following places:

   • If running interactively, the messages will show up on the screen or in your interactive joblog.

   • If running in batch, watch for messages in QSYSOPR until the swap completes successfully.

6. [ ] Then, ensure the TCP/IP server has started and subsystem RSFHA is active. You may need to start them manually.

   • To check the server, navigate to the Control Menu and view the "TCP/IP Server is" status.

   • To check the subsystem, execute the WRKSBS command and look for RSFHA in the list of subsystems.

7. [ ] Job queue RSFUSER/RSFHA is automatically placed on hold after a role swap. To resume synchronization, release the job queue by executing the RLSJOBQ RSFUSER/RSFHA command.

8. [ ] After you release the job queue, sign off the system.

On the production system:

Return to the hidden production system and restart it using the following steps:

1. [ ] Sign on to the system.

2. [ ] From the Robot HA Main Menu, select option 2, Control Menu.

3. [ ] Select option 1 to start the TCP/IP server.

4. [ ] Select option 3 to start all synchronization jobs.

5. [ ] Select option 5 to start the audit monitor.

On the backup system:

1. [ ] Sign on and open .

2. [ ] From the Main Menu, select option 2, Control Menu.

3. [ ] Select option 1 to start the server, option 3 to restart all synchronization jobs, and option 5 to restart the audit monitor.

When you're finished, the systems should be in their normal roles again.