PowerHA PTF Groups

Owned by Kathy Kurth
Last updated: Oct 18, 2024 by Brian Nordland
71 min read

IBM HIPER PTF Notification - Known Issue DT397753: Partitions with TR10/TR4 applied and an IASP may experience a system hang

October 2024
Resolution:
Apply 7.4 MJ02267 and vary on the IASP
Apply 7.5 MJ02268 and vary on the IASP
NOTE: The fix has been superseded by 7.4 MJ02304 and 7.5 MJ02305. The supersede should be applied but it does have a requisite of TR11/TR5. If you cannot apply the latest Tech Refresh, then apply MJ02267 or MJ02268 described above.

High Availability PTF Groups include the accumulated recommended fixes for a PowerHA environment, including any PTFs that release new functionality. Below is a summary of PowerHA PTF groups by release.

Release

PTF Group

Level

Last Updated

Release

PTF Group

Level

Last Updated

7.5

SF99676

10

Oct 11, 2024  

7.4

SF99666

19

Oct 11, 2024 

7.3

SF99876

22

Jul 26, 2023 

7.2

SF99776

22

Jan 20, 2023 

7.1

SF99706

18

Jun 28, 2019 

6.1

SF99606

5

Sep 16, 2015 

Release Support Status

Supported Release

Extended Support

End of program support

PowerHA Enhancements by PTF Group Level

The following are highlights of PowerHA PTFs and enhancements by group level. High Availability PTF groups also contain fixes from clustering and the IBM i Operating System. Information on specific clustering and IBM i Operating System fixes and enhancements can be found in cover letters for the PTFs contained within the PTF group on the IBM support website.

Level 10 (October 11th, 2024)

While this PTF group level does not contain any new PowerHA licensed program product fixes or enhancements, this PTF group level has recommended PTFs and fixes from other IBM i products and components.

Level 9 (July 12th, 2024)

PTF SJ00828

Announcement & Documentation: 7.5 HA 5.5.3

New Features

  • The PowerHA modern web interface now provides the ability to perform several management operations, including the ability to perform the following types of operations:

    • Cluster node actions, including starting and ending cluster nodes

    • Administrative domain management, including:

      • Starting and ending administrative domains

      • Adding and removing monitored resources

    • The ability to manage switchable environments, including:

      • Starting and ending cluster resource groups

      • Performing administrative switchovers and failover

    • Managing replication sessions with the ability to suspend, resume, detach, and reattach replication.

  • PowerHA SQL services for HyperSwap information provide the ability to explore PowerHA objects and data in new ways. The following new services are available to retrieve HyperSwap information similar to the information available in the Work with HyperSwap Status (WRKHYSSTS) and Display HyperSwap Status (DSPHYSSTS) displays:

    • QHASM.HYPERSWAP_STATUS_LIST View

    • QHASM.HYPERSWAP_STATUS_INFO Table Function

Enhancements

  • The web interface has improved customization that enables searching, sorting, filtering, and selecting columns for tables within the interface.

  • When using the PowerHA web interface, it is now possible to easily view a dynamically generated SQL query that would produce similar results to what is shown on the screen, including the current column, sorting, and filtering customizations.

  • It is now easier to add multiple user profiles to the administrative domain while specifying to omit IBM-supplied profiles. This is available from either the web interface or with a new special value of *IBM on the OMIT parameter for ADDCADMRE.

  • The ADDCADMRE command with generic and wildcards has been enhanced to work in batch environments with the addition of the CONFIRM parameter.

Fixes

  • PowerHA now automatically sets the status of user profile QHAUSRPRF to *ENABLED upon product install and PTF install. When QHAUSRPRF is *DISABLED certain product operations including the PowerHA web interface fail to function. The PowerHA web interface will fail with Permission Denied if QHAUSRPRF is disabled.

  • Improved the change asp session node selection panel to only show in environments with multi-target geographic mirroring. Previously the node selection panel would show in environments with either multiple nodes or multiple ASP devices.

  • Resolved an issue where the WRKASPCPYD option 22 or DSPASPSSN function F7 could fail in geographic mirroring environments with message HAE0045: Request not compatible with current PowerHA version, when not all nodes were at the same PTF level.

  • Resolved an issue where PowerHA install and PTF installs may contain SQL0113 in the joblog when the default CCSID is not 37. This could result in PowerHA SQL services failing with SQL0204.

  • Improved message when issuing a STRSVCSSN against a cluster resource group with a single site. Previously, message CPFBB68 was returned. This incorrectly specified that the cluster resource group had no configuration object entries. The message has been improved to display an HAD2009 indicating that less than two sites exist in the cluster resource group.

  • Resolved an issue where the Analyze Cluster Administrative Domain Profile (ANZCADPRF) command could cause the QHASVR job to end with messages CPF9801 and HAE0043 when the administrative domain contained monitored resources with a status of *FAILED.

Level 8 (April 12th, 2024)

PTF SJ00205

Fixes

  • Resolves an issue where PowerHA DS8000 operations may fail with error HAE2024 (A DSCLI error has occurred) with second-level text containing CMUC00187E indicating an inability to access the CLI user password file. This error may begin occurring after updating Java.

PTF SI86105

Announcement & Documentation: 7.5 HA 5.5.2

New Features

  • Integration with FlashSystem and Spectrum Virtualize Asynchronous Policy-Based replication for Spectrum Virtualize 8.6.2.0 and later. PowerHA automatically detects if an SVC session is consistency-group-based or policy-based.

  • Administrative domain integration with support for synchronizing the SNMP V3 attributes for printer device descriptions, including SNMP User (SNMPUSR), and SNMP Context (SNMPCNTX) across the environment.

Enhancements

  • PowerHA FlashCopy automation is enhanced to show the node name and job name for jobs including quiesce and vary on jobs.

Fixes

  • Resolved an issue where printer device descriptions may have the Host print transform (TRANSFORM) attribute inconsistent due to the handling of the Manufacturer type and model (MFRTYPMDL) parameter on the printer device description.

Level 7 (January 19th, 2024)

PTF SI85564

Fixes

  • Improved automated recovery in a geographic mirroring environment when a Change ASP Session (CHGASPSSN) with option *CHGATTR fails, with new auto-resume processing.

  • Resolved an issue where DLTLICPGM for PowerHA failed with an error indicating that the QUSRHASM library was not found.

  • Resolved an issue where PowerHA operations could fail with error CPFA1C7 accessing the HADSVERSION file.

 

PTF SI85215 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.5 HA 5.4.2

New Features

  • Integrated tracking of jobs for user-specified job queues, allowing for easy resubmission of incomplete jobs following a failure with the following enhancements:

    • Simple user-defined tracking with the ability to start and end tracking for specified job queues to enable automatic tracking of job lifecycle information using the new Start Tracking Job Queue (STRTRKJOBQ) and End Tracking Job Queue (ENDTRKJOBQ) commands.

    • Enhanced visibility to easily view the status of active or recently active jobs at the time of a failure using the new Work with ASP Job Queue (WRKASPJOBQ) command. Simplified resubmission of tracked jobs through the WRKASPJOBQ interface enabling quicker system recovery.

Enhancements

  • Improved performance for the Print Admin Domain MRE (PRTCADMRE) command with information detail (DETAIL) *RSC is used.

  • The number of joblogs produced by PowerHA automated health checks has been reduced so that joblogs are no longer produced during successful operations.

  • As part of the IBM i product portfolio simplification strategy, the PowerHA product no longer validates 5770-SS1 option 41 - HA Switchable resources licenses directly.

  • PowerHA license management checking is improved to reduce the number of messages displayed in certain scenarios.

Fixes

  • Resolved a pair of issues with option 22 failures on the Work with ASP Copy Descriptions (WRKASPCPYD) display:

    • Option 22 could fail with CPD0043 indicating the TGTNODE parameter does not exist.

    • Option 22 would fail with HAE009A when a session contains multiple IASP devices.

  • Resolved an issue where PowerHA session commands and SQL services could cause the QHASVR job to end.

  • Software errors reported in PowerHA have been enhanced to include the joblog for the QHASVR job by default.

  • Resolved an issue where Print Admin Domain MRE (PRTCADMRE) could fail with CPF7304 when printing monitored resources to *OUTFILE in instances where the size of the file was set to *NOMAX. PRTCADMRE no longer fails in this instance.

  • Issue where some security scanning tools may have incorrectly identified an error indicating the server allowed access to .htaccess and .htpasswd. While there was no security issue, the server now returns an improved response to prevent false positives in these security scanning tools.

  • PowerHA helptext has been corrected to indicate that callers of the following commands no longer need *READ authority to the SSH key file: ADDSVCCPYD, CHGSVCCPYD, DSPSVCCPYD, RTVSVCCPYD, STRSVCSSN, CHGSVCSSN, DSPSVCSSN, and RTVSVCSSN. The only user that requires *READ access to the SSH key file is QHAUSRPRF.

  • An improved message is displayed when a PowerHA node is not at a compatible PowerHA version or modification level when starting the cluster node.

  • PowerHA is simplified to only allow adding a node as the last backup in a cluster resource group recovery domain. The node role element in the Add CRG Node Entry (ADDCRGNODE) command now only allows a value of *LAST. In addition, *PRIMARY is no longer allowed as the node role for the newly added node. Any existing CL programs that specified this element on the ADDCRGNODE command may require modification.

Level 6 (July 26th, 2023)

PTF SI83862 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.5 HA 5.3.2

New Features

  • Greater flexibility and availability in Geographic Mirroring environments with multi-target Geographic Mirroring allowing replication between up to six nodes and simplified hardware upgrades with reduced impact on the production workload using multi-target Geographic Mirroring. Multi-target geographic mirroring introduces the following changes:

    • CFGGEOMIR features a new Target Node (TGTNODE) parameter for multi-target geographic mirroring. This parameter has a default value of *SELECT, with prompting for eligible nodes for the operation.

    • The Configure Geographic Mirroring command has been simplified to remove the synchronization priority (PRIORITY), suspend timeout (SSPTIMO), and tracking space (TRACKSPACE) parameters. These parameters are now configured automatically to the recommended values. Any existing CL programs that specified these parameters on the CFGGEOMIR command may require modification.

    • The simplified Start ASP Session (STRASPSSN) command no longer contains the delivery, suspend timeout (SSPTIMO), or priority parameters. After starting the session, these parameters can now be changed by issuing the Change ASP Session (CHGASPSSN) command with the *CHGATTR option. Any existing CL programs that specified these parameters on the STRASPSSN command may require modification.

    • The Change ASP Session (CHGASPSSN) command features a new target node (TGTNODE) parameter for multi-target geographic mirroring.

    • PowerHA now features the ability to change the amount of tracking space allocated on a per ASP copy basis. The tracking space parameter has been moved from the Change ASP Session (CHGASPSSN) command to the Change ASP Copy Description (CHGASPCPYD) command. Any existing CL programs that specified the TRACKSPACE parameter on the CHGASPSSN command may require modification.

    • Built-in node selection is now available when using the change session options on either Display ASP Session (DSPASPSSN) or through Work with ASP Copy Descriptions (WRKASPCPYD), in environments with multiple nodes.

    • New F10=Topology view on Display ASP Session (DSPASPSSN) for geographic mirroring gives a visual representation of geographic mirroring environments.

  • Increased agility and adaptability in Geographic Mirroring environments featuring the ability to change Geographic Mirroring parameters with minimal impact on the production workload. The following parameters can now be changed using the Change ASP Session (CHGASPSSN) command while the production copy is online:

    • transmission delivery

    • transmission compression

    • synchronization priority

    • suspend timeout

  • Geographic Mirroring environments feature the ability to detach and vary on suspended copies of the ISAP, simplifying recoverability.

Enhancements

  • The PowerHA web interface shows monitored resource details and attribute values.

  • DS8000 LUN-level switching now supports up to 32 host connections per cluster node.

  • The PowerHA web interface now includes an inactivity timeout of 30 minutes and a warning if the web interface is accessed via HTTP instead of HTTPS.

Fixes

  • The QYASRTVINF API now requires *IOSYSCFG authority for all operations. Any existing callers of this API may require *IOSYSCFG special authority if they did not previously have the authority.

  • Previously, PowerHA operations could hang if a user without access to QYASCHGDDD attempted to perform a PowerHA operation. PowerHA has been enhanced so that users no longer need access to either QYASCHGDDD or QYASRTVDDD.

  • Corrected an issue where in some instances, a CPFBBBD: Resource type *AUTL or *PRTDEV not valid, could occur during admin domain operations, including ADDCADMRE.

  • The help text for *ETHLIN resource on ADDCADMRE has been corrected to include the current list of attributes supported for *ETHLIN attributes. This updated help text is only available for language 2924.

  • Resolved an issue where the PowerHA web interface may not automatically refresh in instances where a page was loaded when clustering was inactive.

  • Resolved an issue where the PowerHA web interface may continually flash on the screen when a cluster, cluster node, admin domain, cluster resource group, or session contains certain special characters.

  • PowerHA has been enhanced to retry when 'Connection refused' is received when connecting to a SVC storage system.

  • Resolved issue where an incorrect DS8000 username or password can cause a hang during PowerHA operations.

  • Resolved issue during PowerHA install time where the CCSID of the inet.d configuration file is changed. PowerHA installs saved after application with this fix, such as during a full system save, or SAVLICPGM, will no longer have this issue. Installs from media without this PTF may still require corrective recovery.

Level 5 (May 12th, 2023)

While this PTF group level does not contain any new PowerHA licensed program product fixes or enhancements, this PTF group level has recommended PTFs and fixes from other IBM i products and components.

Level 4 (April 21st, 2023)

Level 3 (January 20th, 2023)

PTF SI81914 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.5 HA 5.2.2

New Features

  • PowerHA provides a new, modern web interface, giving at-a-glance health information and allows for easy management of PowerHA operations from a web browser.

  • Administrative domain integration with support for synchronizing the user auditing (OBJAUD and AUDLVL) and maximum sign-on attempts (MAXSIGN) profile attributes for user profiles across the environment.

  • Data exposure (in seconds) is now returned for Spectrum Virtualize (SVC) Global Mirror with change volumes-based sessions, in both the Display SVC Session (DSPSVCSSN) command and the QHASM.SESSION_INFO SQL service.

  • Additional automation for Spectrum Virtualize IASP-based Flashcopy including:

    • The ability to run a user exit program as part of FlashCopy operations.

    • Simplified management with the ability to suspend and resume FlashCopy sessions.

Enhancements

  • PowerHA has been enhanced by enabling support for more than 256 volumes in a DSCLI-based DS8000 global mirror replication environment. Previously, environments with more than 256 volumes would result in a HAE2024, indicating a DSCLI error had occurred. The alternative in these environments was to reduce the number of volumes or use IBM Copy Services Manager.

  • Improved switchover progress monitoring to show additional information when an automatic failover is canceled.

  • The ADDHACFGD and RMVHACFGD commands are simplified to no longer require the cluster name.

  • PowerHA has been enhanced so that the job for automatic deletion of printer devices triggered by policy QCST_AD_DELETE will always use the QSYSNOMAX job queue.

  • FlashCopy automation improvements that no longer suspend remote copy sessions as part of the FlashCopy operation in instances where the suspend is no longer required.

  • Performance improvements when upgrading the PowerHA version.

Fixes

  • With IBM Copy Services Manager (CSM) version 6.3.2 or later, PowerHA may encounter HAE0082 when attempting to perform operations on the CSM session. This issue has been resolved.

  • Resolved an issue where the monitored resource details screen displayed unknown for the local status when the local status was either create pending or create failed.

  • Resolved a temporary storage leak that occurs with certain PowerHA operations.

  • Resolved an issue where the PowerHA automatic version upgrade may not process an automatic upgrade from version 1.0 to 2.0.

  • Improved handling of PowerHA exit program registration to provide better automated recovery and prevent duplicate exit program registration.

  • Improved messages when invalid operations are specified on CHGSVCSSN or CHGASPSSN commands.

  • Resolved an MCH6902 occurring when performing a DSPSVCSSN command if the device description has been deleted.

Level 2 (November 1st, 2022)

Level 1 (June 29th, 2022)

PTF SI80111 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.5 HA 5.1.2

New Features

  • The Spectrum Virtualize (SVC) based FlashCopy automation integrated into PowerHA now includes additional automation at the target system of Geographic Mirroring, eliminating the need to manually suspend or detach the geographic mirroring replication as part of the FlashCopy process.

  • PowerHA compresses geographic mirroring data during resynchronization reducing the data transfer required. In addition, on Power10 systems, PowerHA uses the on-chip NX GZIP accelerator if the NX feature is enabled, providing hardware accelerated compression.

Enhancements

  • The Display HA Configuration Description (DSPHACFGD) command no longer requires the cluster parameter and now provides the list of configuration descriptions when prompting on the command.

  • Improved robustness of attempts to match the HyperSwap affinity as part of a cluster resource group switchover or failover operation.

Fixes

  • The public authority for service program QHASM/QHACMNA has changed from *USE to *EXCLUDE. Any users without *ALLOBJ authority may need additional authority to perform PowerHA operations.

  • Simplified the use of the Create Cluster (CRTCLU) command from any node when all nodes are at different program temporary fix (PTF) levels. With this improvement, as long as all nodes are at the same release, the CRTCLU command can be run from any node in the cluster.

  • Resolved the issue with the WRKCADMRE command failing with error CPFAA0E stating 'Library name *ALL not valid' in environments where the PowerHA release is not the same between all nodes.

  • Resolved an issue in environments where PowereHA operations failed with error CPD0032 when the default authority for the Grant Object Authority (GRTOBJAUT) is changed from *USE to *EXCLUDE.

  • Improved recovery of a Geographic Mirror session after unplanned failover. Previously the first resume after an unplanned failure could result in a CPFBA56 with reason code '0386'.

  • Issue where the Display CRG Activity (DSPCRGACT) or switchover progress monitoring displays showed a very large number, even when only a few seconds had elapsed is now fixed.

  • Resolved issue where a CHGCRG with the same recovery domain in an SVC LUN-Level switching environment could result in the disk units being unmapped from all hosts.

  • Messages have been improved to show future PowerHA versions using an x in place of the modification level. For example showing as 5.x.

  • Resolved the issue with the CRTCRG command, where the Configure takeover IP address (CFGINTNETA) parameter was not honoring a value of *USR.

  • The work with cluster resource groups screen has been improved to allow for using option 3=change primary of a CRG managed by a container when the container has a status of Inactive.

  • Issue where the Display CRG Activity (DSPCRGACT) shows a blank display in a mixed HA version environment fixed.

  • Simplified the PowerHA license error messages with messages correctly indicating what option and if the error is related to a required option not being installed, over the usage limit, or an expired grace period.

  • PowerHA has been improved so that the clearing of master key 1 is allowed if no cluster is configured on the system. In addition, versions of PowerHA saved with this enhancement applied will no longer set master key 1 at install time. Instead, PowerHA will set master key 1, if required, when a node first becomes active in a cluster.

PTF SI78996 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.5 HA 5.0.1

Enhancements

  • The PowerHA SystemMirror for i offering is simplified to have a single edition containing all functionality. When upgrading from a prior release, if 5770HAS option 1 was not installed, the manual installation of 5770HAS Option 1 will be required either before or after the upgrade.

  • PowerHA has been enhanced so that planned switchovers or unplanned failovers will always use the QSYSNOMAX job queue for IASP vary on and off operations regardless of the user initiating the operation.

Fixes

  • Improved the update speed of the CRG recovery domain eligibility after a switchover or failover where replication is not reversed.

  • Resolved an issue where the global status for admin domain attributes shows as unknown instead of the correct value.

  • Improved the QHASM.CLUSTER_NODES SQL service to return 0 rather than null, for a node that has a potential mod level of 0.

  • Resolved an issue in CSM Global Mirror environments where an administrative switchover may not contain data from recent writes resulting in a higher than expected RPO.

  • Resolved an issue where some PowerHA exit programs were left registered when uninstalling PowerHA. These exit programs are now removed as part of uninstalling PowerHA.

  • Resolved an issue where ANZCADPRF may give escape message CPF9801 when user profiles have been removed from the system.

  • Simplified problem determination in a DS8000 environment with improved logging of DSCLI errors.

  • Improved error message when an incorrect node name is given on CRTCRG or ADDCRGNODE.

  • The public authority for several PowerHA programs has changed from *USE to *EXCLUDE. Any users without *ALLOBJ authority may need additional authority to perform PowerHA operations.

  • To improve consistency with the underlying authority required for the functionality, the public authority of the following commands has been changed from *USE to *EXCLUDE:

    • Retrieve Cluster (RTVCLU)

    • Retrieve CRG (RTVCRG)

    • Wrk with Cluster (WRKCLU)

    • Print Admin Dmain MRE (PRTCADMRE)

    • Retrieve ASP Cpy Descriptin (RTVASPCPYD)

    • Retrieve ASP Sessin (RTVASPSSN)

    • Retrieve CSM Sessin (RTVCSMSSN)

    • Retrieve SVC Cpy Descriptin (RTVSVCCPYD)

    • Retrieve SVC Sessin (RTVSVCSSN)

 

Level 19 (October 11th, 2024)

Level 18 (July 12th, 2024)

PTF SJ00821

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.11.3

New Features

  • The PowerHA modern web interface now provides the ability to perform several management operations, including the ability to perform the following types of operations:

    • Cluster node actions, including starting and ending cluster nodes

    • Administrative domain management, including:

      • Starting and ending administrative domains

      • Adding and removing monitored resources

    • The ability to manage switchable environments, including:

      • Starting and ending cluster resource groups

      • Performing administrative switchovers and failover

    • Managing replication sessions with the ability to suspend, resume, detach, and reattach replication.

  • PowerHA SQL services for HyperSwap information provide the ability to explore PowerHA objects and data in new ways. The following new services are available to retrieve HyperSwap information similar to the information available in the Work with HyperSwap Status (WRKHYSSTS) and Display HyperSwap Status (DSPHYSSTS) displays:

    • QHASM.HYPERSWAP_STATUS_LIST View

    • QHASM.HYPERSWAP_STATUS_INFO Table Function

Enhancements

  • The web interface has improved customization that enables searching, sorting, filtering, and selecting columns for tables within the interface.

  • When using the PowerHA web interface, it is now possible to easily view a dynamically generated SQL query that would produce similar results to what is shown on the screen, including the current column, sorting, and filtering customizations.

  • It is now easier to add multiple user profiles to the administrative domain while specifying to omit IBM-supplied profiles. This is available from either the web interface or with a new special value of *IBM on the OMIT parameter for ADDCADMRE.

  • The ADDCADMRE command with generic and wildcards has been enhanced to work in batch environments with the addition of the CONFIRM parameter.

Fixes

  • PowerHA now automatically sets the status of user profile QHAUSRPRF to *ENABLED upon product install and PTF install. When QHAUSRPRF is *DISABLED certain product operations including the PowerHA web interface fail to function. The PowerHA web interface will fail with Permission Denied if QHAUSRPRF is disabled.

  • Improved the change asp session node selection panel to only show in environments with multi-target geographic mirroring. Previously the node selection panel would show in environments with either multiple nodes or multiple ASP devices.

  • Resolved an issue where the WRKASPCPYD option 22 or DSPASPSSN function F7 could fail in geographic mirroring environments with message HAE0045: Request not compatible with current PowerHA version, when not all nodes were at the same PTF level.

  • Resolved an issue where PowerHA install and PTF installs may contain SQL0113 in the joblog when the default CCSID is not 37. This could result in PowerHA SQL services failing with SQL0204.

  • Improved message when issuing a STRSVCSSN against a cluster resource group with a single site. Previously, message CPFBB68 was returned. This incorrectly specified that the cluster resource group had no configuration object entries. The message has been improved to display an HAD2009 indicating that less than two sites exist in the cluster resource group.

  • Resolved an issue where the Analyze Cluster Administrative Domain Profile (ANZCADPRF) command could cause the QHASVR job to end with messages CPF9801 and HAE0043 when the administrative domain contained monitored resources with a status of *FAILED.

  • Resolved an issue where the PowerHA webserver could fail to start with message HTP8019.

Level 17 (April 12th, 2024)

PTF SJ00203

Fixes

  • Resolves an issue where PowerHA DS8000 operations may fail with error HAE2024 (A DSCLI error has occurred) with second-level text containing CMUC00187E indicating an inability to access the CLI user password file. This error may begin occurring after updating Java.

PTF SI86105

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.11.2

New Features

  • Integration with FlashSystem and Spectrum Virtualize Asynchronous Policy-Based replication for Spectrum Virtualize 8.6.2.0 and later. PowerHA automatically detects if an SVC session is consistency-group-based or policy-based.

  • Administrative domain integration with support for synchronizing the SNMP V3 attributes for printer device descriptions, including SNMP User (SNMPUSR), and SNMP Context (SNMPCNTX) across the environment.

Enhancements

  • PowerHA FlashCopy automation is enhanced to show the node name and job name for jobs including quiesce and vary on jobs.

Fixes

  • Resolved an issue where printer device descriptions may have the Host print transform (TRANSFORM) attribute inconsistent due to the handling of the Manufacturer type and model (MFRTYPMDL) parameter on the printer device description.

Level 16 (January 19th, 2024)

PTF SI85563

Fixes

  • Improved automated recovery in a geographic mirroring environment when a Change ASP Session (CHGASPSSN) with option *CHGATTR fails, with new auto-resume processing.

  • Resolved an issue where DLTLICPGM for PowerHA failed with an error indicating that the QUSRHASM library was not found.

  • Resolved an issue where PowerHA operations could fail with error CPFA1C7 accessing the HADSVERSION file.

PTF SI85162 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.10.2

New Features

  • Integrated tracking of jobs for user-specified job queues, allowing for easy resubmission of incomplete jobs following a failure with the following enhancements:

    • Simple user-defined tracking with the ability to start and end tracking for specified job queues to enable automatic tracking of job lifecycle information using the new Start Tracking Job Queue (STRTRKJOBQ) and End Tracking Job Queue (ENDTRKJOBQ) commands.

    • Enhanced visibility to easily view the status of active or recently active jobs at the time of a failure using the new Work with ASP Job Queue (WRKASPJOBQ) command. Simplified resubmission of tracked jobs through the WRKASPJOBQ interface enabling quicker system recovery.

Enhancements

  • Improved performance for the Print Admin Domain MRE (PRTCADMRE) command with information detail (DETAIL) *RSC is used.

  • As part of the IBM i product portfolio simplification strategy, the PowerHA product no longer validates 5770-SS1 option 41 - HA Switchable resources licenses directly.

  • The number of joblogs produced by PowerHA automated health checks has been reduced so that joblogs are no longer produced during successful operations.

  • PowerHA license management checking is improved to reduce the number of messages displayed in certain scenarios.

Fixes

  • Resolved an issue where PowerHA session commands and SQL services could cause the QHASVR job to end.

  • Software errors reported in PowerHA have been enhanced to include the joblog for the QHASVR job by default.

  • Resolved an issue where Print Admin Domain MRE (PRTCADMRE) could fail with CPF7304 when printing monitored resources to *OUTFILE in instances where the size of the file was set to *NOMAX. PRTCADMRE no longer fails in this instance.

  • Issue where some security scanning tools may have incorrectly identified an error indicating the server allowed access to .htaccess and .htpasswd. While there was no security issue, the server now returns an improved response to prevent false positives in these security scanning tools.

  • An improved message is displayed when a PowerHA node is not at a compatible PowerHA version or modification level when starting the cluster node.

  • PowerHA is simplified to only allow adding a node as the last backup in a cluster resource group recovery domain. The node role element in the Add CRG Node Entry (ADDCRGNODE) command now only allows a value of *LAST. In addition, *PRIMARY is no longer allowed as the node role for the newly added node. Any existing CL programs that specified this element on the ADDCRGNODE command may require modification.

Level 15 (July 26th, 2023)

PTF SI83746 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.9.2

New Features

  • Increased agility and adaptability in Geographic Mirroring environments featuring the ability to change Geographic Mirroring parameters with minimal impact on the production workload. The following parameters can now be changed using the Change ASP Session (CHGASPSSN) command while the production copy is online:

    • transmission delivery

    • transmission compression

    • synchronization priority

    • suspend timeout

  • Geographic Mirroring environments feature the ability to detach and vary on suspended copies of the ISAP, simplifying recoverability.

Enhancements

  • The PowerHA web interface shows monitored resource details and attribute values.

  • DS8000 LUN-level switching now supports up to 32 host connections per cluster node.

  • The PowerHA web interface now includes an inactivity timeout of 30 minutes and a warning if the web interface is accessed via HTTP instead of HTTPS.

Fixes

  • Previously, PowerHA operations could hang if a user without access to QYASCHGDDD attempted to perform a PowerHA operation. PowerHA has been enhanced so that users no longer need access to either QYASCHGDDD or QYASRTVDDD.

  • Corrected an issue where in some instances, a CPFBBBD: Resource type *AUTL or *PRTDEV not valid, could occur during admin domain operations, including ADDCADMRE.

  • The help text for *ETHLIN resource on ADDCADMRE has been corrected to include the current list of attributes supported for *ETHLIN attributes. This updated help text is only available for language 2924.

  • Resolved an issue where the PowerHA web interface may not automatically refresh in instances where a page was loaded when clustering was inactive.

  • Resolved an issue where the PowerHA web interface may continually flash on the screen when a cluster, cluster node, admin domain, cluster resource group, or session contains certain special characters.

  • PowerHA has been enhanced to retry when 'Connection refused' is received when connecting to a SVC storage system.

  • Resolved issue where an incorrect DS8000 username or password can cause a hang during PowerHA operations.

  • Resolved issue during PowerHA install time where the CCSID of the inet.d configuration file is changed. PowerHA installs saved after application with this fix, such as during a full system save, or SAVLICPGM, will no longer have this issue. Installs from media without this PTF may still require corrective recovery.

Level 14 (May 12th, 2023)

Level 13 (April 21st, 2023)

Level 12 (January, 20th, 2023)

PTF SI81913 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.5 HA 4.8.2

New Features

  • PowerHA provides a new, modern web interface, giving at-a-glance health information and allows for easy management of PowerHA operations from a web browser.

  • Administrative domain integration with support for synchronizing the user auditing (OBJAUD and AUDLVL) and maximum sign-on attempts (MAXSIGN) profile attributes for user profiles across the environment.

  • Data exposure (in seconds) is now returned for Spectrum Virtualize (SVC) Global Mirror with change volumes-based sessions, in both the Display SVC Session (DSPSVCSSN) command and the QHASM.SESSION_INFO SQL service.

  • Additional automation for Spectrum Virtualize IASP-based Flashcopy including:

    • The ability to run a user exit program as part of FlashCopy operations.

    • Simplified management with the ability to suspend and resume FlashCopy sessions.

Enhancements

  • PowerHA has been enhanced by enabling support for more than 256 volumes in a DSCLI-based DS8000 global mirror replication environment. Previously, environments with more than 256 volumes would result in a HAE2024, indicating a DSCLI error had occurred. The alternative in these environments was to reduce the number of volumes or use IBM Copy Services Manager.

  • Improved switchover progress monitoring to show additional information when an automatic failover is canceled.

  • The ADDHACFGD and RMVHACFGD commands are simplified to no longer require the cluster name.

  • PowerHA has been enhanced so that the job for automatic deletion of printer devices triggered by policy QCST_AD_DELETE will always use the QSYSNOMAX job queue.

  • FlashCopy automation improvements that no longer suspend remote copy sessions as part of the FlashCopy operation in instances where the suspend is no longer required.

  • Performance improvements when upgrading the PowerHA version.

Fixes

  • With IBM Copy Services Manager (CSM) version 6.3.2 or later, PowerHA may encounter HAE0082 when attempting to perform operations on the CSM session. This issue has been resolved.

  • Resolved an issue where the monitored resource details screen displayed unknown for the local status when the local status was either create pending or create failed.

  • Resolved a temporary storage leak that occurs with certain PowerHA operations.

  • Resolved an issue where the PowerHA automatic version upgrade may not process an automatic upgrade from version 1.0 to 2.0.

  • Improved handling of PowerHA exit program registration to provide better automated recovery and prevent duplicate exit program registration.

  • Improved messages when invalid operations are specified on CHGSVCSSN or CHGASPSSN commands.

  • Resolved an MCH6902 occurring when performing a DSPSVCSSN command if the device description has been deleted.

Level 11 (November 1st, 2022)

Level 10 (June 29th, 2022)

PTF SI80035 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.7.2

New Features

  • The Spectrum Virtualize (SVC) based FlashCopy automation integrated into PowerHA now includes additional automation at the target system of Geographic Mirroring, eliminating the need to manually suspend or detach the geographic mirroring replication as part of the FlashCopy process.

  • PowerHA compresses geographic mirroring data during resynchronization reducing the data transfer required. In addition, on Power10 systems, PowerHA uses the on-chip NX GZIP accelerator if the NX feature is enabled, providing hardware accelerated compression.

Enhancements

  • The Display HA Configuration Description (DSPHACFGD) command no longer requires the cluster parameter and now provides the list of configuration descriptions when prompting on the command.

  • Improved robustness of attempts to match the HyperSwap affinity as part of a cluster resource group switchover or failover operation.

  • PowerHA has been enhanced so that planned switchovers or unplanned failovers will always use the QSYSNOMAX job queue for IASP vary on and off operations regardless of the user initiating the operation.

Fixes

  • Simplified the use the Create Cluster (CRTCLU) command from any node when all nodes are at different program temporary fix (PTF) levels. With this improvement, as long as all nodes are at the same release, the CRTCLU command can be run from any node in the cluster.

  • Resolved the issue with the WRKCADMRE command failing with error CPFAA0E stating 'Library name *ALL not valid' in environments where the PowerHA release is not the same between all nodes.

  • Resolved an issue in environments where PowereHA operations failed with error CPD0032 when the default authority for the Grant Object Authority (GRTOBJAUT) is changed from *USE to *EXCLUDE.

  • Issue where the Display CRG Activity (DSPCRGACT) or switchover progress monitoring displays showed a very large number, even when only a few seconds had elapsed is now fixed.

  • Resolved issue where a CHGCRG with the same recovery domain in an SVC LUN-Level switching environment could result in the disk units being unmapped from all hosts.

  • Messages have been improved to show future PowerHA versions using an x in place of the modification level. For example showing as 5.x.

  • Resolved issue with the CRTCRG command, where the Configure takeover IP address (CFGINTNETA) parameter was not honoring a value of *USR.

  • The work with cluster resource groups screen has been improved to allow for using option 3=change primary of a CRG managed by a container when the container has a status of Inactive.

  • Issue with the Display CRG Activity (DSPCRGACT) showing a blank display in a mixed HA version environment fixed.

  • PowerHA has been improved so that the clearing of master key 1 is allowed if no cluster is configured on the system. In addition, versions of PowerHA saved with this enhancement applied will no longer set master key 1 at install time. Instead, PowerHA will set master key 1, if required, when a node first becomes active in a cluster.

Level 9 (April 8th, 2022)

Level 8 (February 4th, 2022) - HA 4.6.1

PTF SI77788 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.6.1 & 7.2 HA 3.8 PTFs

New Features

  • New device type *IPA supports switching IP addresses with no associated independent auxiliary storage pool device within device CRGs.

  • Switchover progress monitoring:

    • Switchover progress monitoring now is integrated with the CHGCRGPRI command to automatically display progress during a switchover.

    • A new action required step indicates when a job queue is held or a subsystem is inactive.

  • SVC FlachCopy automation:

    • SVC FlashCopy automatically varies off the target ASPs when ending a FlashCopy session or performing an incremental FlashCopy.

    • SVC FlashCopy now uses named mappings on the storage device for simplified identification.

Enhancements

  • Additional simplified commands with F4 prompting, including:

    • Support for automatically generating an administrative domain name on the CRTCAD command with a new default value of *GEN for the administrative domain name.

    • A new ADMDMN parameter on the ADDCLUNODE command automatically adds a new cluster node to an existing administrative domain by default.

    • Prompting on the STRSVCSSN command for ASPCPY and CRG parameters.

    • Simplification of the DSPSVCSSN, CHGSVCSSN, and ENDSVCSSN commands including prompting for the SSN parameter.

    • Simplified CRG command handling of secondary IASPs. The configuration object online parameter is now ignored for secondary IASPs and automatically set to *PRIMARY.

    • The CFGGEOMIR command now shows a list of ASP devices when prompting on the command.

  • Performance improvements for SVC-based storage communication reduce the time required to perform operations.

  • Performance improvements related to temporary user spaces and user queues with up to a 48% decrease in CPU usage, and up to a 90% decrease in the number of user spaces created for certain PowerHA operations.

Other Fixes

  • SVC FlashCopy consistency improvements when at the target of a Metro Mirror relationship.

  • SAVHAPCY and RSTHAPCY commands now consider no policies selected a success and returns a file with 0 records instead of an error.

  • DSPHAPCY now returns a successful message even if no policies are found.

  • Resolved an issue where a standard edition cluster received a licensing error for enterprise edition on the PowerHA GUI.

  • Simplified PowerHA license error messages with messages correctly indicating what option and if the error is related to a required option not being installed, over the usage limit, or an expired grace period.

  • Resolved an issue where suspend was shown as an available action for a session which was already suspended when using interactive change session screens.

  • Improved messages and logging from PowerHA automated health checks related to the replication state, including improved distinction when replication is reversed or detached.

  • Improved error message when attempting to perform a STRCRG with LUN-Level Switching that is incorrectly configured.

  • Resolved an issue that could cause performance problems during a RSTLICPGM.

Level 7 (July 7th, 2021) - HA 4.5.1

PTF SI76617 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.5.1 & 7.2 HA 3.7 PTFs

New Features

  • Switchover and failover progress monitoring support provided with the new command, Display CRG Activity (DSPCRGACT).

  • FlashCopy Automation

    • SVC FlashCopy verifies the replication state for STRSVCSSN if the FlashCopy is at the target side of replication and prompts the user to confirm if replication is not active.

    • SVC FlashCopy verifies the replication state for CHGSVCSSN performing an incremental copy if the FlashCopy is at the target side of the replication and prompts the user to confirm if replication is not active.

    • The new source ASP Action (SRCASPACN) parameter provides the ability to quiesce the FlashCopy production copy automatically.

    • A new target ASP Action (TGTASPACN) parameter provides support for automatically varying on a FlashCopy target ASP.

  • Automated deployment of geographic mirroring

    • Support for automatically generating copy description and/or session names for geographic mirroring when using CFGGEOMIR.

    • The new start indicator to CFGGEOMIR automatically starts the CRG, varies on the IASP, and if necessary, resumes replication.

Enhancements

  • The DLTCAD command has been simplified. It no longer requires the cluster parameter and now contains support for * for the admin domain parameter.

  • Simplified the RMVCLUNODE command. It no longer requires the cluster parameter and the list of nodes in the cluster when prompting on the command.

  • Simplified the RMVCADNODE command to no longer require the cluster parameter, added a new default * option for the admin domain parameter, and provided prompting for the admin domain parameter.

  • The RMVDEVDMNE command has been simplified to no longer require the cluster parameter, and list of the device domains on the DEVDMN parameter when prompting on the command.

Other Fixes

  • Improved retries on SVC SSH failures where the connection is reset.

  • Resolved error where an automated, unplanned failover with Copy Services Manager may fail due to incorrect information from the storage system.

  • Resolves an issue where a locked CRG object could cause the QHASVR job to end when performing a health check.

  • CFGGEOMIR *DELETE now removes both the source and target copy descriptions.

  • Fixed issue with change session for CSM where choice panel with no options would show in some instances when the session was reversed.

  • Improved error message for when a CRG is not inactive when adding or removing data port IP addresses.

  • Resolved an issue when some instances an automatic failover with Copy Services Manager (CSM) sessions may not be initiated.

  • Improved error messages with CFGGEOMIR:

    • Improved error message when the same copy description name is specified for both the source and target copy descriptions.

    • Improved error message when a conflicting copy description already exists.

    • Improved error message when CFGGEOMIR is used and no data port IP address is specified in the CRG.

    • Improved error message with CFGGEOMIR when the operation partially completes.

  • Resolved an error where CFGGEOMIR *DELETE may remove an incorrect copy description when multiple IASPs for a single CRG exist.

  • Resolved an issue that can result in slow performance when performing operations from PowerHA work panels.

  • Improved performance when performing Start CSM Session (STRCSMSSN) on the non-primary node.

Level 6 (April 9th, 2021) - HA 4.4.1

PTF SI75531 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.4.1 & 7.2 HA 3.6 PTFs

Enhancements

  • Simplified ability to perform actions on a PowerHA session with the following:

    • A new F7 = Change session choice selection was added on the Display ASP Session (DSPASPSSN), Display CSM Session (DSPCSMSSN), and Display SVC Session (DSPSVCSSN) panels.

    • A new change session choice selection panel is available when performing option 22 on the Work with ASP Copy Descriptions (WRKASPCPYD) display.

  • Several enhancements to SVC FlashCopy including:

    • The ability to add volumes to copy descriptions when there is an active FlashCopy session, including in incremental FlashCopy environments.

    • PowerHA now delays the creation of FlashCopy reverse consistency groups and mappings until a reverse operation is requested, reducing the time required to start a FlashCopy and eliminating the risk of accidentally starting a reverse FlashCopy from the storage device.

  • Improved control over node selection during switchovers in multi-node device CRG environments with the following improvements:

    • A new 'switch type' parameter added to the Change CRG Primary (CHGCRGPRI) command.

    • When performing change primary from the work with cluster screens, a new selection panel to select the new primary node is displayed.

  • When performing change primary from the work with cluster screens, a confirmation panel is now displayed indicating the current and new primary node.

  • The CHGCRGPRI command includes an improved message when the CRG is not in the correct state to perform a switchover.

  • The Start Cluster Resource Group (STRCRG) and End Cluster Resource Group (ENDCRG) commands now return success if the CRG is already in the desired state, simplifying scripts that call these commands.

  • The Start Cluster Administrative Domain (STRCAD) and End Cluster Administrative Domain (ENDCAD) commands now return success if the administrative domain is already in the desired state, simplifying scripts that call these commands.

  • The Change ASP Session (CHGASPSSN) and Change SVC Session (CHGSVCSSN) commands contain several performance improvements.

Other Fixes

  • SE75118: In a Spectrum Virtualize (SVC) HyperSwap with LUN Level Switching environment, in certain configurations, a switchover or failover operation may fail with message HAE2057 with storage message CMMVC5842E. This has been resolved.

  • In some instances, message text information was unavailable for some messages in PowerHA when retrieving PowerHA session information. This has been corrected so that the message text is available.

  • With SVC Metro Mirror or SVC Global Mirror when the source storage system was down the *DETACH operation failed. The *DETACH operation now only requires the target storage to be operational to perform the operation.

  • Improvements to the Configure Geographic Mirroring (CFGGEOMIR) command to work regardless of recovery domain order in a Geographic Mirroring with LUN-Level Switching environment.

  • The error message from CHGASPSSN with an incorrect session name now properly indicates that the session was not found.

  • Previously when encrypted cluster wide data could not be read, any PowerHA operation attempting to use encrypted data resulted in an MCH0601. A correct error message is now displayed when data cannot be decrypted.

  • The correct PowerHA potential fix level is displayed on DSPCLUINF when there is no cluster. Previously, PowerHA would sometimes show the incorrect potential fix level when there was no cluster.

  • The order of the administrative domain (ADMDMN) and source node (SRCNODE) parameters has been changed to be consistent with prior releases.

Level 5 (January 8th, 2021) - HA 4.3.1

PTF SI74865 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.3.1 & 7.2 HA 3.5 PTFs

New Features

  • Simplified deployment of PowerHA:

    • The Create Cluster CRTCLU command now honors the start indicator (START) parameter even when more than one node is specified and now adds all nodes to a device domain by default.

    • The Create Cluster Administrative Domain (CRTCAD) command has been improved to accept *ALL for node name, will configure recommended policies, and automatically start the newly created administrative domain.

    • Automatic creation of an ASP device description on required nodes when using the CRTCRG, ADDCRGDEVE and ADDCRGNODE commands.

    • Simplified configuration of geographic mirroring combining transmission delivery and mirroring mode into a single, tunable parameter.

  • PowerHA Health Monitoring Dashboards.

  • PowerHA SQL services for session information provide the ability to explore PowerHA objects and data in new ways. The following new services are available:

    • QHASM.Session_List View

    • QHASM.Session_Info Table Function

  • Visibility of real-time Recovery Point Objective (RPO) information for geographic mirroring with the new round-trip time field on the Display ASP Session (DSPASPSSN) displays.

  • Configure firewall security and Quality of Service (QoS) in a Geographic Mirroring environment easily with the ability to specify a port number used by Geographic Mirroring.

  • New *ALL option on the STRCLUNOD command offers the ability to attempt to start all inactive cluster nodes.

Enhancements

  • For ease of use, the cluster parameter is no longer a required parameter on many cluster, device domain, administrative domain, and CRG commands.

  • Improved F4 prompting with choices that are customized to the environment and status available on many cluster, device domain, administrative domain and CRG commands.

  • Work with Cluster (WRKCLU) menu simplification combines options 1 and 2 and options 6 and 7.

  • Display HyperSwap Status (DSPHYSSTS) now supports 132 column display eliminating the need for F11.

  • Simplified ability to update SVC copy description LUN ranges by allowing CHGSVCCPYD when an active Metro Mirror or Global Mirror session exists, along with improved error messages when a FlashCopy session exists.

  • When user profiles and authorization lists are added to the admin domain via *ALL or generic wildcards on the ADDCADMRE command, PowerHA attempts an automatic re-synchronization of inconsistent monitored resources.

  • Improved support for DS8000 FlashCopy in combination with DS8000 Global Mirror enabling multiple target side FlashCopy, Persistent source side FlashCopy, and switchovers and failovers when DS8000 FlashCopy sessions are active.

  • Several enhancements to IBM Spectrum Virtualize (SVC) based FlashCopy including:

    • Improved SVC Consistency group names when *GEN is used on STRSVCSSN which names the consistency group using environment information.

    • The cleaning rate for SVC based FlashCopy now is set always to be a value greater than zero to prevent a hang with an ENDSVCSSN due to multiple dependent FlashCopies.

    • An error message is returned for SVC incremental FlashCopy with a copy rate of 0. Using a copy rate of 0 is not supported for incremental FlashCopy sessions preventing a FlashCopy session that can never be incremented

    • PowerHA now gives a more descriptive error message if the FlashCopy source and target node are the same.

    • When disk units do not enlist properly in an SVC FlashCopy environment, the STRSVCSSN command now completes with errors rather than indicating it completed successfully.

  • PowerHA logging improvements including reducing the maximum log file size.

  • The PowerHA health check frequency has been increased to now run at 15 minute intervals.

  • Documented configuration for shadowing the system distribution directory in a PowerHA environment.

Other Fixes

  • Eliminated the requirement to press Enter twice when prompting on the Change CSM Session (CHGCSMSSN) command.

  • Removed duplicate target vary state column from DSPCSMSSN OUTPUT(*PRINT).

  • Added missing CRG Exit Point Operation Pending status to PowerHA help text.

  • Improved the order of internet address and key file parameters to be consistent between the ADDSVCCPYD command and DSPSVCCPYD command.

  • The URL for the PowerHA wiki has been updated in the PowerHA help text to point to the new wiki location.

  • In certain unplanned failover operations after a cluster partition could result in message CPFBB17 preventing the failover. This has been improved to no longer encounter this error with failover after a cluster partition.

  • During CRG operations the QHASVR job could end due to a lock conflict with the CRG. PowerHA has been improved to retry the operation once the lock is released.

  • In certain instances if an SVC FlashCopy session is started using *GEN for either the consistency group or reverse consistency group parameters and a subsequent ENDSVCSSN uses the option to not delete the consistency group, PowerHA was leaving orphaned consistency groups on the storage. PowerHA now always cleans up generated consistency groups.

  • ENDSVCSSN now properly cleans up FlashCopy mappings even if the consistency group is already stopped.

  • A timing issue in STRSVCSSN for FlashCopy has been resolved where PowerHA did not wait for the consistency group to enter the copying state before continuing on.

  • STRSVCSSN for FlashCopy has been improved to clean up incomplete FlashCopy mappings when startfcconsistgrp fails reducing the need for manual cleanup on the storage controller.

  • Previously if a user attempted to work with configuration objects on a non-device CRG, locks were left on panel group QGHAWRKPNL, these locks are now properly released.

  • Several messages have been translated.

  • Eliminated the need to grant *CHANGE authority to the QUSRHASM library for users of PowerHA commands. Previously this resulted in HAE00A - All cluster command user spaces busy or Not authorized to use library QUSRHASM.

  • Resolved an MCH3601 that could occur on DSPASPSSN for geographic mirroring if the disk units for an ASP device were missing.

  • The unused ASPCPY parameter has been removed from the CHGASPSSN command. Any existing CL programs that specified the ASPCPY parameter on the CHGASPSSN command may require modification.

  • FLVRVSREPL, the failover reverse replication parameter has been deprecated, affecting the following commands:

    • Start ASP Session (STRASPSSN)

    • Change ASP Session (CHGASPSSN)

    • Start SVC Session (STRSVCSSN)

    • Change SVC Session (CHGSCVSSN)

    Existing CL programs that use the failover reverse replication parameter may require modification.

  • Because the mirroring mode parameter (MODE) was removed, the following commands are affected:

    • Configure Geographic Mirroring (CFGGEOMIR)

    • Start ASP Session (STRASPSSN)

    • Change ASP Session (CHGASPSSN)

    Any existing CL programs that use the MODE parameter may require modification.

  • The source site (SRCSITE), and target site (TGTSITE) parameters were removed from the Configure Geographic Mirroring (CFGGEOMIR) command. Any existing CL programs that use the removed parameters may require modification.

Level 4 (June 26th, 2020) - HA 4.2.1

PTF SI73521

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.2.1 & 7.2 HA 3.4 PTFs

New Features

  • Simplified updates and upgrades with automated PowerHA and cluster version management.

  • Automated management improvements to the administrative domain policy QCST_AD_CREATE now function if clustering is inactive or partitioned.

  • PowerHA SQL services for cluster, administrative domain and CRG information provide the ability to explore PowerHA objects and data in new ways. The following new services are available:

    • Cluster Services

      • QHASM.CLUSTER_INFO(CLU_INF) view

      • QHASM.CLUSTER_NODES(NODE_LIST) view

    • Administrative Domain Services

      • QHASM.ADMIN_DOMAIN_LIST(CAD_LIST) view

      • QHASM.ADMIN_DOMAIN_MRE_ATTRIBUTES table function

      • QHASM.ADMIN_DOMAIN_MRE_DETAILS table function

      • QHASM.ADMIN_DOMAIN_MRE_LIST table function

      • QHASM.ADMIN_DOMAIN_NODES table function

    • Cluster Resource Group Services

      • QHASM.CLUSTER_RESOURCE_GROUP_LIST(CRG_LIST) view

      • QHASM.CRG_CONFIGURATION_OBJECTS table function

      • QHASM.CRG_INFO table function

      • QHASM.CRG_RECOVERY_DOMAIN table function

Enhancements

  • PowerHA has been enhanced to enable wide screen displays in additional third party emulators.

  • Communication to the SVC has been enhanced for robustness in certain heavily loaded environments where the SVC communication fails with Connection refused. PowerHA has implemented connection retries if this error is encountered.

  • DS8000 LUN-Level Switching has been enhanced for robustness to retry operations upon receiving 'CMUN04003E Operation Failure' during a LUN-Level switch.

  • The Display HyperSwap Status panel has been improved with a new summary status when a storage device failure occurs. Previously 'Invalid Configuration' was displayed, this has been improved to show 'STG Access Failure'.

  • The display HyperSwap Status panel has been enhanced to show volume identifiers in upper-case for consistency with typical DS8000 LUN identifier representation.

  • Improved joblog messages when adding multiple monitored resources to the administrative domain with the ADDCADMRE command to include a summary of the total number of MREs added successfully and the number of MREs that failed to add.

Other Fixes

  • Improved error message when a reattach is performed when the mirror copy of the IASP is online in a geographic mirroring environment.

  • The order of nodes in the CRG recovery domain is now consistent between the WRKCLU and the DSPCRGINF commands to always display nodes ordered by the current node role.

  • In some instances, a resume of geographic mirroring failed with unrecognized error code 0386. PowerHA has been enhanced to resolve the situation automatically.

  • Previously when geographic mirroring replication was active, PowerHA displayed copy progress as 0. This has been fixed to show a copy progress of 100 when replication is active.

  • When communication failures occurred with an IBM Copy Services Manager (CSM) storage controller, PowerHA allowed a CSM configuration description that is in-use by a session to be removed. An appropriate error message is returned when a configuration description is in use.

  • In certain instances a PowerHA operation could fail with CPFBA23: Operation Failed due to other in-progress system operations. PowerHA uses automatic retries for these operations.

  • Improved licensing and compliance messages related to exceeding the processor usage limit. For additional information see Software Licensing and Compliance Information.

Level 3 (April 16th, 2020) - HA 4.1.1

PTF SI72362 (plus language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.1.1 Enhancements

New Features

  • Security compliance automation that detects and disables inactive profiles across all nodes in a PowerHA environment with the introduction of the QHA_AD_ANZCADPRF policy and Analyze Admin Domain Profile (ANZCADPRF) command.

  • Enhanced visibility of real-time Recovery Point Objective (RPO) information for SVC Global Mirror with Change Volumes, and CSM Global Mirror sessions in the Display SVC Session (DSPSVCSSN) and Display CSM Session (DSPCSMSSN) displays.

  • Re-designed display session screens that take advantage of 132 column displays and provide a clearer indication of replication status.

Other Fixes

  • SE72554: Resolves an issue where an authorization list entry where a user's only authority is *AUTLMGT caused the authorization list to be inconsistent within the administrative domain

  • SE67378: Resolves an issue where option 6=Activate on cluster monitor did not properly restart the cluster monitor.

  • SE69164: Previously when the system default SSH client port was set to a port other than 22, PowerHA communication with IBM Spectrum Virtualize based storage (SVC) failed. PowerHA now correctly always uses port 22 when initiating communication with SVC storage.

  • SE72468: In some instances Display ASP Copy Description (DSPASPCPYD) for a copy description used in geographic mirroring resulted in MCH1211. This has been resolved.

  • SE72650: When copy descriptions are used in multiple sessions, the Work with ASP Copy Descriptions screen has been improved to show the copy descriptions in every session that they appear in.

  • Resolves an issue when attempting to add a cluster monitor via WRKCLU filled in the wrong field on the Add Cluster Monitor (ADDCLUMON) command in some instances.

  • Using WRKCLU to remove a cluster monitor that was defined with an IP address, instead of a host name resulted in a CPD0020. This has been resolved.

  • Improves integration with IBM Copy Services manager to support session names on the storage controller that include spaces and special characters

  • Previously, when displaying copy descriptions for ASP copies in geographic mirroring sessions on a node not in the recovery domain of the Cluster Resource Group (CRG) an MCH3601 was encountered. This has been resolved.

  • When running various SVC storage commands, in some instances duplicate completion messages were returned. PowerHA has been improved to return a single completion message.

  • In some instances when the local node was not active in the cluster, the Display Cluster Information (DSPCLUINF) command displayed the incorrect node status for other nodes within the cluster.

  • SVC based FlashCopy has been enhanced to ignore license warning message CMMVC6375W.

  • The Display Cluster Resource Group Information (DSPCRGINF) command has been enhanced to show a CRG status of 'Exit Point Operation Pending' rather than a blank status when a CRG exit point operation is in progress.

  • SVC Copy description commands (ADDSVCCPYD,CHGSVCCPYD) have been enhanced to remove extra padding on internet address and keyfile fields which resulted in difficult to diagnose error messages.

  • The Create CRG Container (CRTCRGCNR) command has improved error messages when required fields node role and site are not specified for a node in the container recovery domain.

  • When adding multiple resources to the administrative domain with *ALL or wildcards a CPFAA07 may be encountered if the list of attributes selected to monitor was not *ALL. The CPFAA07 is no longer encountered in these instances.

Level 2 (January 13th, 2020) - HA 4.0.1

PTF SI71412 (plus language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: HA 4.0.1 Enhancements

New Features

  • Increased the cluster administrative domain monitored resource entry limit to support up to 200,000 resources entries - an increase of over 340% to support for the largest environments.

  • New parameters for the Work with Cluster Administrative Domain Monitored Resource Entries (WRKCADMRE) command enable filtering based on criteria like monitored resource, library, resource type, and global status. Filters can be combined and support generic wild cards.

  • The Add Cluster Administrative Domain Monitored Resource Entry (ADDCADMRE) command now supports *ALL and wild cards on the monitored resource and library parameters. In addition, the omit parameter has been added. The new options are supported for user profiles, authorization lists, classes, job descriptions and subsystem descriptions. These simplify administrative domain setups; a single command can be used to add multiple resources at one time.

Enhancements

  • PowerHA enhanced support for replication of encrypted passwords set with(using) the QSYSUPWD API. Previously, the QSYSUPWD API caused the user-affected profile to be marked as inconsistent within the administrative domain.

  • Improved control over changing the synchronization option for an administrative domain using the Change Cluster Administrative Domain (CHGCAD) command even when some nodes in the administrative domain are inactive.

  • The WRKCADMRE command has been enhanced to work even when clustering is inactive. With this function, users can view monitored resources within an administrative domain on a local node even during maintenance windows.

  • Enhanced integrated recovery from a data-center outage in a HyperSwap with a LUN-level switching environment that enables HyperSwap protection to be restored with a single command.

  • Confirmation panels in PowerHA have been enhanced to use F16 instead of enter for confirm.

  • Several PowerHA work panels have been enhanced to show both error and completion messages at the bottom of the panel upon execution of actions on the work (WRKHAPCY, WRKASPCPYD, WRKHACFGD, WRKHYSSTS, Work with cluster resource groups).

  • PowerHA enhanced the detached status for Copy Services Manager Sessions to display as XXXX instead of blanks for consistency and ease of understanding.

  • Improved CHGCRGCNR switch type of *SAMESITE behavior has been improved to be more consistent in handling of ordering of the recovery domain.

  • User queue and user space objects used for PowerHA operation have been moved from the QGPL library to the QUSRHASM library.

  • Function key F13=Release notes has been added to the Work with Cluster (WRKCLU) command menu to show the release notes for the PowerHA product.

Other Fixes

  • SE71819: DS8000 multiple incremental FlashCopy issues at DS bundle versions.

  • SE72158: In an SVC Global Mirror with change volumes environment when the session storage state was 'consistent copying', the RTVSVCSSN command was returning unknown for the storage state. This is corrected to now correctly show the storage state as 'consistent copying'.

  • SE72209: In geographic mirroring environments, when replication was suspended or detached, the mirror copy of the IASP would show the status as VARYONPEND instead of VARYOFF. This has been corrected to show the status as VARYOFF.

  • SE72375: The persistent(*NO) option on STRASPSSN was not being honored for DS8000 FlashCopy sessions.

  • DSPSVCCPYD with the output *PRINT option, now includes the node field previously shown only with interactive displayed output.

  • The Remove HA Policy confirmation panel now wraps text for long policy commands, rather than truncating the displayed value.

  • The WRKHAPCY screen now allows option 1=ADD to be specified on any entry containing policy names, making it easier to add a specific policy without needing to type the entire name of the policy.

  • WRKCLU option 9, work with cluster resource groups (CRGs) has a simplified display for CRG containers indenting CRGs that are managed by a container.

  • DSPHYSSTS with the output *PRINT option now includes the synchronization status column previously shown only with interactive displayed output.

  • Error messages for the Change CSM Session (CHGCSMSSN) command have been enhanced with additional information as to the current session state and why the given operation is not allowed.

  • When performing WRKHAPCY at cluster version less than 9, a diagnostic message was incorrectly being displayed in the job log that the request was not compatible with the current cluster version.

  • When performing a refresh of the DSPCSMSSN command after clustering has ended, an MCH0601 would occur. This has been corrected to correctly show CPFBB26: Cluster Resource Services not active or not responding.

  • WRKCLU option 9 when no cluster is defined would give a CPF6A38 - Variable record CNSIS02RCD not defined in panel group. This has been corrected so that the panel works even when there is no cluster defined.

  • In geographic mirroring environments in some instances the vary state of the mirror copy independent ASP on DSPASPSSN incorrectly would show as unknown when a geographic mirroring session contained multiple independent ASPs.

  • Panel group QGYASPDSSN not released properly.

  • Panel group QGYASPWCPY not released properly.

  • Padded spaces truncated from PowerHA confirmation panels for easier readability.

  • The performance of DSPCRGINF was corrected as previously subsequent F5=Refresh on the DSPCRGINF screen resulted in longer refresh times.

Level 1 (June 28th, 2019) - HA 4.0

PTF SI70216

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 Base Enhancements

New Features

  • PowerHA contains support for Copy Services Manager (CSM) Metro Mirror, Global Mirror, and HyperSwap with Global Mirror.

  • PowerHA SystemMirror for i standard edition integrates with Db2 Mirror for i to provide support for near-continuous availability of IFS data within a Db2 Mirror for i environment.

  • CRG containers that serve as a control object for a collection of CRGs to be managed as a single entity.

  • The PowerHA SystemMirror for i enterprise edition enables Db2 Mirror disaster recovery capability through the use of new CRG containers.

  • PowerHA supports customizing and controlling behaviors in a PowerHA and cluster environment via HA Policies. The following policies are initially supported:

  •  

    • Automate the addition of Monitored Resource Entries (MREs) across nodes in the administrative domain upon object creation with the QCST_AD_CREATE policy.

    • Automate the deletion of MREs across all nodes in the administrative domain upon object deletion with the QCST_AD_DELETE policy.

    • Honor the restore of attributes on MREs in the administrative domain upon system save and restore operations with the QCST_AD_RESTORE policy.

    • Integrated control over the ability to cancel automatic CRG failovers with the QCST_CRG_CANCEL_FAILOVER policy.

    • Control the configuration of security settings governing communication between PowerHA and a storage device using IBM Copy Services Manager (CSM) with the QHA_COMM_STRICT_CERT_CHECK policy.

Enhancements

  • Additional customization on device CRGs with a new vary online setting of *CURRENT.

  • Improved control over administrative domain synchronization options with the STRCAD command.

  • Continued improvements to reduce IASP vary on times.

  • Communication to the SVC has been enhanced for robustness in certain heavily loaded environments where the SVC communication fails with ssh_exchange_identification: Connection closed by remote host. PowerHA has implemented connection retries when this error is encountered.

Other Fixes

  • SE70374: With certain job ccsids, ASP session commands failed with error HAE2013. This has been corrected to no longer occur.

  • SE69755: DSPASPSSN for geographic mirroring has been corrected to show the correct replication and ASP vary status when the cluster has a node with a status of partition.

  • SE71270: DSCLI communication within PowerHA has been enhanced to support passwords up to 16 characters long. Previously passwords longer than 14 characters resulted in an HAE2024 with CMMCI9026E Unmatched ' characters.

  • PowerHA has been corrected to no longer create or delete proxy commands for temporary PTF objects in QSYS.

Level 22 (July 26th, 2023)

PTF SI83693 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.3 HA 3.11

Enhancements

  • DS8000 LUN-level switching now supports up to 32 host connections per cluster node.

Fixes

  • Previously, PowerHA operations could hang if a user without access to QYASCHGDDD attempted to perform a PowerHA operation. PowerHA has been enhanced so that users no longer need access to either QYASCHGDDD or QYASRTVDDD.

  • Corrected an issue where in some instances, a CPFBBBD: Resource type *AUTL or *PRTDEV not valid, could occur during admin domain operations, including ADDCADMRE.

  • PowerHA has been enhanced to retry when 'Connection refused' is received when connecting to a SVC storage system.

  • Resolved issue where an incorrect DS8000 username or password can cause a hang during PowerHA operations.

Level 21 (April 21st, 2023)

Level 20 (January 20th, 2022)

PTF SI81912 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.2 HA 3.10

New Features

  • Data exposure (in seconds) is now returned for Spectrum Virtualize (SVC) Global Mirror with change volumes-based sessions, in both the Display SVC Session (DSPSVCSSN) command and the QHASM.SESSION_INFO SQL service.

  • Additional automation for Spectrum Virtualize IASP-based Flashcopy including:

    • The ability to run a user exit program as part of FlashCopy operations.

    • Simplified management with the ability to suspend and resume FlashCopy sessions.

Enhancements

  • PowerHA has been enhanced by enabling support for more than 256 volumes in a DSCLI-based DS8000 global mirror replication environment. Previously, environments with more than 256 volumes would result in a HAE2024, indicating a DSCLI error had occurred. The alternative in these environments was to reduce the number of volumes or use IBM Copy Services Manager.

  • The ADDHACFGD and RMVHACFGD commands are simplified to no longer require the cluster name.

  • FlashCopy automation improvements that no longer suspend remote copy sessions as part of the FlashCopy operation in instances where the suspend is no longer required.

  • Performance improvements when upgrading the PowerHA version.

Fixes

  • With IBM Copy Services Manager (CSM) version 6.3.2 or later, PowerHA may encounter HAE0082 when attempting to perform operations on the CSM session. This issue has been resolved.

  • Resolved an issue where the monitored resource details screen displayed unknown for the local status when the local status was either create pending or create failed.

  • Resolved a temporary storage leak that occurs with certain PowerHA operations.

  • Resolved an issue where the PowerHA automatic version upgrade may not process an automatic upgrade from version 1.0 to 2.0.

  • Improved handling of PowerHA exit program registration to provide better automated recovery and prevent duplicate exit program registration.

  • Improved messages when invalid operations are specified on CHGSVCSSN or CHGASPSSN commands.

  • Resolved an MCH6902 occurring when performing a DSPSVCSSN command if the device description has been deleted.

Level 19 (November 1st, 2022)

Level 18 (June 29th, 2022)

PTF SI80112 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.2 HA 3.9

New Features

  • The Spectrum Virtualize (SVC) based FlashCopy automation integrated into PowerHA now includes additional automation at the target system of Geographic Mirroring, eliminating the need to manually suspend or detach the geographic mirroring replication as part of the FlashCopy process.

Enhancements

  • The Display HA Configuration Description (DSPHACFGD) command no longer requires the cluster parameter and now provides the list of configuration descriptions when prompting on the command.

  • Improved robustness of attempts to match the HyperSwap affinity as part of a cluster resource group switchover or failover operation.

  • PowerHA has been enhanced so that planned switchovers or unplanned failovers will always use the QSYSNOMAX job queue for IASP vary on and off operations regardless of the user initiating the operation.

Fixes

  • Simplified the use the Create Cluster (CRTCLU) command from any node when all nodes are at different program temporary fix (PTF) levels. With this improvement, as long as all nodes are at the same release, the CRTCLU command can be run from any node in the cluster.

  • Resolved an issue in environments where PowereHA operations failed with error CPD0032 when the default authority for the Grant Object Authority (GRTOBJAUT) is changed from *USE to *EXCLUDE.

  • Resolved the issue where a CHGCRG with the same recovery domain in an SVC LUN-Level switching environment could result in the disk units being unmapped from all hosts.

  • Messages have been improved to show future PowerHA versions using an x in place of the modification level. For example showing as 5.x.

  • Resolved issue with the CRTCRG command, where the Configure takeover IP address (CFGINTNETA) parameter was not honoring a value of *USR.

  • PowerHA has been improved so that the clearing of master key 1 is allowed if no cluster is configured on the system. In addition, versions of PowerHA saved with this enhancement applied will no longer set master key 1 at install time. Instead, PowerHA will set master key 1, if required, when a node first becomes active in a cluster.

Level 17 (April 8th, 2022)

Level 16 (February 4th, 2022) - HA 3.8

PTF SI77845 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.6.1 & 7.2 HA 3.8 PTFs

New Features

  • SVC FlachCopy automation:

    • SVC FlashCopy automatically varies off the target ASPs when ending a FlashCopy session or performing an incremental FlashCopy.

    • SVC FlashCopy now uses named mappings on the storage device for simplified identification.

Enhancements

  • Additional simplified commands with F4 prompting, including:

    • Support for automatically generating an administrative domain name on the CRTCAD command with a new default value of *GEN for the administrative domain name.

    • A new ADMDMN parameter on the ADDCLUNODE command automatically adds a new cluster node to an existing administrative domain by default.

    • Prompting on the STRSVCSSN command for ASPCPY and CRG parameters.

    • Simplification of the DSPSVCSSN, CHGSVCSSN, and ENDSVCSSN commands including prompting for the SSN parameter.

    • Simplified CRG command handling of secondary IASPs. The configuration object online parameter is now ignored for secondary IASPs and automatically set to *PRIMARY.

    • The CFGGEOMIR command now shows a list of ASP devices when prompting on the command.

  • Performance improvements for SVC-based storage communication reduce the time required to perform operations.

  • Performance improvements related to temporary user spaces and user queues with up to a 48% decrease in CPU usage, and up to a 90% decrease in the number of user spaces created for certain PowerHA operations.

Other Fixes

  • SVC FlashCopy consistency improvements when at the target of a Metro Mirror relationship.

  • SAVHAPCY and RSTHAPCY commands now consider no policies selected a success and returns a file with 0 records instead of an error.

  • DSPHAPCY now returns a successful message even if no policies are found.

  • Resolved an issue where a standard edition cluster received a licensing error for enterprise edition on the PowerHA GUI.

  • Simplified PowerHA license error messages with messages correctly indicating what option and if the error is related to a required option not being installed, over the usage limit, or an expired grace period.

  • Resolved an issue where suspend was shown as an available action for a session which was already suspended when using interactive change session screens.

  • Improved messages and logging from PowerHA automated health checks related to the replication state, including improved distinction when replication is reversed or detached.

  • Improved error message when attempting to perform a STRCRG with LUN-Level Switching that is incorrectly configured.

  • Resolved an issue that could cause performance problems during a RSTLICPGM.

Level 15 (July 7th, 2021) - HA 3.7

PTF SI76565 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.5.1 & 7.2 HA 3.7 PTFs

New Features

  • FlashCopy Automation:

    • SVC FlashCopy verifies the replication state for STRSVCSSN if the FlashCopy is at the target side of replication and prompts the user to confirm if replication is not active.

    • The new source ASP Action (SRCASPACN) parameter provides the ability to quiesce the FlashCopy production copy automatically.

    • A new target ASP Action (TGTASPACN) parameter provides support for automatically varying on a FlashCopy target ASP.

  • Automated deployment of geographic mirroring:

    • Support for automatically generating copy description and/or session names for geographic mirroring when using CFGGEOMIR.

    • The new start indicator to CFGGEOMIR automatically starts the CRG, varies on the IASP, and if necessary, resumes replication.

Enhancements

  • The DLTCAD command has been simplified. It no longer requires the cluster parameter and now contains support for * for the admin domain parameter.

  • Simplified the RMVCLUNODE command. It no longer requires the cluster parameter and the list of nodes in the cluster when prompting on the command.

  • Simplified the RMVCADNODE command to no longer require the cluster parameter, added a new default * option for the admin domain parameter, and provided prompting for the admin domain parameter.

  • The RMVDEVDMNE command has been simplified to no longer require the cluster parameter, and list of the device domains on the DEVDMN parameter when prompting on the command.

Other Fixes

  • Improved retries on SVC SSH failures where the connection is reset.

  • Resolved error where an automated, unplanned failover with Copy Services Manager may fail due to incorrect information from the storage system.

  • Resolves an issue where a locked CRG object could cause the QHASVR job to end when performing a health check.

  • CFGGEOMIR *DELETE now removes both the source and target copy descriptions.

  • Fixed issue with change session for CSM where choice panel with no options would show in some instances when the session was reversed.

  • Improved error message for when a CRG is not inactive when adding or removing data port IP addresses.

  • Resolved an issue when some instances an automatic failover with Copy Services Manager (CSM) sessions may not be initiated.

  • Improved error messages with CFGGEOMIR:

    • Improved error message when the same copy description name is specified for both the source and target copy descriptions.

    • Improved error message when a conflicting copy description already exists.

    • Improved error message when CFGGEOMIR is used and no data port IP address is specified in the CRG.

    • Improved error message with CFGGEOMIR when the operation partially completes.

  • Resolved an error where CFGGEOMIR *DELETE may remove an incorrect copy description when multiple IASPs for a single CRG exist.

  • Resolved an issue that can result in slow performance when performing operations from PowerHA work panels.

  • Improved performance when performing Start CSM Session (STRCSMSSN) on the non-primary node.

Level 14 (April 9th, 2021) - HA 3.6

PTF SI75466 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.4.1 & 7.2 HA 3.6 PTFs

Enhancements

  • Simplified ability to perform actions on a PowerHA session with the following:

    • A new F7 = Change session choice selection was added on the Display ASP Session (DSPASPSSN), Display CSM Session (DSPCSMSSN), and Display SVC Session (DSPSVCSSN) panels.

    • A new change session choice selection panel is available when performing option 22 on the Work with ASP Copy Descriptions (WRKASPCPYD) display.

  • Several enhancements to SVC FlashCopy including:

    • The ability to add volumes to copy descriptions when there is an active FlashCopy session, including in incremental FlashCopy environments.

    • PowerHA now delays the creation of FlashCopy reverse consistency groups and mappings until a reverse operation is requested, reducing the time required to start a FlashCopy and eliminating the risk of accidentally starting a reverse FlashCopy from the storage device.

  • Improved control over node selection during switchovers in multi-node device CRG environments with the following improvements:

    • A new 'switch type' parameter added to the Change CRG Primary (CHGCRGPRI) command.

    • When performing change primary from the work with cluster screens, a new selection panel to select the new primary node is displayed.

  • When performing change primary from the work with cluster screens, a confirmation panel is now displayed indicating the current and new primary node.

  • The CHGCRGPRI command includes an improved message when the CRG is not in the correct state to perform a switchover.

  • The Start Cluster Resource Group (STRCRG) and End Cluster Resource Group (ENDCRG) commands now return success if the CRG is already in the desired state, simplifying scripts that call these commands.

  • The Start Cluster Administrative Domain (STRCAD) and End Cluster Administrative Domain (ENDCAD) commands now return success if the administrative domain is already in the desired state, simplifying scripts that call these commands.

  • The Change ASP Session (CHGASPSSN) and Change SVC Session (CHGSVCSSN) commands contain several performance improvements.

Other Fixes

  • SE75118: In a Spectrum Virtualize (SVC) HyperSwap with LUN Level Switching environment, in certain configurations, a switchover or failover operation may fail with message HAE2057 with storage message CMMVC5842E. This has been resolved.

  • In some instances, message text information was unavailable for some messages in PowerHA when retrieving PowerHA session information. This has been corrected so that the message text is available.

  • With SVC Metro Mirror or SVC Global Mirror when the source storage system was down the *DETACH operation failed. The *DETACH operation now only requires the target storage to be operational to perform the operation.

  • Improvements to the Configure Geographic Mirroring (CFGGEOMIR) command to work regardless of recovery domain order in a Geographic Mirroring with LUN-Level Switching environment.

  • The error message from CHGASPSSN with an incorrect session name now properly indicates that the session was not found.

  • Previously when encrypted cluster wide data could not be read, any PowerHA operation attempting to use encrypted data resulted in an MCH0601. A correct error message is now displayed when data cannot be decrypted.

  • The administrative domain name field was blank on the Work with Cluster Administrative Domain Monitored Resource Entries (WRCADMRE) display. This has been corrected.

Level 13 (January 8th, 2021) - HA 3.5

PTF SI74921 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.3.1 & 7.2 HA 3.5 PTFs

New Features

  • Simplified deployment of PowerHA:

    • The Create Cluster CRTCLU command now honors the start indicator (START) parameter even when more than one node is specified and now adds all nodes to a device domain by default.

    • The Create Cluster Administrative Domain (CRTCAD) command has been improved to accept *ALL for node name and automatically start the newly created administrative domain.

    • Automatic creation of an ASP device description on required nodes when using the CRTCRG, ADDCRGDEVE and ADDCRGNODE commands.

    • Simplified configuration of geographic mirroring combining transmission delivery and mirroring mode into a single, tunable parameter.

  • PowerHA Health Monitoring Dashboards.

  • PowerHA SQL services for session information provide the ability to explore PowerHA objects and data in new ways. The following new services are available:

    • QHASM.Session_List View

    • QHASM.Session_Info Table Function

  • Visibility of real-time Recovery Point Objective (RPO) information for geographic mirroring with the new round-trip time field on the Display ASP Session (DSPASPSSN) displays.

  • Configure firewall security and Quality of Service (QoS) in a Geographic Mirroring environment easily with the ability to specify a port number used by Geographic Mirroring.

  • New *ALL option on the STRCLUNOD command offers the ability to attempt to start all inactive cluster nodes.

Enhancements

  • For ease of use, the cluster parameter is no longer a required parameter on many cluster, device domain, administrative domain, and CRG commands.

  • Improved F4 prompting with choices that are customized to the environment and status available on many cluster, device domain, administrative domain and CRG commands.

  • Work with Cluster (WRKCLU) menu simplification combines options 1 and 2 and options 6 and 7.

  • Display HyperSwap Status (DSPHYSSTS) now supports 132 column display eliminating the need for F11.

  • Simplified ability to update SVC copy description LUN ranges by allowing CHGSVCCPYD when an active Metro Mirror or Global Mirror session exists, along with improved error messages when a FlashCopy session exists.

  • Improved support for DS8000 FlashCopy in combination with DS8000 Global Mirror enabling multiple target side FlashCopy, Persistent source side FlashCopy, and switchovers and failovers when DS8000 FlashCopy sessions are active.

  • Several enhancements to IBM Spectrum Virtualize (SVC) based FlashCopy including:

    • Improved SVC Consistency group names when *GEN is used on STRSVCSSN which names the consistency group using environment information.

    • The cleaning rate for SVC based FlashCopy now is set always to be a value greater than zero to prevent a hang with an ENDSVCSSN due to multiple dependent FlashCopies.

    • An error message is returned for SVC incremental FlashCopy with a copy rate of 0. Using a copy rate of 0 is not supported for incremental FlashCopy sessions preventing a FlashCopy session that can never be incremented

    • PowerHA now gives a more descriptive error message if the FlashCopy source and target node are the same.

    • When disk units do not enlist properly in an SVC FlashCopy environment, the STRSVCSSN command now completes with errors rather than indicating it completed successfully.

  • PowerHA logging improvements including reducing the maximum log file size.

  • The PowerHA health check frequency has been increased to now run at 15 minute intervals.

  • Documented configuration for shadowing the system distribution directory in a PowerHA environment.

Other Fixes

  • Eliminated the requirement to press Enter twice when prompting on the Change CSM Session (CHGCSMSSN) command.

  • Removed duplicate target vary state column from DSPCSMSSN OUTPUT(*PRINT).

  • Added missing CRG Exit Point Operation Pending status to PowerHA help text.

  • Improved the order of internet address and key file parameters to be consistent between the ADDSVCCPYD command and DSPSVCCPYD command.

  • The URL for the PowerHA wiki has been updated in the PowerHA help text to point to the new wiki location.

  • In certain unplanned failover operations after a cluster partition could result in message CPFBB17 preventing the failover. This has been improved to no longer encounter this error with failover after a cluster partition.

  • During CRG operations the QHASVR job could end due to a lock conflict with the CRG. PowerHA has been improved to retry the operation once the lock is released.

  • In certain instances if an SVC FlashCopy session is started using *GEN for either the consistency group or reverse consistency group parameters and a subsequent ENDSVCSSN uses the option to not delete the consistency group, PowerHA was leaving orphaned consistency groups on the storage. PowerHA now always cleans up generated consistency groups.

  • ENDSVCSSN now properly cleans up FlashCopy mappings even if the consistency group is already stopped.

  • A timing issue in STRSVCSSN for FlashCopy has been resolved where PowerHA did not wait for the consistency group to enter the copying state before continuing on.

  • STRSVCSSN for FlashCopy has been improved to clean up incomplete FlashCopy mappings when startfcconsistgrp fails reducing the need for manual cleanup on the storage controller.

  • Previously if a user attempted to work with configuration objects on a non-device CRG, locks were left on panel group QGHAWRKPNL, these locks are now properly released.

  • Several messages have been translated.

  • Eliminated the need to grant *CHANGE authority to the QUSRHASM library for users of PowerHA commands. Previously this resulted in HAE00A - All cluster command user spaces busy or Not authorized to use library QUSRHASM.

  • Resolved an MCH3601 that could occur on DSPASPSSN for geographic mirroring if the disk units for an ASP device were missing.

  • The unused ASPCPY parameter has been removed from the CHGASPSSN command. Any existing CL programs that specified the ASPCPY parameter on the CHGASPSSN command may require modification.

  • FLVRVSREPL, the failover reverse replication parameter has been deprecated, affecting the following commands:

    • Start ASP Session (STRASPSSN)

    • Change ASP Session (CHGASPSSN)

    • Start SVC Session (STRSVCSSN)

    • Change SVC Session (CHGSCVSSN)

    Existing CL programs that use the failover reverse replication parameter may require modification.

  • Because the mirroring mode parameter (MODE) was removed, the following commands are affected:

    • Configure Geographic Mirroring (CFGGEOMIR)

    • Start ASP Session (STRASPSSN)

    • Change ASP Session (CHGASPSSN)

    Any existing CL programs that use the MODE parameter may require modification.

  • The source site (SRCSITE), and target site (TGTSITE) parameters were removed from the Configure Geographic Mirroring (CFGGEOMIR) command. Any existing CL programs that use the removed parameters may require modification.

  • Improved licensing and compliance messages related to exceeding the processor usage limit. For additional information see Software Licensing and Compliance Information.

Level 12 (June 26th, 2020) - HA 3.4

PTF SI73520

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.2.1 & 7.2/7.3 HA 3.4 PTFs

New Features

  • Simplified updates and upgrades with automated PowerHA and cluster version management.

  • PowerHA SQL services for cluster, administrative domain and CRG information provide the ability to explore PowerHA objects and data in new ways. The following new services are available:

    • Cluster Services

      • QHASM.CLUSTER_INFO(CLU_INF) view

      • QHASM.CLUSTER_NODES(NODE_LIST) view

    • Administrative Domain Services

      • QHASM.ADMIN_DOMAIN_LIST(CAD_LIST) view

      • QHASM.ADMIN_DOMAIN_MRE_ATTRIBUTES table function

      • QHASM.ADMIN_DOMAIN_MRE_DETAILS table function

      • QHASM.ADMIN_DOMAIN_MRE_LIST table function

      • QHASM.ADMIN_DOMAIN_NODES table function

    • Cluster Resource Group Services

      • QHASM.CLUSTER_RESOURCE_GROUP_LIST(CRG_LIST) view

      • QHASM.CRG_CONFIGURATION_OBJECTS table function

      • QHASM.CRG_INFO table function

      • QHASM.CRG_RECOVERY_DOMAIN table function

Enhancements

  • PowerHA has been enhanced to enable wide screen displays in additional third party emulators.

  • Communication to the SVC has been enhanced for robustness in certain heavily loaded environments where the SVC communication fails with Connection refused. PowerHA has implemented connection retries if this error is encountered.

  • DS8000 LUN-Level Switching has been enhanced for robustness to retry operations upon receiving 'CMUN04003E Operation Failure' during a LUN-Level switch.

  • The Display HyperSwap Status panel has been improved with a new summary status when a storage device failure occurs. Previously 'Invalid Configuration' was displayed, this has been improved to show 'STG Access Failure'.

  • The display HyperSwap Status panel has been enhanced to show volume identifiers in upper-case for consistency with typical DS8000 LUN identifier representation.

Other Fixes

  • Improved error message when a reattach is performed when the mirror copy of the IASP is online in a geographic mirroring environment.

  • The order of nodes in the CRG recovery domain is now consistent between the WRKCLU and the DSPCRGINF commands to always display nodes ordered by the current node role.

  • In some instances, a resume of geographic mirroring failed with unrecognized error code 0386. PowerHA has been enhanced to resolve the situation automatically.

  • Previously when geographic mirroring replication was active, PowerHA displayed copy progress as 0. This has been fixed to show a copy progress of 100 when replication is active.

  • When communication failures occurred with an IBM Copy Services Manager (CSM) storage controller, PowerHA allowed a CSM configuration description that is in-use by a session to be removed. An appropriate error message is returned when a configuration description is in use.

  • In certain instances a PowerHA operation could fail with CPFBA23: Operation Failed due to other in-progress system operations. PowerHA uses automatic retries for these operations.

Level 11 (April 16th, 2020) - HA 3.3

PTF SI72439 (plus language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: HA 3.3 Enhancements

New Features

  • Security compliance automation that detects and disables inactive profiles across all nodes in a PowerHA environment with the introduction of the QHA_AD_ANZCADPRF policy and Analyze Admin Domain Profile (ANZCADPRF) command.

  • Enhanced visibility of real-time Recovery Point Objective (RPO) information for SVC Global Mirror with Change Volumes, and CSM Global Mirror sessions in the Display SVC Session (DSPSVCSSN) and Display CSM Session (DSPCSMSSN) displays.

  • Re-designed display session screens that take advantage of 132 column displays and provide a clearer indication of replication status.

Other Fixes

  • SE72554: Resolves an issue where an authorization list entry where a user's only authority is *AUTLMGT caused the authorization list to be inconsistent within the administrative domain

  • SE67378: Resolves an issue where option 6=Activate on cluster monitor did not properly restart the cluster monitor.

  • SE69164: Previously when the system default SSH client port was set to a port other than 22, PowerHA communication with IBM Spectrum Virtualize based storage (SVC) failed. PowerHA now correctly always uses port 22 when initiating communication with SVC storage.

  • SE72468: In some instances Display ASP Copy Description (DSPASPCPYD) for a copy description used in geographic mirroring resulted in MCH1211. This has been resolved.

  • SE72650: When copy descriptions are used in multiple sessions, the Work with ASP Copy Descriptions screen has been improved to show the copy descriptions in every session that they appear in.

  • Resolves an issue when attempting to add a cluster monitor via WRKCLU filled in the wrong field on the Add Cluster Monitor (ADDCLUMON) command in some instances.

  • Using WRKCLU to remove a cluster monitor that was defined with an IP address, instead of a host name resulted in a CPD0020. This has been resolved.

  • Improves integration with IBM Copy Services manager to support session names on the storage controller that include spaces and special characters

  • Previously, when displaying copy descriptions for ASP copies in geographic mirroring sessions on a node not in the recovery domain of the Cluster Resource Group (CRG) an MCH3601 was encountered. This has been resolved.

  • When running various SVC storage commands, in some instances duplicate completion messages were returned. PowerHA has been improved to return a single completion message.

  • In some instances when the local node was not active in the cluster, the Display Cluster Information (DSPCLUINF) command displayed the incorrect node status for other nodes within the cluster.

  • SVC based FlashCopy has been enhanced to ignore license warning message CMMVC6375W.

  • The Display Cluster Resource Group Information (DSPCRGINF) command has been enhanced to show a CRG status of 'Exit Point Operation Pending' rather than a blank status when a CRG exit point operation is in progress.

  • SVC Copy description commands (ADDSVCCPYD,CHGSVCCPYD) have been enhanced to remove extra padding on internet address and keyfile fields which resulted in difficult to diagnose error messages.

Level 10 (January 13th, 2020) - HA 3.2

PTF SI71480

Announcement & Documentation: HyperSwap with LUN Switching Integrated Recovery

Enhancements

  • PowerHA enhanced support for replication of encrypted passwords set with(using) the QSYSUPWD API. Previously, the QSYSUPWD API caused the user-affected profile to be marked as inconsistent within the administrative domain.

  • Improved control over changing the synchronization option for an administrative domain using the Change Cluster Administrative Domain (CHGCAD) command even when some nodes in the administrative domain are inactive.

  • Enhanced integrated recovery from a data-center outage in a HyperSwap with a LUN-level switching environment that enables HyperSwap protection to be restored with a single command.

  • Several PowerHA work panels have been enhanced to show both error and completion messages at the bottom of the panel upon execution of actions on the work (WRKHAPCY, WRKASPCPYD, WRKHACFGD, WRKHYSSTS, Work with cluster resource groups).

  • PowerHA enhanced the detached status for Copy Services Manager Sessions to display as XXXX instead of blanks for consistency and ease of understanding.

  • User queue and user space objects used for PowerHA operation have been moved from the QGPL library to the QUSRHASM library.

Other Fixes

  • SE71819: DS8000 multiple incremental FlashCopy issues at DS bundle versions.

  • SE72158: In an SVC Global Mirror with change volumes environment when the session storage state was 'consistent copying', the RTVSVCSSN command was returning unknown for the storage state. This is corrected to now correctly show the storage state as 'consistent copying'.

  • SE72375: The persistent(*NO) option on STRASPSSN was not being honored for DS8000 FlashCopy sessions.

  • SE72209: In geographic mirroring environments, when replication was suspended or detached, the mirror copy of the IASP would show the status as VARYONPEND instead of VARYOFF. This has been corrected to show the status as VARYOFF.

  • Error messages for the Change CSM Session (CHGCSMSSN) command have been enhanced with additional information as to the current session state and why the given operation is not allowed.

  • When performing a refresh of the DSPCSMSSN command after clustering has ended, an MCH0601 would occur. This has been corrected to correctly show CPFBB26: Cluster Resource Services not active or not responding.

  • In geographic mirroring environments in some instances the vary state of the mirror copy independent ASP on DSPASPSSN incorrectly would show as unknown when a geographic mirroring session contained multiple independent ASPs.

  • Previously in some instances PowerHA did not release locks on panel group QGYASPDSSN or panel group QGYASPWCPY. This has been corrected so that the locks are released once the panels are closed.

  • Padded spaces truncated from PowerHA confirmation panels for easier readability.

Level 9 (June 28th, 2019) - HA 3.2

PTF SI70186

Enhancements

  • Communication to the SVC has been enhanced for robustness in certain heavily loaded environments where the SVC communication fails with ssh_exchange_identification: Connection closed by remote host. PowerHA has implemented connection retries when this error is encountered.

Other Fixes

  • SE69755: DSPASPSSN for geographic mirroring has been corrected to display accurate geographic mirroring status during a cluster partition.

  • SE70374: PowerHA environments utilizing DSCLI have been corrected to work in all CCSIDs. Previously, some PowerHA commands would fail in some job CCSIDs with message HAE2013.

  • SE71270: DSCLI communication within PowerHA has been enhanced to support passwords up to 16 characters long. Previously passwords longer than 14 characters resulted in an HAE2024 with CMMCI9026E Unmatched ' characters.

  • In some instances the CHGHAPCY command with invalid input incorrectly reported success even though the operation failed. CHGHAPCY has been enhanced to perform additional validation and error reporting.

  • In a HyperSwap with Global Mirror environment, in some instances CHGCSMSSN with the option of *REATTACH failed with an HAE2057. PowerHA has been corrected to allow the reattach of a detached Global Mirror in these instances.

  • In some instances CHGHYSSTS *START would incorrectly report success even if an I/O path was not available to both DS8000 storage devices.

  • PowerHA has been corrected to no longer create or delete proxy commands for temporary PTF objects in QSYS.

Level 8 (April 19th, 2019) - HA 3.2

PTF SI69233 (plus language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: DS8000 HyperSwap with Global Mirror - Copy Services Manager Metro Mirror and Global Mirror Integration

New Features

  • Integration of PowerHA IASP-based replication with IBM Copy Services Manager for DS8000 Metro Mirror and DS8000 Global Mirror replication solutions.

  • PowerHA has been enhanced to enable DS8000 HyperSwap configuration in conjunction with Global Mirror for regional outage protection.

Enhancements

  • The RPG Header files located in QHASM/QRPGLESRC for PowerHA APIs have been enhanced to use free-form RPG for easier usability and readability.

Other Fixes

  • When one or more storage devices are down or inaccessible, HyperSwap status screens and APIs now properly show the HyperSwap status as unknown, instead of reporting a potentially incorrect cached status.

  • PowerHA has been updated so that it no longer leaves QHASM in the product portion of the library list after the execution of commands.

  • The number of HAC0026 and CPCBB01 joblog messages that contain a reason code of success, on many PowerHA commands has been reduced for enhanced usability.

  • The ADDHACFGD and CHGHACFGD command parameter HYSSTGTYPE has been renamed to SUBTYPE. Any existing CL programs that use these commands may require modification.

  • The CHGHYSSTS command default parameter for ASP device has been changed from *ALL to *SYSBAS. The *ALL option for the ASP device parameter is no longer available. Any existing CL programs that use these commands may require modification.

Level 22 (January 20th, 2022)

PTF SI81912 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.2 HA 3.10

New Features

  • Data exposure (in seconds) is now returned for Spectrum Virtualize (SVC) Global Mirror with change volumes-based sessions, in both the Display SVC Session (DSPSVCSSN) command and the QHASM.SESSION_INFO SQL service.

  • Additional automation for Spectrum Virtualize IASP-based Flashcopy including:

    • The ability to run a user exit program as part of FlashCopy operations.

    • Simplified management with the ability to suspend and resume FlashCopy sessions.

Enhancements

  • PowerHA has been enhanced by enabling support for more than 256 volumes in a DSCLI-based DS8000 global mirror replication environment. Previously, environments with more than 256 volumes would result in a HAE2024, indicating a DSCLI error had occurred. The alternative in these environments was to reduce the number of volumes or use IBM Copy Services Manager.

  • The ADDHACFGD and RMVHACFGD commands are simplified to no longer require the cluster name.

  • FlashCopy automation improvements that no longer suspend remote copy sessions as part of the FlashCopy operation in instances where the suspend is no longer required.

  • Performance improvements when upgrading the PowerHA version.

Fixes

  • With IBM Copy Services Manager (CSM) version 6.3.2 or later, PowerHA may encounter HAE0082 when attempting to perform operations on the CSM session. This issue has been resolved.

  • Resolved an issue where the monitored resource details screen displayed unknown for the local status when the local status was either create pending or create failed.

  • Resolved a temporary storage leak that occurs with certain PowerHA operations.

  • Resolved an issue where the PowerHA automatic version upgrade may not process an automatic upgrade from version 1.0 to 2.0.

  • Improved handling of PowerHA exit program registration to provide better automated recovery and prevent duplicate exit program registration.

  • Improved messages when invalid operations are specified on CHGSVCSSN or CHGASPSSN commands.

  • Resolved an MCH6902 occurring when performing a DSPSVCSSN command if the device description has been deleted.

Level 21 (June 29th, 2022)

PTF SI80112 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.2 HA 3.9

New Features

  • The Spectrum Virtualize (SVC) based FlashCopy automation integrated into PowerHA now includes additional automation at the target system of Geographic Mirroring, eliminating the need to manually suspend or detach the geographic mirroring replication as part of the FlashCopy process.

Enhancements

  • The Display HA Configuration Description (DSPHACFGD) command no longer requires the cluster parameter and now provides the list of configuration descriptions when prompting on the command.

  • Improved robustness of attempts to match the HyperSwap affinity as part of a cluster resource group switchover or failover operation.

  • PowerHA has been enhanced so that planned switchovers or unplanned failovers will always use the QSYSNOMAX job queue for IASP vary on and off operations regardless of the user initiating the operation.

Fixes

  • Simplified the use the Create Cluster (CRTCLU) command from any node when all nodes are at different program temporary fix (PTF) levels. With this improvement, as long as all nodes are at the same release, the CRTCLU command can be run from any node in the cluster.

  • Resolved an issue in environments where PowereHA operations failed with error CPD0032 when the default authority for the Grant Object Authority (GRTOBJAUT) is changed from *USE to *EXCLUDE.

  • Resolved the issue where a CHGCRG with the same recovery domain in an SVC LUN-Level switching environment could result in the disk units being unmapped from all hosts.

  • Messages have been improved to show future PowerHA versions using an x in place of the modification level. For example showing as 5.x.

  • Resolved issue with the CRTCRG command, where the Configure takeover IP address (CFGINTNETA) parameter was not honoring a value of *USR.

  • PowerHA has been improved so that the clearing of master key 1 is allowed if no cluster is configured on the system. In addition, versions of PowerHA saved with this enhancement applied will no longer set master key 1 at install time. Instead, PowerHA will set master key 1, if required, when a node first becomes active in a cluster.

Level 20 (April 8th, 2022)

Level 19 (February 4th, 2022) - HA 3.8

PTF SI77845 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.6.1 & 7.2 HA 3.8 PTFs

New Features

  • SVC FlachCopy automation:

    • SVC FlashCopy automatically varies off the target ASPs when ending a FlashCopy session or performing an incremental FlashCopy.

    • SVC FlashCopy now uses named mappings on the storage device for simplified identification.

Enhancements

  • Additional simplified commands with F4 prompting, including:

    • Support for automatically generating an administrative domain name on the CRTCAD command with a new default value of *GEN for the administrative domain name.

    • A new ADMDMN parameter on the ADDCLUNODE command automatically adds a new cluster node to an existing administrative domain by default.

    • Prompting on the STRSVCSSN command for ASPCPY and CRG parameters.

    • Simplification of the DSPSVCSSN, CHGSVCSSN, and ENDSVCSSN commands including prompting for the SSN parameter.

    • Simplified CRG command handling of secondary IASPs. The configuration object online parameter is now ignored for secondary IASPs and automatically set to *PRIMARY.

    • The CFGGEOMIR command now shows a list of ASP devices when prompting on the command.

  • Performance improvements for SVC-based storage communication reduce the time required to perform operations.

  • Performance improvements related to temporary user spaces and user queues with up to a 48% decrease in CPU usage, and up to a 90% decrease in the number of user spaces created for certain PowerHA operations.

Other Fixes

  • SVC FlashCopy consistency improvements when at the target of a Metro Mirror relationship.

  • SAVHAPCY and RSTHAPCY commands now consider no policies selected a success and returns a file with 0 records instead of an error.

  • DSPHAPCY now returns a successful message even if no policies are found.

  • Resolved an issue where a standard edition cluster received a licensing error for enterprise edition on the PowerHA GUI.

  • Simplified PowerHA license error messages with messages correctly indicating what option and if the error is related to a required option not being installed, over the usage limit, or an expired grace period.

  • Resolved an issue where suspend was shown as an available action for a session which was already suspended when using interactive change session screens.

  • Improved messages and logging from PowerHA automated health checks related to the replication state, including improved distinction when replication is reversed or detached.

  • Improved error message when attempting to perform a STRCRG with LUN-Level Switching that is incorrectly configured.

  • Resolved an issue that could cause performance problems during a RSTLICPGM.

Level 18 (July 7th, 2021) - HA 3.7

PTF SI76565 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.5.1 & 7.2 HA 3.7 PTFs

New Features

  • FlashCopy Automation:

    • SVC FlashCopy verifies the replication state for STRSVCSSN if the FlashCopy is at the target side of replication and prompts the user to confirm if replication is not active.

    • The new source ASP Action (SRCASPACN) parameter provides the ability to quiesce the FlashCopy production copy automatically.

    • A new target ASP Action (TGTASPACN) parameter provides support for automatically varying on a FlashCopy target ASP.

  • Automated deployment of geographic mirroring:

    • Support for automatically generating copy description and/or session names for geographic mirroring when using CFGGEOMIR.

    • The new start indicator to CFGGEOMIR automatically starts the CRG, varies on the IASP, and if necessary, resumes replication.

Enhancements

  • The DLTCAD command has been simplified. It no longer requires the cluster parameter and now contains support for * for the admin domain parameter.

  • Simplified the RMVCLUNODE command. It no longer requires the cluster parameter and the list of nodes in the cluster when prompting on the command.

  • Simplified the RMVCADNODE command to no longer require the cluster parameter, added a new default * option for the admin domain parameter, and provided prompting for the admin domain parameter.

  • The RMVDEVDMNE command has been simplified to no longer require the cluster parameter, and list of the device domains on the DEVDMN parameter when prompting on the command.

Other Fixes

  • Improved retries on SVC SSH failures where the connection is reset.

  • Resolved error where an automated, unplanned failover with Copy Services Manager may fail due to incorrect information from the storage system.

  • Resolves an issue where a locked CRG object could cause the QHASVR job to end when performing a health check.

  • CFGGEOMIR *DELETE now removes both the source and target copy descriptions.

  • Fixed issue with change session for CSM where choice panel with no options would show in some instances when the session was reversed.

  • Improved error message for when a CRG is not inactive when adding or removing data port IP addresses.

  • Resolved an issue when some instances an automatic failover with Copy Services Manager (CSM) sessions may not be initiated.

  • Improved error messages with CFGGEOMIR:

    • Improved error message when the same copy description name is specified for both the source and target copy descriptions.

    • Improved error message when a conflicting copy description already exists.

    • Improved error message when CFGGEOMIR is used and no data port IP address is specified in the CRG.

    • Improved error message with CFGGEOMIR when the operation partially completes.

  • Resolved an error where CFGGEOMIR *DELETE may remove an incorrect copy description when multiple IASPs for a single CRG exist.

  • Resolved an issue that can result in slow performance when performing operations from PowerHA work panels.

  • Improved performance when performing Start CSM Session (STRCSMSSN) on the non-primary node.

Level 17 (April 9th, 2021) - HA 3.6

PTF SI75466 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.4.1 & 7.2 HA 3.6 PTFs

Enhancements

  • Simplified ability to perform actions on a PowerHA session with the following:

    • A new F7 = Change session choice selection was added on the Display ASP Session (DSPASPSSN), Display CSM Session (DSPCSMSSN), and Display SVC Session (DSPSVCSSN) panels.

    • A new change session choice selection panel is available when performing option 22 on the Work with ASP Copy Descriptions (WRKASPCPYD) display.

  • Several enhancements to SVC FlashCopy including:

    • The ability to add volumes to copy descriptions when there is an active FlashCopy session, including in incremental FlashCopy environments.

    • PowerHA now delays the creation of FlashCopy reverse consistency groups and mappings until a reverse operation is requested, reducing the time required to start a FlashCopy and eliminating the risk of accidentally starting a reverse FlashCopy from the storage device.

  • Improved control over node selection during switchovers in multi-node device CRG environments with the following improvements:

    • A new 'switch type' parameter added to the Change CRG Primary (CHGCRGPRI) command.

    • When performing change primary from the work with cluster screens, a new selection panel to select the new primary node is displayed.

  • When performing change primary from the work with cluster screens, a confirmation panel is now displayed indicating the current and new primary node.

  • The CHGCRGPRI command includes an improved message when the CRG is not in the correct state to perform a switchover.

  • The Start Cluster Resource Group (STRCRG) and End Cluster Resource Group (ENDCRG) commands now return success if the CRG is already in the desired state, simplifying scripts that call these commands.

  • The Start Cluster Administrative Domain (STRCAD) and End Cluster Administrative Domain (ENDCAD) commands now return success if the administrative domain is already in the desired state, simplifying scripts that call these commands.

  • The Change ASP Session (CHGASPSSN) and Change SVC Session (CHGSVCSSN) commands contain several performance improvements.

Other Fixes

  • SE75118: In a Spectrum Virtualize (SVC) HyperSwap with LUN Level Switching environment, in certain configurations, a switchover or failover operation may fail with message HAE2057 with storage message CMMVC5842E. This has been resolved.

  • In some instances, message text information was unavailable for some messages in PowerHA when retrieving PowerHA session information. This has been corrected so that the message text is available.

  • With SVC Metro Mirror or SVC Global Mirror when the source storage system was down the *DETACH operation failed. The *DETACH operation now only requires the target storage to be operational to perform the operation.

  • Improvements to the Configure Geographic Mirroring (CFGGEOMIR) command to work regardless of recovery domain order in a Geographic Mirroring with LUN-Level Switching environment.

  • The error message from CHGASPSSN with an incorrect session name now properly indicates that the session was not found.

  • Previously when encrypted cluster wide data could not be read, any PowerHA operation attempting to use encrypted data resulted in an MCH0601. A correct error message is now displayed when data cannot be decrypted.

  • The administrative domain name field was blank on the Work with Cluster Administrative Domain Monitored Resource Entries (WRCADMRE) display. This has been corrected.

Level 16 (January 8th, 2021) - HA 3.5

PTF SI74921 (plus Language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.3.1 & 7.2 HA 3.5 PTFs

New Features

  • Simplified deployment of PowerHA:

    • The Create Cluster CRTCLU command now honors the start indicator (START) parameter even when more than one node is specified and now adds all nodes to a device domain by default.

    • The Create Cluster Administrative Domain (CRTCAD) command has been improved to accept *ALL for node name and automatically start the newly created administrative domain.

    • Automatic creation of an ASP device description on required nodes when using the CRTCRG, ADDCRGDEVE and ADDCRGNODE commands.

    • Simplified configuration of geographic mirroring combining transmission delivery and mirroring mode into a single, tunable parameter.

  • PowerHA Health Monitoring Dashboards.

  • PowerHA SQL services for session information provide the ability to explore PowerHA objects and data in new ways. The following new services are available:

    • QHASM.Session_List View

    • QHASM.Session_Info Table Function

  • Visibility of real-time Recovery Point Objective (RPO) information for geographic mirroring with the new round-trip time field on the Display ASP Session (DSPASPSSN) displays.

  • Configure firewall security and Quality of Service (QoS) in a Geographic Mirroring environment easily with the ability to specify a port number used by Geographic Mirroring.

  • New *ALL option on the STRCLUNOD command offers the ability to attempt to start all inactive cluster nodes.

Enhancements

  • For ease of use, the cluster parameter is no longer a required parameter on many cluster, device domain, administrative domain, and CRG commands.

  • Improved F4 prompting with choices that are customized to the environment and status available on many cluster, device domain, administrative domain and CRG commands.

  • Work with Cluster (WRKCLU) menu simplification combines options 1 and 2 and options 6 and 7.

  • Display HyperSwap Status (DSPHYSSTS) now supports 132 column display eliminating the need for F11.

  • Simplified ability to update SVC copy description LUN ranges by allowing CHGSVCCPYD when an active Metro Mirror or Global Mirror session exists, along with improved error messages when a FlashCopy session exists.

  • Improved support for DS8000 FlashCopy in combination with DS8000 Global Mirror enabling multiple target side FlashCopy, Persistent source side FlashCopy, and switchovers and failovers when DS8000 FlashCopy sessions are active.

  • Several enhancements to IBM Spectrum Virtualize (SVC) based FlashCopy including:

    • Improved SVC Consistency group names when *GEN is used on STRSVCSSN which names the consistency group using environment information.

    • The cleaning rate for SVC based FlashCopy now is set always to be a value greater than zero to prevent a hang with an ENDSVCSSN due to multiple dependent FlashCopies.

    • An error message is returned for SVC incremental FlashCopy with a copy rate of 0. Using a copy rate of 0 is not supported for incremental FlashCopy sessions preventing a FlashCopy session that can never be incremented

    • PowerHA now gives a more descriptive error message if the FlashCopy source and target node are the same.

    • When disk units do not enlist properly in an SVC FlashCopy environment, the STRSVCSSN command now completes with errors rather than indicating it completed successfully.

  • PowerHA logging improvements including reducing the maximum log file size.

  • The PowerHA health check frequency has been increased to now run at 15 minute intervals.

  • Documented configuration for shadowing the system distribution directory in a PowerHA environment.

Other Fixes

  • Eliminated the requirement to press Enter twice when prompting on the Change CSM Session (CHGCSMSSN) command.

  • Removed duplicate target vary state column from DSPCSMSSN OUTPUT(*PRINT).

  • Added missing CRG Exit Point Operation Pending status to PowerHA help text.

  • Improved the order of internet address and key file parameters to be consistent between the ADDSVCCPYD command and DSPSVCCPYD command.

  • The URL for the PowerHA wiki has been updated in the PowerHA help text to point to the new wiki location.

  • In certain unplanned failover operations after a cluster partition could result in message CPFBB17 preventing the failover. This has been improved to no longer encounter this error with failover after a cluster partition.

  • During CRG operations the QHASVR job could end due to a lock conflict with the CRG. PowerHA has been improved to retry the operation once the lock is released.

  • In certain instances if an SVC FlashCopy session is started using *GEN for either the consistency group or reverse consistency group parameters and a subsequent ENDSVCSSN uses the option to not delete the consistency group, PowerHA was leaving orphaned consistency groups on the storage. PowerHA now always cleans up generated consistency groups.

  • ENDSVCSSN now properly cleans up FlashCopy mappings even if the consistency group is already stopped.

  • A timing issue in STRSVCSSN for FlashCopy has been resolved where PowerHA did not wait for the consistency group to enter the copying state before continuing on.

  • STRSVCSSN for FlashCopy has been improved to clean up incomplete FlashCopy mappings when startfcconsistgrp fails reducing the need for manual cleanup on the storage controller.

  • Previously if a user attempted to work with configuration objects on a non-device CRG, locks were left on panel group QGHAWRKPNL, these locks are now properly released.

  • Several messages have been translated.

  • Eliminated the need to grant *CHANGE authority to the QUSRHASM library for users of PowerHA commands. Previously this resulted in HAE00A - All cluster command user spaces busy or Not authorized to use library QUSRHASM.

  • Resolved an MCH3601 that could occur on DSPASPSSN for geographic mirroring if the disk units for an ASP device were missing.

  • The unused ASPCPY parameter has been removed from the CHGASPSSN command. Any existing CL programs that specified the ASPCPY parameter on the CHGASPSSN command may require modification.

  • FLVRVSREPL, the failover reverse replication parameter has been deprecated, affecting the following commands:

    • Start ASP Session (STRASPSSN)

    • Change ASP Session (CHGASPSSN)

    • Start SVC Session (STRSVCSSN)

    • Change SVC Session (CHGSCVSSN)

    Existing CL programs that use the failover reverse replication parameter may require modification.

  • Because the mirroring mode parameter (MODE) was removed, the following commands are affected:

    • Configure Geographic Mirroring (CFGGEOMIR)

    • Start ASP Session (STRASPSSN)

    • Change ASP Session (CHGASPSSN)

    Any existing CL programs that use the MODE parameter may require modification.

  • The source site (SRCSITE), and target site (TGTSITE) parameters were removed from the Configure Geographic Mirroring (CFGGEOMIR) command. Any existing CL programs that use the removed parameters may require modification.

  • Improved licensing and compliance messages related to exceeding the processor usage limit. For additional information see Software Licensing and Compliance Information.

Level 15 (June 26th, 2020) - HA 3.4

PTF SI73520

Announcement & Documentation: 7.4 HA 4.2.1 & 7.2/7.3 HA 3.4 PTFs

New Features

  • Simplified updates and upgrades with automated PowerHA and cluster version management.

  • PowerHA SQL services for cluster, administrative domain and CRG information provide the ability to explore PowerHA objects and data in new ways. The following new services are available:

    • Cluster Services

      • QHASM.CLUSTER_INFO(CLU_INF) view

      • QHASM.CLUSTER_NODES(NODE_LIST) view

    • Administrative Domain Services

      • QHASM.ADMIN_DOMAIN_LIST(CAD_LIST) view

      • QHASM.ADMIN_DOMAIN_MRE_ATTRIBUTES table function

      • QHASM.ADMIN_DOMAIN_MRE_DETAILS table function

      • QHASM.ADMIN_DOMAIN_MRE_LIST table function

      • QHASM.ADMIN_DOMAIN_NODES table function

    • Cluster Resource Group Services

      • QHASM.CLUSTER_RESOURCE_GROUP_LIST(CRG_LIST) view

      • QHASM.CRG_CONFIGURATION_OBJECTS table function

      • QHASM.CRG_INFO table function

      • QHASM.CRG_RECOVERY_DOMAIN table function

Enhancements

  • PowerHA has been enhanced to enable wide screen displays in additional third party emulators.

  • Communication to the SVC has been enhanced for robustness in certain heavily loaded environments where the SVC communication fails with Connection refused. PowerHA has implemented connection retries if this error is encountered.

  • DS8000 LUN-Level Switching has been enhanced for robustness to retry operations upon receiving 'CMUN04003E Operation Failure' during a LUN-Level switch.

  • The Display HyperSwap Status panel has been improved with a new summary status when a storage device failure occurs. Previously 'Invalid Configuration' was displayed, this has been improved to show 'STG Access Failure'.

  • The display HyperSwap Status panel has been enhanced to show volume identifiers in upper-case for consistency with typical DS8000 LUN identifier representation.

Other Fixes

  • Improved error message when a reattach is performed when the mirror copy of the IASP is online in a geographic mirroring environment.

  • The order of nodes in the CRG recovery domain is now consistent between the WRKCLU and the DSPCRGINF commands to always display nodes ordered by the current node role.

  • In some instances, a resume of geographic mirroring failed with unrecognized error code 0386. PowerHA has been enhanced to resolve the situation automatically.

  • Previously when geographic mirroring replication was active, PowerHA displayed copy progress as 0. This has been fixed to show a copy progress of 100 when replication is active.

  • When communication failures occurred with an IBM Copy Services Manager (CSM) storage controller, PowerHA allowed a CSM configuration description that is in-use by a session to be removed. An appropriate error message is returned when a configuration description is in use.

  • In certain instances a PowerHA operation could fail with CPFBA23: Operation Failed due to other in-progress system operations. PowerHA uses automatic retries for these operations.

Level 14 (April 16th, 2020) - HA 3.3

PTF SI72439 (plus language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: HA 3.3 Enhancements

New Features

  • Security compliance automation that detects and disables inactive profiles across all nodes in a PowerHA environment with the introduction of the QHA_AD_ANZCADPRF policy and Analyze Admin Domain Profile (ANZCADPRF) command.

  • Enhanced visibility of real-time Recovery Point Objective (RPO) information for SVC Global Mirror with Change Volumes, and CSM Global Mirror sessions in the Display SVC Session (DSPSVCSSN) and Display CSM Session (DSPCSMSSN) displays.

  • Re-designed display session screens that take advantage of 132 column displays and provide a clearer indication of replication status.

Other Fixes

  • SE72554: Resolves an issue where an authorization list entry where a user's only authority is *AUTLMGT caused the authorization list to be inconsistent within the administrative domain

  • SE67378: Resolves an issue where option 6=Activate on cluster monitor did not properly restart the cluster monitor.

  • SE69164: Previously when the system default SSH client port was set to a port other than 22, PowerHA communication with IBM Spectrum Virtualize based storage (SVC) failed. PowerHA now correctly always uses port 22 when initiating communication with SVC storage.

  • SE72468: In some instances Display ASP Copy Description (DSPASPCPYD) for a copy description used in geographic mirroring resulted in MCH1211. This has been resolved.

  • SE72650: When copy descriptions are used in multiple sessions, the Work with ASP Copy Descriptions screen has been improved to show the copy descriptions in every session that they appear in.

  • Resolves an issue when attempting to add a cluster monitor via WRKCLU filled in the wrong field on the Add Cluster Monitor (ADDCLUMON) command in some instances.

  • Using WRKCLU to remove a cluster monitor that was defined with an IP address, instead of a host name resulted in a CPD0020. This has been resolved.

  • Improves integration with IBM Copy Services manager to support session names on the storage controller that include spaces and special characters

  • Previously, when displaying copy descriptions for ASP copies in geographic mirroring sessions on a node not in the recovery domain of the Cluster Resource Group (CRG) an MCH3601 was encountered. This has been resolved.

  • When running various SVC storage commands, in some instances duplicate completion messages were returned. PowerHA has been improved to return a single completion message.

  • In some instances when the local node was not active in the cluster, the Display Cluster Information (DSPCLUINF) command displayed the incorrect node status for other nodes within the cluster.

  • SVC based FlashCopy has been enhanced to ignore license warning message CMMVC6375W.

  • The Display Cluster Resource Group Information (DSPCRGINF) command has been enhanced to show a CRG status of 'Exit Point Operation Pending' rather than a blank status when a CRG exit point operation is in progress.

  • SVC Copy description commands (ADDSVCCPYD,CHGSVCCPYD) have been enhanced to remove extra padding on internet address and keyfile fields which resulted in difficult to diagnose error messages.

Level 13 (January 13th, 2020) - HA 3.2

PTF SI71480

Announcement & Documentation: HyperSwap with LUN Switching Integrated Recovery

Enhancements

  • PowerHA enhanced support for replication of encrypted passwords set with(using) the QSYSUPWD API. Previously, the QSYSUPWD API caused the user-affected profile to be marked as inconsistent within the administrative domain.

  • Improved control over changing the synchronization option for an administrative domain using the Change Cluster Administrative Domain (CHGCAD) command even when some nodes in the administrative domain are inactive.

  • Enhanced integrated recovery from a data-center outage in a HyperSwap with a LUN-level switching environment that enables HyperSwap protection to be restored with a single command.

  • Several PowerHA work panels have been enhanced to show both error and completion messages at the bottom of the panel upon execution of actions on the work (WRKHAPCY, WRKASPCPYD, WRKHACFGD, WRKHYSSTS, Work with cluster resource groups).

  • PowerHA enhanced the detached status for Copy Services Manager Sessions to display as XXXX instead of blanks for consistency and ease of understanding.

  • User queue and user space objects used for PowerHA operation have been moved from the QGPL library to the QUSRHASM library.

Other Fixes

  • SE71819: DS8000 multiple incremental FlashCopy issues at DS bundle versions.

  • SE72158: In an SVC Global Mirror with change volumes environment when the session storage state was 'consistent copying', the RTVSVCSSN command was returning unknown for the storage state. This is corrected to now correctly show the storage state as 'consistent copying'.

  • SE72375: The persistent(*NO) option on STRASPSSN was not being honored for DS8000 FlashCopy sessions.

  • SE72209: In geographic mirroring environments, when replication was suspended or detached, the mirror copy of the IASP would show the status as VARYONPEND instead of VARYOFF. This has been corrected to show the status as VARYOFF.

  • Error messages for the Change CSM Session (CHGCSMSSN) command have been enhanced with additional information as to the current session state and why the given operation is not allowed.

  • When performing a refresh of the DSPCSMSSN command after clustering has ended, an MCH0601 would occur. This has been corrected to correctly show CPFBB26: Cluster Resource Services not active or not responding.

  • In geographic mirroring environments in some instances the vary state of the mirror copy independent ASP on DSPASPSSN incorrectly would show as unknown when a geographic mirroring session contained multiple independent ASPs.

  • Previously in some instances PowerHA did not release locks on panel group QGYASPDSSN or panel group QGYASPWCPY. This has been corrected so that the locks are released once the panels are closed.

  • Padded spaces truncated from PowerHA confirmation panels for easier readability.

Level 12 (June 28th, 2019) - HA 3.2

PTF SI70186

Enhancements

  • Communication to the SVC has been enhanced for robustness in certain heavily loaded environments where the SVC communication fails with ssh_exchange_identification: Connection closed by remote host. PowerHA has implemented connection retries when this error is encountered.

Other Fixes

  • SE69755: DSPASPSSN for geographic mirroring has been corrected to display accurate geographic mirroring status during a cluster partition.

  • SE70374: PowerHA environments utilizing DSCLI have been corrected to work in all CCSIDs. Previously, some PowerHA commands would fail in some job CCSIDs with message HAE2013.

  • SE71270: DSCLI communication within PowerHA has been enhanced to support passwords up to 16 characters long. Previously passwords longer than 14 characters resulted in an HAE2024 with CMMCI9026E Unmatched ' characters.

  • In some instances the CHGHAPCY command with invalid input incorrectly reported success even though the operation failed. CHGHAPCY has been enhanced to perform additional validation and error reporting.

  • In a HyperSwap with Global Mirror environment, in some instances CHGCSMSSN with the option of *REATTACH failed with an HAE2057. PowerHA has been corrected to allow the reattach of a detached Global Mirror in these instances.

  • In some instances CHGHYSSTS *START would incorrectly report success even if an I/O path was not available to both DS8000 storage devices.

  • PowerHA has been corrected to no longer create or delete proxy commands for temporary PTF objects in QSYS.

Level 11 (April 19th, 2019) - HA 3.2

PTF SI69233 (plus language PTFs)

Announcement & Documentation: DS8000 HyperSwap with Global Mirror - Copy Services Manager Metro Mirror and Global Mirror Integration

New Features

  • Integration of PowerHA IASP-based replication with IBM Copy Services Manager for DS8000 Metro Mirror and DS8000 Global Mirror replication solutions.

  • PowerHA has been enhanced to enable DS8000 HyperSwap configuration in conjunction with Global Mirror for regional outage protection.

Enhancements

  • The RPG Header files located in QHASM/QRPGLESRC for PowerHA APIs have been enhanced to use free-form RPG for easier usability and readability.

Other Fixes

  • When one or more storage devices are down or inaccessible, HyperSwap status screens and APIs now properly show the HyperSwap status as unknown, instead of reporting a potentially incorrect cached status.

  • PowerHA has been updated so that it no longer leaves QHASM in the product portion of the library list after the execution of commands.

  • The number of HAC0026 and CPCBB01 joblog messages that contain a reason code of success, on many PowerHA commands has been reduced for enhanced usability.

  • The ADDHACFGD and CHGHACFGD command parameter HYSSTGTYPE has been renamed to SUBTYPE. Any existing CL programs that use these commands may require modification.

  • The CHGHYSSTS command default parameter for ASP device has been changed from *ALL to *SYSBAS. The *ALL option for the ASP device parameter is no longer available. Any existing CL programs that use these commands may require modification.

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