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Admin Alert: Creating a Bread Crumb Trail for OS/400 Installs
by Joe Hertvik
When installing OS/400 software, I use the Display Job Log (DSPJOBLOG) command to check for messages that tell me if the software is installing properly. But when I use the OS/400 SIGNOFF command to end my job, all that juicy job log detail is lost. That's because, by default, SIGNOFF assumes my job log isn't needed and deletes it from the system. Fortunately, there's a simple way to retain job detail for later reference.
I sometimes use a little-known SIGNOFF command parameter called LOG to create a detailed job log listing every OS/400 command I used during my install session, along with any resulting messages from those commands. LOG tells OS/400 what to do with the user job log that was created during the session. The default setting for LOG is *NOLIST, which will not save the job log as a printer file when you sign off. If I type in SIGNOFF and press F4, however, I can change my signoff's LOG parameter to *LIST, which will then create a detailed job log spool file, named QPJOBLOG, which contains all the commands I executed during my session, as well as their return messages. This parameter takes precedence over any logging values set at the job level. To create the QPJOBLOG spool file at OS/400 sign off, I can run the SIGNOFF command as follows:
SIGNOFF LOG(*LIST)
As the last step of an install or upgrade, I print out the QPJOBLOG file and store it with the rest of my installation documentation. If there's a question later about what I did during a particular step, I can then reference the listing and recreate some of my footsteps. The key here is to remember to change the parameter as you sign off.
An alternate way to print your job log is by using the DSPJOBLOG command with the OUTPUT parameter equal to *PRINT:
DSPJOBLOG OUTPUT(*PRINT)
Though there are certain details that won't be printed in a job log (for example, it won't record what happened inside a configuration program or what options you took from an OS/400 menu screen), you can adjust the volume of information by manipulating the logging values for your job. This can be done for the duration of your job by using the Change Job (CHGJOB) command, or it can be done for all of your interactive jobs by modifying the logging values in your job description.
No matter how you produce a job log, it is invaluable for creating a bread crumb trail that will allow you to either confirm the correct steps were taken during an install or pinpoint where a blunder was made.
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