SCF Reference Manual for the Kernel Subsystem

• You can permanently change an attribute of a generic process by using the SCF ALTER
command. This change takes effect the next time the process is started. See “Altering a Generic
Process” (page 55).
• You can create or alter a generic process to run at a high PIN or a low PIN (see HIGHPIN).
The default is to run at a high PIN.
• You use the SCF ADD and ALTER commands to create or change the behavior of a generic
process. You cannot use TACL ASSIGNs, DEFINEs, or PARAMs on a generic process.
• When you add a generic process to the system, the $ZPM persistence manager reserves the
generic process name in the $SYSTEM.ZSYSCONF.CONFIG system configuration database
and in the destination control table.
• The default user ID for a generic process is the same as the user ID for the SCF session in
which it was created. If you are the super ID (255,255) and want the process to be run by a
specific user, you can specify that user ID (using the USERID attribute rather than using the
default value.
Uses for a Generic Process
You might create a generic process if you want a process that:
• Is automatically started up by a means other than an SCF command file.
• Acts as a subsystem manager process, rather than a D-series program started by a RUN
command.
• Tracks outages by writing a record to a database at regular intervals.
• Runs in multiple processors in the system rather than just a pair of I/O processes (like LINKMON
and QIOMON).
• Increases performance by using a database-in-memory-type process (rather than a
database-on-disk-type process).
• Creates a TACL macro that is run every time a processor is reloaded (for example, to
automatically correct LAN settings that were overwritten by the processor reload).
• Is persistent; that is, restarts automatically if it stops abnormally.
Examples of Generic Processes
Here are examples of generic processes that you, as a user, can create:
1. You can create a data-collecting generic process that runs only when a specific processor is
reloaded by specifying that processor as the primary processor and specifying its STARTMODE
to be APPLICATION. For example:
-> ASSUME PROCESS $ZZKRN
-> ADD PROCESS $ZZKRN.#CPU3-PROCESS, &
NAME $CPU3, &
PROGRAM $SYSTEM.SYSTEM.NULL, &
AUTORESTART 0, &
HOMETERM $ZHOME, &
CPU 3, &
STARTMODE APPLICATION
If you do not enter a START command now, the process is not started until and unless processor
3 is reloaded. When the program has finished collecting its data and terminates in an orderly
fashion, it is not restarted (because AUTORESTART is 0) until and unless processor 3 is reloaded
again.
-> INFO #CPU3-PROCESS, DETAIL
NONSTOP KERNEL - Detailed Info PROCESS \EAST.$ZZKRN.#CPU3-PROCESS
Uses for a Generic Process 39