Remote
Software FacilityRemote
Software Facility
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Remote Journaling. Remote
journaling is now supported for libraries and IFS directories. Choose
between remote and local journaling on a library-by-library and
directory-by-directory basis simply by changing one option. The rest
is automatic. All local and remote journals and journal receivers are
created automatically by RSF.
Disadvantages of remote journaling:
(HA version only.) |
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Improved Status Display. The Work
With Sync Attributes (WRKRSFSA) display has been enhanced:
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Replication Setup Commands. Four new commands have been added to help with replication setup: |
Display Cross-Lib Dependencies (DSPDBRRSF). Use this command to display or print a list of files which have dependent files in a different library. The classic case is a logical file in library A that is based on a physical file in library B.
Display Library Size (DSPLIBRSF). Use this command to display or print a list of libraries in descending order by size.
Display Journaling Status (DSPJRNRSF). Use this command to display or print the journaling status for one or more libraries. This is an easy way to see what journals are being used by what libraries.
Create Sync Subsystem (CRTSYNCSBS). This command will create a subsystem and all related objects needed for running replication jobs efficiently.
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Flexible Sync Interval. You can
now change the synchronization interval on the fly. New parameters on
the Change Library Sync Attributes (CHGRSFSA), Change System Sync Attributes
(CHGRSFSSA) and Change IFS Sync Attributes (CHGRSFISA) commands let you
associate a synchronization interval with each item. Then, specify *ATTR
for the sync interval on the commands that start synchronization to get the
sync interval from the attributes for the item being synchronized.
Changing the interval on the sync attributes will take effect at the next
cycle; no need to restart a synchronization job in order to change the
interval. |
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New Check Journal Usage Command.
The new Check Journal Usage (CHKJRNRSF) helps you determine the oldest
journal receiver still in use by RSF-HA and the synchronization entry that
is using it. Run the command from any command line or key option 18
beside an item on the Work With Sync Attributes (WRKRSFSA) display. |
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Additional Role Swap Model Programs.
Two new role swap model programs are provided to handle role swaps where the
source and target IP addresses do not change. See members SWAPTOBKP2
and SWAPTOPRD2 in RSFTOOLS/QCLSRC. |
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Current Role Protection. A new
RSF default value lets you set the current replication role of the machine
to *PROD, *BACKUP or *UNKNOWN. Built-in protection now prevents
swapping to the *BACKUP role unless the current role is *PROD, and to the
*PROD role unless the current role is *BACKUP. |
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Purge Error Log. The new Purge
Sync Log (PRGRSFSL) command makes it easy to selectively remove entries from
the synchronization error log by date, type and more.. |
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Role Swap. Perform role swaps
efficiently and easily. When mirroring is active, use a planned role
swap to perform scheduled maintenance on the production machine while work
is temporarily routed to the backup machine. When you're ready, swap
back. When the production machine goes out of service unexpectedly,
perform a role swap to route production work to the backup machine with
minimal disruption. New commands, Role-Swap: Source to Target (SWAPTGTRSF) and Role-Swap: Target to Source (SWAPSRCRSF), make the process automatic. User-written exit programs allow you to customize the process. Sample exit programs are provided in RSFTOOLS. (HA version only.) |
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IFS Mirroring. You can now mirror
IFS directories at the byte level. Only those bytes that actually
changed are sent to the target machine. This greatly improves
performance and flexibility when mirroring the IFS. Any needed
journals can be created automatically by RSF. Changes to the Synchronize IFS Directories (SYNCIFSRSF) command let you specify up to ten directories to mirror with one command. A new Change IFS Sync Attributes (CHGRSFISA) command allows you to specify attributes and options for IFS synchronization, including a list of objects to be omitted. |
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Improved Select/Omit. You can now
specify a list of objects or generic objects to include when replicating a
library, as well as a list of objects to omit. This makes it easier to
mirror a small subset of the objects in a library. You can also tell RSF to filter replication journal entries on the source machine to ensure that only entries for included objects are sent to the target. |
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Automatic Configuration. If
requested, RSF will create the journal library, journal receiver and journal
for you automatically when journaling is needed. Also if requested,
RSF will set system values for you as needed to enable replication of user
profiles and other system objects. |
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New HA Menus. The High
Availability menus have been redesigned and improved. Menu RSFHA now
contains only those items that pertain to the source machine. Items
pertaining to the target machine are grouped on a new menu, RSFHAT.
The menus now contain more of the options frequently needed, grouped
logically for ease of use. |
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Expanded Sync Attributes Display.
The Work With Sync Attributes (WRKRSFSA) display now shows the replication
status for IFS directories as well as for libraries and system information. |
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Easier to Start Replication. The
new Start Synchronization (STRSYNCRSF) command makes it easier to start
replication for your libraries, IFS directories and system information
consistently. A user-written exit program lets you tailor the way
STRSYNCRSF works. A sample exit program is provided in RSFTOOLS.
Now you can specify once which items you want to replicate, which jobs to
submit, which job queues to use, etc. and STRSYNCRSF will do it the same way
every time. |
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Easier to End Replication. The
End Synchronization Job (ENDRSFSYNC) command has been enhanced. You
can now specify *ALL for job name to end all RSF synchronization jobs.
Non-RSF jobs are not effected. |
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Replication Utility Commands. Two
new commands help you adjust your replication environment. The Change
User Profiles (CHGPRFRSF) command makes it easy to enable or disable many
user profiles at once. The Change PF Triggers (CHGTRGRSF) command
makes it easy to enable or disable PF triggers for many files at once. |
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High Availability Enhancements.
With RSF's High Availability feature you can now mirror changes to:
This is in addition to replicating database files, data areas, IFS objects, spooled files, message queues and other objects, which could be done with the previous release. In fact, there isn't much you can't replicate now with RSF. Click here to read more about this feature. New commands Change System Sync Attributes (CHGRSFSSA) and Synchronize System Info (SYNCSYSRSF) allow you to manage the synchronization of system objects such as user profiles, system values and authorization lists. The new Work With Sync Attributes (WRKRSFSA) command provides a new interface to many of RSF's HA functions. From the WRKRSFSA display you can see the libraries and system information being synchronized as well as the latest status and error information. You can also change synchronization attributes and start synchronization tasks from this display. In addition, you can now create lists of libraries and system object types. Then, use the new commands Set Sync Attributes From a List (SETRSFSA) and Synchronize List of Items (SYNCLSTRSF) to set the synchronization attributes for all items in the list and to submit synchronization jobs for each item in the list. Source for these commands is included in RSFTOOLS. Another new command, Display Sync Log (DSPRSFSL), lets you select and display synchronization errors, making it easy to monitor synchronization tasks. Finally, all of RSF's HA functions are now collected on a new High Availability menu. Just key GO RSFHA to begin. The RSF High Availability feature is optional and is licensed separately. |
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Huge Spooled Files. You can now
send and retrieve huge spooled files. The largest spooled file
that could be transmitted previously was 16 megabytes. |
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High Availability (Optional Feature). New RSF commands
Synchronize Libraries (SYNCLIBRSF) and Synchronize IFS Directories (SYNCIFSRSF)
allow you to begin mirroring libraries and IFS directories in seconds.
Changes are sent automatically to other systems, where mirror image
libraries and IFS directories are maintained for high availability and
recovery. Convenient options let you control which libraries and directories
to mirror, which objects to omit, how often to synchronize, which systems to
target, and more. RSF hides all of the communication complexities, allowing you to synchronize systems in the same room or half way around the world--whether connected by dial-up, LAN, SDLC, TCP/IP or the Internet. Database files are mirrored at the record level, and data areas are mirrored at the byte level. All other object types are mirrored at the object level. Any needed journals are created and managed automatically by RSF. Two-way mirroring is supported, allowing different updates to occur to the same files on multiple systems while RSF keeps it all in sync. This RSF High Availability feature is optional and is licensed separately. Click here to read more about this feature. |
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Copy an Entire System. This new
feature allows you to copy the entire contents of one iSeries system to
another, unattended, without a tape drive. Ideal for hardware upgrades
and system exchanges. A single command lets you copy every thing but
the operating system¾from user profiles, libraries and IFS directories, to
configuration objects and spooled files. Options let you control
exactly what gets copied. You can even run the tool a second time to
pick up objects changed since the initial copy was done. |
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Remote Commands. The new Run
Command tool lets you run an arbitrary command on a remote system. |
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Distribute Save Files. New
commands allow you to easily send and retrieve non-empty save files without
saving them as objects first. This saves time, space and machine
cycles when your objective is simply to copy/move a save file from one
machine to another. |
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Spooled Files. Enhancements to the Send/Retrieve Spooled Files commands allow you to send and retrieve large groups of spooled files, directing each to the same output queue on the target machine from which the file originally came. |
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Super-Compressed Save Images. The
new RSF command Compare Save File Versions (CMPSAVFRSF) allows you to
compare two save images and create a smaller difference file for
distribution to remote systems. The compressed file is up to 70% smaller
than the original save image, making it ideal for distributing large data
sets to one or more remote systems. This new RSF function also provides an
optimal way to get save images off site electronically. Running the
Build Save File Version (BLDSAVFRSF) command on the target machine allows you to
reconstruct the newer save image from the previous version and the
difference file. Both save files and the new virtual tape
images are supported. |
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Copy File Now Supports Lists. You
can now specify *LIST for the server ID on the Copy File Using RSF (CPYFRSF)
command, allowing the file member to be easily copied to multiple targets.
*LIST is currently supported only in send mode, and only when using *SAVRST
optimization. |
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Send to Lists Simultaneously. RSF
commands which send ad hoc requests--Send Objects (SNDOBJRSF), Send Library
(SNDLIBRSF), Send IFS Objects (SNDIFSRSF) and Copy File (CPYFRSF)--have been
updated to create a temporary copy of the location list when sending to a
list. This allows multiple, simultaneous ad hoc requests to the same
list. |
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Requester Directory Recognizes Names.
Enhancements to the RSF Requester Directory now allow you to control access
to your system by remote system name as well as by serial number. You
can now assign rights by the requesting machine's serial number, system name
or both. And, you can now set different rights for different
partitions on the same machine. |
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RSFSRV Not Changed on Upgrade. The
RSF install procedure and the Initialize RSF (INZRSF) command have been
changed so that user profile RSFSRV is not automatically modified when you
upgrade RSF. Previously, the profile was reset to its default state,
as shipped, when installing a new release of RSF. Now, changes you
make to special authorities and other profile options are preserved. |
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More Relay Options. RSF's relay
logic has bee updated to send a message to the system operator if all
distributions have not completed within a reasonable amount of time.
Possible replies to the message instruct RSF to continue waiting for
additional minutes or to quit. |
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Export/Import Server Entries. Two
new commands, Export Server Entries (EXPRSFSRV) and Import Server Entries (IMPRSFSRV),
allow you to export and import RSF server directory entries. These can
be used to copy one or more server entries from one machine to another. |
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Retrieve OS/400 Release Function Enhanced.
The Retrieve Remote Release (RTVRSLRSF) command has been enhanced
to support *LIST for server ID. The value returned is the earliest OS
release for all machines in the list. |
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Broadcast Distribution. With the
introduction of Broadcast Distribution, this release takes
large-scale iSeries object distribution to an exciting new level.
RSF's Broadcast Distribution offers large and midsized iSeries shops an
elegant solution to that persistent problem: "How can you send software and
data updates to hundreds of remote machines in a timely fashion?" With a single command, RSF 7.2 lets you send native objects, libraries or IFS objects from any iSeries to ten, fifty or even hundreds of other machines in about the time it would take to transmit to one of them. RSF 7.2 also supports run-time encryption and compression to help make each transmission as safe and efficient as possible. The new broadcast features are based on the TCP/IP multicast protocol. On top of this, RSF adds integrity logic to help ensure that the entire transmission is received by all recipients. Receiving machines listen on a specific TCP/IP channel or group address. RSF transmissions on that channel are processed simultaneously by all machines that are listening. Meanwhile, the sending machine can track the progress of the transmission and report which machines have or have not received it. RSF Broadcasts can be sent over a LAN or a WAN, provided that multicast-capable routers and switches are used to build the network. Broadcast Distribution vs. Relay Distribution While Relay Distribution, introduced in a previous RSF release, offers an improvement over having a single machine send directly to each target machine, Relay Distribution still involves a separate transmission to each target machine, with all that this implies for total network traffic. Also, with Relay Distribution, the total time required to transmit to all intended recipients increases with the number of recipients, albeit at a slower rate than it would if transmitting to each recipient directly. By contrast, with Broadcast Distribution, a single machine can send directly to an unlimited number of target machines simultaneously. The data transmitted only hits the network once but is received by all. This kind of transmission takes the same amount of time for 1, 10 or 1,000 recipients. And, it doesn't clog the network in the process. The payoff for Broadcast Transmission is more pronounced the more machines you are distributing to. For example, a national corporation that has an iSeries in each of its 800 branch offices can send out a nightly data update in 1/800th the time it might have taken previously. This is a big deal! This does not mean that Relay Distribution is obsolete, however. While Broadcast Distribution can be used only over multicast-enabled TCP/IP networks, Relay Distribution will work over TCP/IP, SNA, and even a dialup networks. |
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Tunneling. RSF's new tunneling
feature allows you to run any TCP/IP application through an RSF "tunnel".
The tunnel encapsulates the TCP/IP data stream and then presents it to the
target server application unchanged. This can have many advantages,
including: Firewall Friendliness. A TCP/IP application such as telnet--which must connect to its own server on specific port on the target machine--can be routed through the RSF port, even though the application's server job continues to monitor its standard port. On the server machine, the tunnel forwards the conversation from the RSF port to the application server port automatically. For a machine behind a firewall, this means that only the RSF port needs to be opened to allow both RSF data transmissions and other approved TCP/IP application connections to be received. Security. On the server machine, you can configure the types of RSF tunnel connections that are allowed and the target ports to which they may connect. You can also restrict tunnel access by requester machine serial number for a given target port. Encryption. RSF's *BASIC and *SSL encryption support can be used with any tunnel. Using telnet, for example, over an encrypted RSF tunnel allows you to run a completely secure iSeries (client)-to-iSeries (server) session, a feature which is currently available only through RSF. Idle Disconnect. You can set the maximum number of minutes that the connection may be idle before it is dropped. Using this feature with telnet allows you to automatically disconnect inactive sessions. |
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Copy Files Between Machines Regardless of
OS/400 Release Differences. You can now choose whether RSF will
use Distributed Data Management (DDM) or save/restore operations to copy
database file members between machines. Previously, DDM was not
available with TCP/IP connections. The DDM option can be useful for copying file members between machines where the operating system release levels differ to the extent that save/restore is not supported. Where the operating systems levels of the machines are compatible, choosing the save/restore option can result in a faster transmission. |
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Improved Transmission Performance. New parameters have been added to the Change RSF Defaults (CHGRSFDFT) command to allow you to fine tune RSF's transmission performance over TCP/IP connections. The new settings allow you to specify the block size and the TCP/IP send/receive buffer sizes to be in effect while sending or retrieving data with RSF. Proper use of these setting may improve performance dramatically. The actual results will depend on your network and on the settings chosen. |
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Relay Distribution. To address
the needs of medium and large shops who must distribute objects to dozens,
hundreds or even thousands of machines, RSF 7.1 introduces Relay
Distribution. With this new feature, objects can be distributed to many
machines in a fraction of the time it would take to distribute to each
machine individually. Relay Distribution allows each receiving machine to
become an additional sending machine, passing on the received objects to
other machines known to it. In this way, the distributed package of objects
cascades through the network, aided by an increasing number of helpers, each
adding their CPU and communication resources to the task at hand. The
machine that initiates the distribution maintains overall control. RSF
allows for multiple, redundant routes to each target machine while ensuring
that only one copy of the distribution is delivered to each target. |
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Fallback Connections.
Occasionally, the primary connection between two machines is down, but a
secondary connection path is available. RSF 7.1 allows administrators to
define a chain of secondary, or fallback, connections to use when the
primary is unavailable. If the primary connection is a network or Internet
connection, the first fallback connection might be a dialup link, or another
network connection with a different IP address specified. Once the fallback
connections are defined, the rest is automatic. RSF will attempt to complete
any transmission using the primary connection. If the primary route is
unavailable, the first fallback connection is tried, and so on. The net
result is that more transmissions complete successfully, using the most
efficient connection available at the time. |
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Send to Multiple Locations With a Single
Command. With the newest release, all RSF "send" functions support
lists of target locations, allowing administrators to send objects,
libraries, file members and Integrated File System objects to a list of
remote machines with a single command. Run-time compression and encryption
are also supported. |
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Full ASP Support. RSF 7.1
includes full support for system and independent Auxiliary Storage Pools
(ASP). With a single command, users can send objects to or retrieve objects
from different ASPs on different machines. |
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Automatically Calculate Target Release.
All RSF "send" commands now support a special value of *TARGET for the
target release parameter. When *TARGET is specified, RSF will query
the actual release of the target machine. If the OS/400 release of the
target machine is greater than the release of the local machine, a value of
*CURRENT is used. Otherwise, the actual release of the target machine is
used. |
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New Check RSF Connection Command. A
new Check RSF Connection (CHKRSFCNN) command can be used to determine if an
RSF connection to another machine is currently active, or to wait until the
connection becomes active. The wait function can be useful if you want
to run some RSF function only after the connection becomes available. |
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Changes to STRRSFSRV Command. A
new parameter on the Start RSF Server (STRRSFSRV) command now makes it easy
to set default preferences for which RSF server functions to start (SDLC,
PPP, TCP/IP). Parameters for starting and stopping OS/400 TCP/IP
support have been removed. |
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More Settings Preserved. When
installing a new release of RSF or using the Copy RSF Data (CPYRSFDTA)
command to copy setting from a previous release, RSF now copies forward the
job descriptions from the old release and preserves changes to default
preferences specified on the Start RSF Server (STRRSFSRV) command. |
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More Pass-Through Parameters.
Additional parameters have been added to the Start Pass-Through Using RSF (STRPASRSF)
command to support remote password, password encryption, initial program,
initial menu and current library on the target machine. In addition,
you can now specify a telnet port to use for TCP/IP connections in the RSF
server directory entry. |
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Send Larger Save Files. RSF
"send" functions have been enhanced to allow for sending save files with
more than 10 million records. |
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Message Forwarding. Start Message Queue Monitor (STRRSFMSGM) command, which allows you to forward messages from satellite machines to a central machine, has been updated. Header messages sent to the target machine now clearly indicate the system name from which the original message was forwarded. |
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PPP Support. This
version of RSF includes support for dial-up TCP/IP connections using the
PPP protocol. All configuration--such as creating line descriptions
and configuration profiles--is done automatically by RSF. With this
release, users can send and retrieve objects, libraries, spooled
files and IFS objects over PPP connections. Run-time compression and
encryption are also supported. As a client, RSF 7.0 lets you connect, without prior configuration, to any TCP/IP server over a dial-up link. Up to 256 simultaneous connections to different servers are supported. RSF automatically selects an available line and modem when making new connections, and automatically shares an existing connection when two or more users contact the same server. As a server, RSF 7.0 supports up to 256 simultaneous inbound connections from an unlimited pool of potential clients.. |
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Dial-Back Support. Dial-back
support is included as part of RSF's PPP support. With dial-back,
one machine calls another, requests a call back and then hangs up and
waits for the return call. Any phone charges will accrue to the
machine that was first called, rather than the one that initiated the
transaction. This feature allows developers and software vendors to
support remote machines over a dial-up network, with each remote paying
their own connection charges. |
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Internal Modem
Support. RSF's new PPP support makes full use of the internal
modems which are shipped with new iSeries machines. A central
machine can now easily support an unlimited network of remote iSeries
using any combination of internal modems and externally attached async
modems. |
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PC Dial-In.
With RSF's PPP support, it's easy for PCs and other non iSeries clients to
connect to your iSeries or AS/400 over a dial-up link. Running
one RSF command enables remote dial-in, while another command disables it.
CHAP password authorization is supported for maximum dial-up security. |
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Uninstall Support.
New commands allow you to implement schemes for uninstalling previously
installed packages. Easily track pre- and co-requisites and ensure
that packages are uninstalled in the proper order. |
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Important Note: This release of RSF requires a new authorization code. If you are upgrading from a previous release of RSF, send an email listing your machine serial number to support@bugbusters.net requesting an authorization code for RSF 7.0. |
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Run-Time Compression. With RSF
Version 6.3, Bug Busters has added run-time compression to all of the RSF
TCP/IP distribution functions. You can now compress data up to
70% when transmitting libraries, spooled files and IFS objects. Any objects compressed during transmission are automatically decompressed at the other end. This means that the transmitted objects are identical to the original objects that were sent. Aside from the fact that objects arrive more quickly at their destination, there is no way to tell that the objects were transmitted using compression. Compression is supported both when sending objects to other systems, and when retrieving objects from other systems. New command parameters allow you to turn compression on or off for each transmission. Three levels of compression are supported, allowing administrators to optimize transmission performance for their specific environment. |
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Enhanced Security. Previously, the user profile and password for SDLC connections
had to both be RSFSRV. Even though the RSFSRV profile was installed with limited authority, the requirement to
use a known connection profile and password could present a security exposure in some circumstances. With this release,
any profile and password may be used to connect. New parameters on the RSF server directory entries allow connection profiles
and passwords to be specified for each server. |
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Send/Retrieve IFS Objects. New commands SNDIFSRSF and RTVIFSRSF allow you to send and
retrieve objects in the Integrated File System. You can specify up to 15 generic path names.
Objects can be restored to the same or to different path names. |
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User-Defined Options Supported on Work With Requesters Display.
User-defined options may now be keyed beside list items in the Work With Requesters display. This allows you to perform
virtually any function for one or more requesters. User-defined options were previously supported only for the Work With Servers,
Work With Packages, and Work With Catalog displays. An additional user-defined option, "WL", is now shipped with RSF. Keying "WL" beside an entry on the Work With Requesters display presents a list of RSF log entries generated by that requester. |
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Pre/Co-Requisite Processing. A new program is included in library RSFTOOLS to demonstrate how
pre-requisite and co-requisite packages can easily be retrieved and installed as a part of the process of installing any individual
package. The new program is called "REQUISITES". Source can be found in file
RSFTOOLS/QCLSRC. A new command, Install Pre-requisite (INLRSFREQ) is also provided to facilitate the installation of pre- and co-requisites. |
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Send Package Command Enhanced. With this release, you can use the SNDRSFPKG command to send a
save file to another machine without defining an RSF package that refers to the save file. By specifying *SAVF for the
package name and entering the qualified save file name, you can send ad hoc save files without having to define a package
first. |
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Improved Support For Fix/PTF Distribution.
This release contains several enhancements that make it easier than ever to distribute program fixes with
RSF.
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Simplified TCP/IP Setup. You can now specify either a friendly system name or an IP address
for the "Remote System" parameter on the Add/Change Server directory entry commands. Previously, if you wanted to specify
an IP address, you had to specify *INTNETADR for "Remote System" and then specify the IP address in a different parameter. |
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TCP/IP Support. RSF now supports native TCP/IP connections. Any TCP/IP connection
is valid, including the Internet. Files, objects and spooled files transmitted over TCP/IP connections can be automatically encrypted during transmission. Several levels of encryption are supported, including industry standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Changes have been made to the Add/Change Server Directory Entry commands to allow you to tie a given server to a TCP/IP address. All other RSF functions work just as they did in the previous release, without regard to whether the server being contacted is connected via dial-up link, LAN connection, or the Internet. |
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Copy/Split Spooled Files. A new command to allow you to make copies of spooled files and
split spooled files into multiple parts for more effecient printing has been added to library RSFTOOLS. See command CPYSPLFRSF. |
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Use RSF to Send Spooled Files from the WRKSPLF Display.
A new command was added to library RSFTOOLS to allow you to key 1=Send beside spooled files on the WRKSPLF display to
send the spooled files to another system using RSF. See command
WRKSPLFRSF. |
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Improved Line Selection. With each release of RSF, the algorithm used to select/share
available switched lines for dial-out is improved. This release is no exception. Now RSF selects available dial lines
more efficiently. |
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Schedule Transmission Function More Robust.
Changes were made to the Schedule RSF Transmission function to insure that all transmissions to a list of locations have
the best chance of succeeding. |
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New Optimization Option When Sending File Members.
A new optimization option on the Copy File Using RSF (CPYFRSF) command lets you compress large files or members before they
are copied to the other machine. |
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Remote Console Support. RSF now provides remote console support, allowing you to monitor
message queues on any number of remote AS/400s from a central machine. The new Start Message Queue Monitor (STRRSFMSGM) command
lets you link message queues, such that messages received on the source queue are automatically forwarded to the target queue. When
you answer a forwarded inquiry message, the reply is automatically sent to the source queue. Messages can be monitored by having each
remote site automatically send them to the central site, or by having the central site poll each remote site. Messages can be
filtered by severity and by generic message id to reduce the number of forwarded messages. |
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New Commands Allow for Inter-machine Task Synchronization.
Several new RSF commands help you coordinate interdependent tasks running on multiple AS/400s. The Log Event (LOGEVTRSF) command
lets you log a user-defined event to a log file locally or remotely. The Wait For Event (WAITEVTRSF) command lets you schedule a
task to begin after one or more event conditions have been met. The Retrieve Event Attributes (RTVEVTRSF) command lets you query
the status of a user-defined event. With these new tools, it's now easy to schedule a job to run on machine "A" only after certain
tasks have been completed on machines "B", "C" and "D". |
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User-Defined Options Supported. User-defined options can now be keyed on the RSF WRKxxx displays,
making these lists even more powerful. You define new options using option 9 on the PDM menu (STRPDM). User-defined options can
contain substitution variables which are replaced at execution time. RSF supports a wide range of substitution variables. For
complete details, see the on-line help text for the "Opt" field on the Work With Servers display. |
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Filtering Parameters Provided on WRKxxx Commands.
New parameters on the Work With Servers (WRKRSFSRV), Work With Packages
(WRKRSFPKG) and Work With Requesters (WRKRSFRQS) commands allow you to select which list items are displayed or printed.
List items can be filtered by generic name and by text. |
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Windows Graphical Interface Now Included With Base Product.
RSF Express, the graphical interface for RSF, is now included with the base product at no additional charge. RSF Express runs under
Windows 3.x or Windows 9x on a PC attached to your AS/400. With RSF Express, you can move objects and spooled files between AS/400s
by dragging and dropping with a mouse. |
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Work With Catalog Display More Efficient.
With this release, when you use the Work With Catalog display to retrieve multiple packages from a remote server over a switched
connection, the phone connection remains active until the last package is retrieved. In the past, RSF would hang up and redial for each package. Note, however, that individual server machines can still override this feature and force requesters contacting their machine to hang up after each individual request or after a certain time interval. See the help text for the HANGUP parameter on the Change Requester Directory Entry (CHGRSFRDE) command for more information about how this feature is controlled on the server machine. |
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Canceled Requests End More Gracefully.
In the past, canceling an RSF request (i.e. using "System Request option 2") would end the request immediately but would not allow
RSF to clean up outstanding object locks and table entries. This would sometimes cause problems for other users on the same machine
who were initiating RSF requests. Other users might have gotten the "All lines in use.." message, or another message indicating a
required object could not be allocated. Now, any RSF request that ends abnormally--even those ended by "System Request option 2"--will still clean up all internal RSF tables and locks before the request ends. Whereas in the past, users were discouraged from canceling RSF requests with "System Request 2", this practice is now fully supported. |
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Send/Retrieve Objects Even While They're In Use.
A new "Save While Active" parameter on the RSFTOOLS commands for sending and retrieving libraries, objects and documents allows you
to transmit items even if they're currently being used. |
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Active Connection Count on Work With Servers Display.
The Work With Servers display now shows the number of requests that are currently active for each server. If, for example two users
were passed through to server ABC and a batch job was retrieving a package from the same server, the number 3 would show in the Active
Connections column of the display next to server ABC. |
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Log Display Enhanced. The display presented when using the Work With RSF Log
(WRKRSFLOG) command has been enhanced. Two additional options can be specified
for a log entry. Keying "8" beside a log entry Enter displays the text of the associated error message, if any. Keying "12" beside a
log entry displays the Work With Job panel for the AS/400 job associated with the log entry. |
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Pass-Through User Profile. You may now specify a remote user profile and password on the Start
Pass-through Using RSF (STRPASRSF) command to bypass the Sign-on display when passing through to a remote system. The QRMTSIGN
system value on the remote system must be set appropriately or your request to bypass the Sign-on screen will be rejected. |
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Special Access Rights For *CURRENT Users.
Since the first release of RSF, you could use the Requester Directory to regulate the rights and restrictions that apply to remote
requesters accessing your machine. Each entry in the Requester Directory specifies the rights for a particular remote machine
serial number. Now you can specify a different set of access rights for a remote machine when the job initiating the request on the remote machine is a target RSF pass-through job that was started on your own machine. This new feature would allow you, for example, to retrieve objects from your machine while passed-through to a remote machine, and still prevent users signed directly on to the same remote machine from retrieving objects from your machine. |
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New *REQUESTER Special Value for Remote User Profile.
When you're entering commands in a target RSF pass through session or in other types of RSF server jobs, you can now specify
*REQUESTER for the User Profile parameter with RSFLINK and on the Copy File
Using RSF (CPYFRSF) command. This new value--which is only valid if *CURRENT is specified for Server id--connects back to the
original system using the same user profile that was used to initiate the original RSF connection. For example: USER1 on SYSTEMA uses the STRPASRSF command to connect to SYSTEMB. User profile USER2 is used to sign on to SYSTEMB. Now the following command, executed in the target pass-through job on SYSTEMB, will copy files from SYSTEMA to SYSTEMB and will have USER1's authority to the objects on SYSTEMA: CPYFRSF ACTION(*RTV) FROMFILE(MYLIB/QCLSRC) SERVER(*CURRENT) FROMMBR(A*) USER(*REQUESTER) |
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Package Transmission Time Displayed. In addition to "Percent Complete" information, elapsed time and
time remaining are now shown when sending/retrieving packages, objects, libraries, documents and folders. |
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Better Text on Line, Controller and Device descriptions.
RSF now uses the text on line, controller and device descriptions that it creates to indicate which server location the configuration
objects connect to. |
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Preprocessing Program Capabilities Enhanced. Preprocessing programs can now override the save file and cover letter file associated with an RSF package at execution time. |
