Supported agent workstations

Dynamic agents and IBM Workload Scheduler for z/OS agents can manage a wide variety of job types. They are used to extend the dynamic scheduling capabilities of HCL Workload Automation to your external applications through appropriate job plug-ins.

Dynamic agents and IBM Workload Scheduler for z/OS agents also extend the dynamic scheduling capabilities to external applications through access methods. To run access methods on external applications using dynamic agents, you define a job of type Access Method. The access method communicates with the external system to launch the job and returns the status of the job. The method uses the corresponding file named optionsfile_accessmethod.opts (where optionsfile is the configuration file that depends on the selected access method). The dynamic agent and the IBM Workload Scheduler for z/OS agent can have more than one associated .opts file to determine which external environment instance it connects to. The access method can launch jobs on that instance and monitor them through completion, writing job progress and status information in the standard list file of the job.

Dynamic agents in particular, can be grouped in pools and dynamic pools. Pools group a set of dynamic agents with similar hardware or software characteristics together. When jobs are submitted to a pool, HCL Workload Automation balances the jobs among the dynamic agents within the pool. Dynamic pools are dynamically defined based on the resource requirements specified. A pool is dynamically updated whenever a new suitable dynamic agent becomes available. Jobs run on the first workstation in the dynamic pool that matches all the requirements of the job.

Extended agents extend the static scheduling capability. They are logical workstations related to an access method hosted by a physical HCL Workload Automation workstation (a fault-tolerant agent). More than one extended agent workstation can be hosted by the same HCL Workload Automation fault-tolerant agent and rely on the same access method. The extended agent is defined in a standard HCL Workload Automation workstation definition, which gives the extended agent a name and identifies the access method. An access method is a program that is run by the hosting workstation whenever HCL Workload Automation submits a job to an external system.

Jobs are defined for an extended agent in the same manner as for other HCL Workload Automation workstations, except for any job attributes that depend on the external system or application.

To launch and monitor a job on an extended agent, the host runs the access method, passing to it job details as command line options. The access method communicates with the external system to launch the job and returns the status of the job. To launch a job in an external environment, HCL Workload Automation runs the extended agent access method providing it with the extended agent workstation name and information about the job. The method looks at the corresponding file named XANAME_accessmethod.opts (where XANAME is the name of the extended agent workstation) to determine which external environment instance it connects to. The access method can then launch jobs on that instance and monitor them through completion, writing job progress and status information in the standard list file of the job.

Extended agents can also be used to run jobs in an end-to-end environment, where job scheduling and monitoring is managed from an IBM Workload Scheduler for z/OS controller.