VTAM/Switch 5.2 Release Notes

Released On: 05/05/1999

• Added year 2000 compatibility.
• Reduction in network traffic and dramatically improved response time on the VTAM/SWITCH OPEN screen. This screen has been changed from issuing synchronous requests for an application status to asynchronous requests. In addition, logic is in place to significantly reduce the number of requests issued. These changes will result in nearly instantaneous response on this screen. You may see a status of "checking" as an application status on some slower remote applications. This means the asynchronous request has not yet completed. Simply press the enter key again to update the status
• Elimination of potential VTAM/SWITCH hangs on the VTAM/SWITCH OPEN screen.
• In very large networks, some Synchronous Application Status Requests were not being completed causing the SWITCH user to hang and potentially causing the entire SWITCH to hang as it reached its maxuser value. All Synchronous Application Status Requests have now been removed entirely from SWITCH.
• For MVS/ESA, OS/390 or VSE/ESA installations, most VTAM/SWITCH storage is allocated above the 16mb line. This will increase the number of users a single VTAM/SWITCH will support.
• VTAM/SWITCH feature to notify a user after a printing failure has been changed. When multiple VTAM/SWITCH screen prints are to be printed, the last user requesting the screen print will be notified instead of the first when a print error occurs.
• A new parameter has been added to the NEWS command to prevent VTAM/SWITCH messages or broadcasts from interrupting the user. This can be very useful while performing file transfers.
• Optional control table parameter, SELCHR, is available to allow any character, other than "C", to select an application on the VTAM/SWITCH SESSION SELECTION screen.
• Optional control table parameter, MSGNLG, is available to prevent any VTAM/SWITCH message from being routed to a user who is not currently logged on.
• For MVS TOP SECRET installations, the actual TOP SECRET message is returned to the user rather than the VTAM/SWITCH message generated from the SAF return codes.
• Optional control table parameter, PFKNO, is available to remove the PFkey line used on the bottom of VTAM/SWITCH screens
• New physical terminal table option for the FEED parameter to perform two form feeds after each VTAM/SWITCH screen print.
• Optional control table parameter, SCRCLR, is available to allow the VTAM/SWITCH scripting logic to process a CLEAR screen command from a VTAM application.
• New LIBRARYU parameter, ACTIVE, is available to limit the VTAM/SWITCH user display to only users currently logged on to VTAM/SWITCH
• Optional control table parameter, MSGNPR, is available to disable the VTAM/SWITCH print screen key for messages only.
• Optional control table parameter, PRTDEL, is available to delete the VTAM/SWITCH screen print request after a printer error.
• Application table parameter, LOGDATA, has been increased from 20 to 40 bytes.
• Optional control table parameter, CLRSGN, has been changed to specify the number of unsuccessful VTAM/SWITCH signon attempts before the terminal will be released by VTAM/SWITCH to VTAM USSTAB.
• Optional control table parameter, BRDNOA, is available to prevent the automatic VTAM/SWITCH broadcast display when issued.
• Optional control table parameter, LGAPPL, is available to determine whether the value specified for logical terminal table APPL= parameter is the application's ACB or ALIAS name.
• Optional control table parameter, APPLVR, is available to determine whether the applications on the VTAM/SWITCH application selection screen are displayed vertically or horizontally.
• Optional control table parameter, DYNTYPE, is available to determine how VTAM/SWITCH will generate the TERMTYP for all dynamic physical terminals.
• The VTAM/SWITCH group name will be displayed with the message for all VTAM/MESSAGE messages sent using the ROUTE G,xxxx command.
• Highlights active applications on the VTAM/SWITCH application selection screen.
• Optional control table parameter, CLRCMD, is available to clear the VTAM/SWITCH command line whenever an error message is returned on the VTAM/SWITCH application selection or
  session selection screens.
• New application group table parameter, MAXSESS, is available to restrict the number of logical sessions per application.
• Control table parameter, HIDEOFF, has been changed to allow a HIDE user to return to the VTAM/SWITCH signon screen rather than the VTAM USSTAB after closing their current session.
• Improved the PURGE user, TASK facility. VTAM/SWITCH will close the physical terminal and wait for the hung task to complete before cleaning up the internal control blocks.
• Automatic purge facility for hung task. Using the existing timeout feature, VTAM/SWITCH will close the physical terminal (based upon the control table TERMERR parameter), close all logical terminals or the current logical terminal, and wait for the hung task to complete before cleaning up the internal control blocks for any task older than 60 seconds.
• Allows for forward and backward paging on any VTAM/SWITCH display screen by number of lines rather than by full pages.
• Applications displayed on the applications selection screen are now in the order of the application group table.
• New VTAM/SWITCH commands, LIBRARYG and LIBRARYH, have been added to display the application group and physical terminal group tables respectively.
• "Point and Shoot" has been added to the session selection screen. Applications can be selected by placing the cursor and pressing enter.
• Paging for the VTAM/SWITCH application selection and session selection screens has been added.
• TOP SECRET for VSE support is now available