OS400 is the operating system that runs your AS400. If you are ever asked your operating system release level, you can determine the level by entering DSPPTF. The release level will be displayed on the upper part of the screen with OS cumulative level on the lower part of the screen in the example below, the installed release is V4R3M0 which means your system is on Version 4 Release 3 Modification 0.
AS/400 Logging
What is logging?
Logging is used to help the system operator find answers. Using logs, the operator can find when users sign onto the system, who ran a job, when it was run, where it was run from, if the job had an error, who answered the error, and more. There are four different logs available on your system. They are: Interactive, Batch, History, and System Error Log.
Interactive Job Log
The moment you sign on the system an interactive job is started for your workstation. The system will log informational messages, error messages, and any responses that were taken to a message for the user that is signed on. Once the user signs off, the log is no longer available. It is very important to keep a user signed on if they are experiencing problems and you plan to call MaddenCo for assistance.
To display the Job Log for an interactive job you will need to do the following: Press the SYSRQ key on your keyboard to access the Operations Window.
Your Operations Window may appear slightly different from the one above. This window is user defined. We will discuss how to set this up, later in this manual. You will want to locate the item, which says Work with User Jobs and type 1 on the option line to select.
This will take you to the Work with User Jobs screen displayed below:
Interactive jobs are identified under the Type column as INTER. For this example, we will be displaying the log for user Kim, who is signed onto device KDAED that is noted as the Job. To display the log, type 5 beside the job that you would like to view.
You will then be presented with the Work with Job screen. From this screen we will need to take Option 10 to display the actual log.
When the Display Job Log Screen appears, press F10 – Display Detailed Messages and then F18 – Bottom. The screen below will be displayed.
The messages shown above are normal and are informational only. However, if there were an error or problem, it would be noted here. Notify MaddenCo Support before answering any messages.
Batch Job Log
A batch job can be initiated by taking an option on a menu. Once the user has proceeded through the screens associated with the job, the job will then be submitted to batch. This means that your terminal will now be available to use for other things while the job processes in the background on the system. To display the log for a batch job, you will need to take the same options as identified in displaying the job log for an interactive job. On the Work with User Jobs screen, Batch jobs are identified in the Type column as
Batch.
While viewing jobs in the Work with Active Jobs Screen, you should notify MaddenCo if any job has MSGW under the column labeled Status. The MSGW Status alerts you to an error message that needs to be answered. You should contact our Technical Support Department before answering any messages. If the problem job is ended from the Work with User Jobs screen, no job log remains to review. This makes problem solving difficult. Once the Batch job has finished processing, the job log will no longer be available to view. In some cases, a log will be spooled out to a printer. If the job cancels abnormally, a spool file will automatically be created so that you can determine what happened. The MaddenCo application will also spool job logs for some functions on the system. MaddenCo job logs are informational only and this does not mean that your job ended abnormally. The Nightly Update job log is an example of this type of log.
System History Log
The AS/400 maintains a history log of activity on the AS400. It logs an entry when a user signs on and off. It also logs the start and stop times of any job initiated on the AS/400. The AS/400 logs system error messages and any responses taken to those error
messages. It logs hardware failures and much, much, more. This log does not go away when a user signs off or the job ends. Several days of history logs are kept on your system and can be viewed at any time. You can view the History log by following these steps:
Press the SYSRQ key on your keyboard to access the Operations Window.
Your Operations Window may appear slightly different from the one above. This window is user defined. (Later in this manual we will discuss how to set this up.) You will want to locate the item which says Command Line and type 1 on the option line to select.
From the Command Entry screen, type in DSPLOG and press F4.
If your screen does not look like the one above, chances are you pressed enter and not F4. If you did not press the F4 key, you will go directly to the history log and will be at the oldest message that is available. If you pressed F4, you will have the option to narrow down your selections to specific dates and times. In the example above, the history log for August 8, 2000 will be displayed from 8 Am to 10 Am.
This is an example of the History Log Contents.