Robot/SCHEDULE®

Enterprise Scheduler • Automatic Computer OperatorBatch Management System • Job Schedule Forecaster

Display your jobschedule and manageyour system withease. Click on a job to seeits details. The Sched-ule Activity MonitorTM

(SAMTM) displays yourentire schedule so yousee the big picture at-a-glance. Using SAM, yousee your entire jobschedule from your desk on asingle, tabbed display. Itshows you the status of everybatch job on your system.Another tool, the JobSchedule Blueprint, graphicallydisplays job details—name,type, override codes andmore—and relationships toother jobs.

Eliminate expensiveerrors; track and reducedowntime. Whether youmeasure them by time wasted,money spent, unhappy users,or Service Level Agreements(SLAs) missed, mistakes arecostly. Robot/SCHEDULEhelps you fight back with jobmonitors. If a job runs toolong, completes too quickly,or starts late, Robot/SCHEDULE can end the jobor send a message to a messagequeue. Using job monitors,you’ll easily meet, or exceed,your SLAs.

Document your scheduleinformation for Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) auditors. Whochanged the job schedule? When did

processes actually start andend? Robot/SCHEDULEanswers these questions andprovides online records thatdocument the security in yourjob schedule. When the SOXauditors come calling, Robot/SCHEDULE has the answersto their questions.

Monitor your entireenterprise with Robot/SCHEDULE. When youuse Robot/SCHEDULE, youcan run jobs reliably on yourSystem i while handlingWindows, UNIX, and Linuxserver processes. Use Robot/SCHEDULE with Robot/NETWORK, our networkmanagement software, to dis-play all the systems in yourenterprise online. If animportant job fails anywherein the enterprise, Robot/NET-WORK indicates the problemand uses Robot/ALERT tosend a text, pager, or e-mailmessage. Contact yourRegional Sales Manager and

ask for the EnterpriseScheduling brochure tolearn more.

More Than Just A Job SchedulerRobot/SCHEDULE is the never-forget operator thateliminates user complaints about missed jobs or reports.Users like Robot/SCHEDULE because their reportsand jobs are scheduled, run, and delivered on time.And, a system operated by Robot/SCHEDULE runssmoother, more reliably, with fewer operational crisesand off-shift operators.

Works Nights And Weekends For YouRobot/SCHEDULE works overtime and weekends,instead of your programmers and operators. That meansless interference with your staff ’s leisure time and familylife. You tell Robot/SCHEDULE what to do. When onejob finishes, it runs the next job in its schedule, and so on.If your System i really needs help, Robot/SCHEDULEuses Robot/ALERT, our system event notification soft-ware, to send a text, e-mail, or pager message. No morecamping out in the computer room waiting for dedicatedjobs to finish. Say goodbye to unnecessary overtime andhello to more nights, weekends, and holidays free.

Increases Programmer ProductivityRobot/SCHEDULE eliminates the hundreds of CLprograms necessary to run your batch jobs. You just fillin the blanks to tell Robot/SCHEDULE how you wantthe batch job to run and Robot/SCHEDULE goes towork. If you are new to the System i and setting up jobs,Robot/SCHEDULE can save you and your staff monthsof CL programming. Don’t waste your programmers’time—get Robot/SCHEDULE.

Robot/SCHEDULE Is Ready To Take Over The Work For You

W ith more than 15,000 users worldwide,Robot/SCHEDULE is the most popular

software package for the IBM ® System i TM

(System i5 TM or iSeries TM). It’s easy to see why.Since its introduction in 1982, Robot/SCHED-ULE has been enhanced with hundreds offeatures. These features were requested by ourdesign staff—the thousands of users who haveused and relied on Robot/SCHEDULE over theyears. Today, Robot/SCHEDULE is a winningcombination of power scheduling, and greatdesign, documentation, and technical support—fueled by Help/Systems’ focused dedication toSystem i operations automation.

1

2

1

Now is the besttime to take acloser look atRobot/SCHEDULE.

4

Four ReasonsRobot/SCHEDULEIs Right For You

3

4

3

2

W i

The Power User

Job Scheduler And ForecasterRobot/SCHEDULE offers 26 scheduling options. Youcan use any combination of time patterns to run all ofyour company’s vital jobs. Just fill in the blanks to enteryour schedule, or use a command to have your own pro-grams update your job schedule. Turn your batch jobsover to Robot/SCHEDULE for a more efficient,productive, and reliable IT department.

Robot/SCHEDULE can forecast your schedule for anytime period and display it in its easy-to-use graphicformat. You see immediately if you have time for a newapplication, or if you need to shift your workload. And,after your schedule is complete, you can really impressyour SOX auditors with your job setup and scheduledocumentation.

Automatic Computer OperatorUse Robot/SCHEDULE to place jobs into a group. Afterthe group starts, Robot/SCHEDULE won’t start the nextjob until the previous one completes. And, if a job in agroup fails, Robot/SCHEDULE uses Robot/ALERT,our system event notification software, to send you amessage. After you fix the problem, you can restart thegroup where it left off.

Robot/SCHEDULE can react to system or deviceevents on the same system, on another system in yournetwork, or in your PC network. Use Robot/SCHED-ULE to react to a combination of events, or a program,to start a job. Or, if a job fails, Robot/SCHEDULE canstart recovery procedures, automatically.

Batch Management SystemRobot/SCHEDULE’s Job Completion History gives youcomplete control over all your batch jobs—submitted,running, or finished. You can see at-a-glance if any jobsfailed during the night.

Easy, fill-in-the-blanks setup of job execution and printerenvironments eliminates hundreds of CL programsassociated with batch jobs. It is so complete, you canview it as a CL program generator. This is crucial if youare new to the System i, or to setting up new applications.

Server SchedulerRobot/SCHEDULE works with Robot/CLIENT, theserver operations event manager, to schedule tasks onmultiple platforms, including Windows, UNIX, andLinux servers. It offers complete flexibility so you canmake those tasks prerequisites to other tasks on the server,or elsewhere. The result—Robot/SCHEDULE is themost powerful, reliable, and efficient server scheduleravailable. See the Enterprise Scheduling brochure formore information.

Report DistributorRobot/SCHEDULE eliminates the CL programmingassociated with print files and printing. Just fill in theblanks to override printer attributes at the print file orrecipient level and Robot/SCHEDULE does the rest.Robot/SCHEDULE prints a banner page and distribu-tion list, and puts the right number of report copies atthe correct printers, whether they are on the same systemor located halfway around the world.

Network Batch ManagerRobot/SCHEDULE works with Robot/NETWORK,our network management software, to control yourHelp/Systems products and job schedule across yourSystem i network, including cross-system reactivity andcentralized distribution of product instructions (packets).See the Enterprise Management brochure for moreinformation.

Smart SchedulerRobot/SCHEDULE is a smart scheduler. Its Learnfunction lets you set up complex jobs quickly and auto-matically. Just put Robot/SCHEDULE into Learnmode and submit jobs as you normally do from menus orcommand entry screens. Robot/SCHEDULE capturesall the information needed to run each job, while creatingjob setups you can schedule.

W hether you have one system or a thousand,Robot/SCHEDULE delivers the seven

major elements essential for complete operationsautomation.

At first, you won’t use most of Robot/SCHEDULE’s400 special features. But, as you become more com-

fortable with Robot/SCHEDULE, you’ll soon becomea power user. Here are just a few examples of what youcan accomplish:

Day-Of-The-Week SchedulingYou can enter most jobs in less than a minute. Just enter aprogram or command, the times to run, and each day of theweek the job should run. That’s all there is to it—thedefaults you entered at system setup time handle the rest.

Advanced SchedulingIf day-of-the-week scheduling is not what you need,Robot/SCHEDULE has 25 other scheduling optionsyou can use. For example, if a job is scheduled to run ona non-workday, you can instruct Robot/SCHEDULE toskip the job, or to run it before or after the non-workday.With more than 90 calendar options, Robot/SCHED-ULE can adapt to any work schedule or fiscal year.

Exception SchedulingIf the advanced scheduling options still don’t meet yourrequirements, you can invent your own. Combine timerequirements with events and conditions to create theperfect schedule for your needs. And, since Robot/SCHEDULE stores these options as scheduling objects,you can reuse them for many different jobs.

Commands Without ProgrammingYou can enter up to 999 commands for Robot/SCHED-ULE to execute without creating a CL program. Nomore writing CL programs to make batch jobs do whatyou want them to do. You also can enter Windows orUNIX tasks to execute on attached servers. You can evencreate system-wide reserved variables (such as the operatoron duty or today’s date) to update hundreds of commandsor Windows tasks at once.

Easy And Flexible Job Control OptionsIn addition to its normal submit job options,Robot/SCHEDULE brings even more flexibility to your

job scheduling. Enter instructions for what Robot/SCHEDULE should do if the job needs operator atten-tion (including sending a message using Robot/ALERT).And, if you have Robot/AUTOTUNE, our automaticperformance monitoring and tuning software, you caneven control the processing speed of the job.

Report Distribution And Output ControlYou can document printer attributes, as well as who getsreports and when. Robot/SCHEDULE handles the rest.It puts the right number of copies, with the right printattributes, on the right printers, on the right days. You caneven use its date calculator to run closings on a certain dayof the month, but date the reports with the last day of theprevious month. Robot/SCHEDULE interfaces withRobot/REPORTS, our report distribution, archiving,and viewing software, for more advanced report manage-ment, including electronic bursting, sorting, andbundling—and PDF and Excel output.

Reactive And Group JobsRobot/SCHEDULE can run a job in reaction to eventson your System i, or on any other system in yournetwork. Just enter the prerequisite conditions to createdependency processing.

You can build customized procedures using differentprograms and commands. For example, group your jobsfor weekly, monthly, and annual closings to ensure thatprograms run in the correct sequence so you never haveto worry about processing errors.

Job Schedule Modification TrackingRobot/SCHEDULE lets you create an audit log of mod-ifications to your job schedule. Anytime users make achange, addition, or deletion to the job schedule, it’sincluded in the log. The log tracks the name of the userwho made the change, and the time and date of thechange. For troubleshooting and record retention, you candisplay, print, or export the log to a library. When the SOXauditors arrive, you’re ready!

Why Robot/SCHEDULE Is The Perfect Automation Package For You

W i

“Robot/SCHEDULE can run jobs for me off hours andkeeps me from working the long hours.

Robot/SCHEDULE keeps us fromforgetting to run important jobs onthe right day of the month.

Robot/SCHEDULE helps us keepup with housekeeping with our out-queues and subsystems, and saves usTIME.”

Sharon MorrisAS/400 Specialist

GeoVera Insurance Company

“Robot/SCHEDULEteamed with Robot/REPLAY has allowedme to fully automatedaily, weekly, and peri-od closing tasks. Weno longer have toVPN in at odd hoursto do mundane andrepetitive tasks—I loveRobot/SCHEDULE!

Ed KandelSenior Programmer/AnalystTEXTRON Fluid & Power

“I love Robot/SCHEDULE because it is easy to set up,easy to change, and easy to review the status of jobs. Inother words, it’s easy!”

Carolyn BainProgrammer/Analyst

WM Wright Company

“My favorite Help/Systems product is Robot/SCHED-ULE because it makes my life easy and lets me sleep wellat night instead of having to look at a green screen.Robot/SCHEDULE is now doing the job of 11 opera-tors—it’s saved us a lot of money.”

Saurav KumarGenworth Financial

“Our schedule is a mile long, but with Robot/SCHED-ULE, we’ve structured it and made it easy to manage. Wehave roughly 180 groups set up, with thousands of jobsunder those groups. Thousands. I’m confident we’recovered [for Sarbanes-Oxley] because of our IT controls.I don’t need stacks of job schedule documentationbecause my job schedule is fully automated. I can providea list telling the auditors everything they want to know.”

Frank IariaGlobal IT Operations Manager

Dentsply International

“Occasionally I meet people who think that their opera-tion is too big to automate. The truth is, the bigger youare, the more you need automation. As for the human sideof automation, I have automated hundreds and hundredsof processes and you don’t lose jobs when you automate.My operators are now system administrators—they reallyappreciate working only during the day and being able togo home nights and weekends.”

John CiroccoDirector of IT

Sorrento Lactalis

“Automation has been invaluable to us. Robot/SCHED-ULE really saves us time and gives us peace of mindknowing we don’t have to remember to send a report orstart a job. Robot/SCHEDULE does it all. Thank you.”

Ana MaldonadoIT Manager

SYSCO of Central California

“Robot/SCHEDULE is a great product that makes my lifeeasier…It’s just like having a super-dependable operator onstaff. Best employee we could have.”

Christine DickSystem Administrator

Dacotah Banks

“Without Robot/SCHEDULE, I don’t know if wewould have ever passed the [Sarbanes-Oxley] audits.Robot/SCHEDULE has the jobs scheduled, maintains alog, and automatically archives all important information.”

Jackie Rowland BriscoeBusiness Analyst

Xomox Corporation

“We staff our iSeries machine during the day, and atabout 4:00 p.m. our batch processing starts. WithRobot/SCHEDULE, it’s all automated—we only inter-vene if Robot/ALERT notifies us that there’s a problem.We use Robot/SAVE to do two backups a night and it’sall integrated into Robot/SCHEDULE. I’d say we havea couple of thousand jobs in Robot/SCHEDULE andit’s really nice the way it works—basically, it’s lights out.”

David HinrichsiSeries System Administrator

Cascade Corporation

“I love Robot/SCHEDULE. We have been using it foryears and it is so helpful. We run a lot of jobs throughRobot/SCHEDULE and the ease of setting up jobsis great. It saves me a lot of time,reduces stress, and gets the job done.I just love your products!!!!”

Lois Anne WarnockSystem Administrator

Mill’s Pride

Listen To What Our Robot/SCHEDULE Users Say...

O ur customers have awarded us over10,000 times with Robot/SCHEDULE

purchases.Oi

Robot/SCHEDULE Explorer: Easy JobSchedule ManagementRobot/SCHEDULE’s easy-to-use graphical user inter-face, the Robot/SCHEDULE Explorer, is the primarynavigation tool for your job schedule. Use the Explorerto manage your job schedule and access the tools forworking with your jobs. Display all your jobs, makeschedule changes, and monitor jobs on multiplesystems—directly from your PC.

The true power of the Explorer lies in its simplicity. Justright-click on a job to display its properties, apply aschedule override code, view completion history, displayproperties and relationships graphically, clear completioncodes, export the job to another system, and much more.Everything you need is just a click away.

From the Explorer, you can launch or display otherRobot/SCHEDULE tools—the Job Monitor EventsLog, the Job Creation Wizard, and the Job Schedule ListViewer—directly from the toolbar. You don’t have to gothrough a series of menus or panels—they are rightthere, ready when you are.

If you’re familiar with the green screen version ofRobot/SCHEDULE, or don’t have much experienceusing a graphical interface, simply click a toolbar buttonto launch Robot/GUIDE. Robot/GUIDE quicklywalks you through the job setup process, step-by-step.You’ll have no problem creating and scheduling all typesof jobs in just a few seconds.

Blueprint: Your Complete Job Schedule PictureA good blueprint gives you a complete picture of howeverything fits together. And that’s what the JobSchedule Blueprint does. The Blueprint shows you boththe relationships between jobs and information such asjob name, job type (user, Robot/SCHEDULE, groupcontrol, reactive), and override codes. Click on the job tosee additional information or to modify it.

When you need to change your job schedule, use the JobSchedule Blueprint to anticipate the impact of thechanges before you make them. For example, if you wantto add a new job to your nightly processing procedures,open the Job Schedule Blueprint, add the new job, anddrag it to where it should run in the schedule. You’ll see

Simplify Control Of Your Job Schedule

the effect the new job has on any prerequisite or reactivejobs before you add it to the schedule.

You also can save or print your Job Schedule Blueprintsfor multiple uses:

• Find gaps or other inefficiencies in your job schedule.

• Use it as a reference tool during job schedule discus-sions or meetings with programmers.

• Train your new operators.

SAM: Job Schedule DetailSAM, Robot/SCHEDULE’s Schedule Activity Monitor,lets you see detailed job schedule information right fromyour desk. On a single, tabbed display, SAM shows everyjob on your system—forecasted, running, waiting, com-

pleted, failed—plus all the job monitor events, includingjobs that ran long, completed too quickly, or started late.

• Need a snapshot of the current situation?Click on the Running/Waiting tab to see jobs thatare currently running and a list of submitted jobs.

• Waiting for a critical job to finish?Right-click to see a job’s completion percentage.

• Don’t want a job to finish?Right-click to hold the job.

SAM puts full control of your job schedule at your finger-tips. Whether you’re an IT manager looking for a quicksummary of currently running jobs, or an operator whoneeds to hold jobs and apply schedule override codes, youand SAM will quickly become good friends.

Tame Service Level Agreements And SatisfySarbanes-Oxley AuditorsThere is no doubt that automating your operations withRobot/SCHEDULE drastically reduces job schedulingerrors, which ultimately saves you time and money. But,the benefits of using Robot/SCHEDULE don’t stopthere. Your users and customers benefit when you useRobot/SCHEDULE, too.

Robot/SCHEDULE’s job monitors help to ensure thatyou meet your SLAs. You can specify what Robot/SCHEDULE should do in case a job runs too long, com-pletes too quickly, or starts late. You can end the job orsend a message to a message queue. If you have Robot/ALERT or Robot/NETWORK, you can be notified witha text, e-mail, or pager message or a message in theRobot/NETWORK Status Center. When you’ve agreed toprovide a certain level of service, Robot/SCHEDULEhelps you keep your word.

The Audit Log provides an enormous boost for reachingSarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance. It tracks who created anew job, who changed the job setup or commands, andwho forced a job to run outside the scheduled time. TheAudit Log report provides the audit trail of jobs requiredby SOX auditors. Add the other SOX-related reports thatRobot/SCHEDULE produces and you’re well on yourway to total SOX compliance.

W ith Robot/SCHEDULE, you canmanage all aspects of your job sched-

ule—design, creation, maintenance, anddocumentation—in a whole new way. With thehelp of the powerful Robot/SCHEDULE tools—the Explorer, the Schedule Activity Monitor(SAM), and the Blueprint—working with yourjob schedule has never been easier.

Use Robot/SCHEDULE to create a job schedule and documen-tation that helps you fulfill your Service Level Agreements,while satisfying your Sarbanes-Oxley auditors.

Use the Job Schedule Blueprint to create visual representations of your entire job schedule.

The Robot/SCHEDULEExplorer provides easy,at-a-glance access tojobs, reports, schedulingobjects, blueprints, fore-casting tools, and systemsetup options.

SAM displays detailedinformation for everycategory of job on yoursystem.

W i

High-Level ControlDown To The DetailsWhether you need to checkon local jobs, troubleshootscheduling issues on remotesystems, or forecast futurescheduling needs for yoursystems, you get the knowl-edge and understandingyou need, quickly.

The Past HoldsThe AnswersThe Robot/SCHEDULEJob Completion Historyprovides immediate infor-mation for all batch jobssubmitted, running, orcompleted, including jobssubmitted by humans.Robot/SCHEDULE cre-ates a status record for eachjob so that you have ahistory of each batch jobrun. Robot/SCHEDULEupdates this status record

when the job enters a job queue, when it starts running,and at completion time.

You see the description of the job, when it ran, how longit took to run, whether it completed normally or terminat-ed, and the history of the times it ran. You get the jobinformation you need, when you need it. And, if there is aproblem with a job, you can find it and fix it, quickly.

• Trying to locate nighttime batch problems?Just restrict the display to jobs that terminated andyou have a handy problem checklist.

• Jobs backing up on job queues?Restrict the display to jobs waiting on job queues tosee how long each job has been on a queue.

• Need to shut down your system for repairs?Restrict the display to jobs currently running. ForRobot/SCHEDULE jobs, you can see a forecast ofthe time needed to finish so you can cancel any jobthat will take too long.

Everything You Need To Know About Batch JobsFor each job status record, Robot/SCHEDULE pro-vides information to put you in control of your batchjobs. Here’s just a partial list of what you’ll see:

• Completion or • Robot/SCHEDULErunning status setup and documentation

• Start and end times • Journal records• Duration • QHST entries• Job log • Associated spooled files• Job description • Job attributes

Look To The Schedule Forecast For AnswersIt would be impossible for a person to forecast a batchjob-processing schedule for 100 jobs that use Robot/SCHEDULE’s multiple scheduling options. But, to runyour department properly, schedule forecasting is some-thing you have to do. Our powerful Schedule ForecastList gives you the information you need, that you candisplay or print anytime.

Choose a time period, date, and subsystem, andRobot/SCHEDULE forecasts the schedule based on amoving average of historical job run times. It calculates thetime the job waits on the job queue, as well as the actualstart time. Look for gaps in the schedule to spot time avail-able for a new application or report request. Use the displayto shift the workload to maximize system usage, or tosignal when a system upgrade is needed.

Play “What If” With Robot/SCHEDULECan your schedule handle the big batch update runsrequired by a new application? Can you handle the presi-dent’s request for a big report today, instead of next week?Use Robot/SCHEDULE to find out. Enter projected runtimes, forecast length, and start times and see the resultsimmediately. If you are happy with what you see, just pressa key to make the new start times permanent.

Use Robot/NETWORK To Schedule AndControl Your System i NetworkRobot/NETWORK allows each Robot/SCHEDULEon your System i network to communicate. Robot/SCHEDULE on the Host system distributes job setupand scheduling instructions to the other System i serversand partitions in your network. Each copy ofRobot/SCHEDULE reports the status of each job itran, including jobs that failed, to the Host. Your sched-ule becomes more efficient and reliable.

Robot/NETWORK monitors your systems and jobsacross your entire network. A job completing on onesystem can start jobs on another. And, if an importantSystem i job fails anywhere, Robot/NETWORK indicatesthe problem, or uses Robot/ALERT to send a message.Robot/NETWORK provides three unique ways to keeptrack of your System i network:

• Use the Robot/NETWORK Explorer to view yournetwork, or a portion of it, in an expandable, online“tree” format. Drill down through your Host andNode structure to send packets, troubleshoot systems,see what’s installed, and view the latest reports,including consolidated reports that span systems.

• Use the Robot/NETWORK Status Center—fromyour PC or using the Robot Browser Interface—tomonitor and display statuses on any System i server orpartition. Robot/SCHEDULE sends job statuses tothe Host system that you can filter and sort by time,type, or priority.

• Use the Map Center to create a graphical overviewso you can display and access different systems witha simple click.

Monitor and ScheduleAcross Your SystemsBatch job scheduling isoften an enterprise-levelissue. Nightly processes canrequire integration withnon-System i servers, andSystem i data is often a pre-requisite for batch processesto run on a UNIX,Windows, or Linux server.The trick is to build anevent-driven schedule acrossall your systems for enter-prise scheduling, coordi-nated batch processing, andcross-system monitoring.

Start with Robot/SCHED-ULE on your System iservers. Then, add Robot/CLIENT to incorporateyour non-System i servers—Windows, UNIX andLinux—and build a schedule that makes them as reliableand easy to use as your System i. Robot/CLIENT checksoperational status, provides job status information,launches processes, monitors applications, transfers data,and more. Robot/CLIENT and Robot/SCHEDULEwork together across all your systems to:

• Monitor essential applications and services.

• Schedule batch jobs across your enterprise.

• Rotate among System i servers and partitions,performing scheduled tasks.

• Poll attached servers to spot problems before yourend users report them.

• Send text, e-mail, or pager messages (includingattachments) using Robot/ALERT.

Robot/SCHEDULE, Robot/NETWORK, Robot/CLIENT, and Robot/ALERT are the keys to networkand enterprise scheduling, monitoring, notification, andcontrol. Read the Robot/NETWORK and the EnterpriseScheduling brochures to learn more.

W hether you need to manage one System iserver (including partitions), a network

of them, or an entire enterprise, Robot/SCHED-ULE is ready. Robot/SCHEDULE works withRobot/NETWORK to send job statuses frommultiple System i servers across your network to acentral location. Combine it with Robot/CLIENT for enterprise-level job scheduling,resource monitoring, and event notification withWindows, UNIX, and Linux servers.

Automate Batch Scheduling Across Your Network

Schedule jobs, monitorresources, and notify usersacross your System i networkor your entire enterprise.

And Across YourEntire EnterpriseW i

Check Job StatusNeed to check the current status of a job or the past com-pletion status, along with dates and times? Force a job topass a complex set of prerequisite tests before it can run.

Check Date StatusWhat day is it—the last day of the month; the thirdFriday of the month; some other special day?

Whatever Needs To Be Done, OPAL Can Do ItHere are just some of the operations OPAL can do inresponse to status checking:

• Change a Robot/SCHEDULE job dynamically toreflect changed conditions

• Change a data area• Skip running a job at a certain time• Delay running a job to a later time and then recheck• Check if today is the last day of the month• Start a job on another system• Send a break message when backups start

• Send a message to a Robot/CONSOLE messagecenter

• Delay a job if backups are running on another system• Change night jobs to a different printer

From a set of OPAL instructions, you create an OPALobject that you can reuse on any Robot/SCHEDULEjob in your System i network. With OPAL you can createyour own advanced scheduling options, prerequisites, andevent monitoring options.

Additional Scheduling ObjectsDate ObjectsUse date objects for schedules that are too complex tofollow a repeatable time pattern. There are two types ofdate objects, those that contain run dates and those thatcontain ‘do not run’ dates. The do not run dates can veto ajob, no matter what other scheduling options you used onit. For example, you can schedule a job to run every thirdworkday, except March 26, June 21, and September 14. Tomake it even simpler, you can select dates from a graphiccalendar page and assign a name to them.

Job Environment ObjectsUse job environment objects to define job controloptions such as the job queue, job description, and out-put queue for a Robot/SCHEDULE job. Change anoption on a job environment object, and all the jobs thatuse that object change automatically.

Data Area ObjectsUsing a fill-in-the-blanks process, you can define userfields to segment any data area or Local Data Area (LDA).These field definitions are stored as data area objects.OPAL uses data area objects to read and update data areasfor enhanced interprogram and interjob communication.

Job Query ObjectsUsing simple fill-in-the-blanks setup, you can enter selec-tion criteria based on Robot/SCHEDULE job setupoptions to create a job query object. You can use jobquery objects to sort and limit displays and reports toonly jobs you want to see, and to perform mass updatesof Robot/SCHEDULE jobs.

Expand Your Scheduling HorizonsRobot/SCHEDULE introduced the concept of object-oriented scheduling to the System i with six schedulingobjects:

• OPAL • Data area• Date • Job query• Job environment • Schedule forecast

With all of Robot/SCHEDULE’s scheduling optionsand reactive scheduling, you may never need to use theseobjects. But, if you need something that is not in theRobot/SCHEDULE job setup, these powerful objectscontain timing, job setup, event monitoring, job selection,and planning instructions. After you create a schedulingobject, you can use it over and over to simplify the setupand maintenance of the Robot/SCHEDULE batch man-agement system. The result—the world’s most popular jobscheduler is also the world’s most versatile job scheduler.

OPAL UnderstandsOPerator Assistance Language (OPAL) is our powerfuloperations language that helps operate your System i. InRobot/SCHEDULE, OPAL lets you determine the statusof devices, communications, database files, objects, andother Robot/SCHEDULE jobs. Based on those statuses,OPAL performs tasks that used to require an operator.Combine this status checking using AND-OR-ELSElogic to create a powerful tool for evaluating your System i.

Check Object StatusDoes an object exist? Is it locked? Does a file memberexist and does it contain records? Use OPAL to preventan application from “blowing up,” either because trans-actions haven’t arrived from another system, or becausean interactive program has a lock on an object. OPALalso can read data areas and Robot/SCHEDULEReserved Command Variables.

Check Device StatusIs the tape drive, controller, communication line, or printerup and running? If you have Robot/CLIENT, you candetermine if a server is ready to receive instructions.

Check Work Management StatusesIs a subsystem, user, or job active? What are the comple-tion statuses of batch jobs that ran earlier? How manyjobs are on a job queue? Is a job queue on hold?

Experience The World’s Most Versatile Job Scheduler

N eed to handle a tricky automationchallenge, like adding file transfers to

your schedule, or automatically verifying that acertain device is available before you startbackups? OPerator Assistance Language®

(OPAL®), Help/Systems’ powerful System ioperations language, is the answer. You can useOPAL with Robot/SCHEDULE to createadvanced scheduling options, check job prereq-uisites and statuses, monitor resources andevents, and much more.

If Today is Monday or Friday, Run Job

Logic Operand Variable Operation Operation Value

IF DAY EQ 2OR DAY EQ 3OR DAY EQ 4

SKIPEND

Is Tape Controller Active?

Logic Operand Variable Operation OperationValue

IF THISJOB EQ DIF ACTCTL NE TAPCTLD

SNDMSG MSG(‘controller isstill not up....

SKIPQUIT

ENDENDIF ACTCTL NE TAPCTLD

SNDMSG MSG(‘THE CON-TROLLER IS NOT UP....

SNDRBTDTA **Prompt to seecommand**

ADDMIN 1END

File Transfer Notification

Logic Operand Variable Operation OperationValue

RTVDTADFN RDAYIF USRFLG1 EQ Y

SKIPIF SKIPSTATUS EQ YES

SENDMC **Prompt to seecommand**

PAGE **Prompt to seecommand**

ENDRTVOBJSTS *LIBL/AGLID3

*FILEIF OBJSTS EQ EXISTSAND OBJSTS NE RECORDS

ADDMIN 5END

RTVOBJSTS *LIBL/AGTID3*FILE

IF OBJSTS EQ EXISTSAND OBJSTS NE RECORDS

ADDMIN 5END

RTVOBJSTS *LIBL/BR001*FILE

IF OBJSTS EQ EXISTSAND OBJSTS NE RECORDS

ADDMIN 5ELSE

QUITEND

Problem with Job, Page

Logic Operand Variable Operation OperationValue

RTVJOB 000000003424IF RBTJOBNBR EQ C

SKIPELSE

PAGE ** Prompt to seecommand **

END

N i OPALSamples

Run a job only onMonday or Friday.

Check on the job completion statusand send a pager message if thejob has any status other than ‘C’.

Determine if three files being transferred from anothersystem arrived in time to be processed in the currentbatch cycle.

Check if a tape controller is active, try to vary it on,and send a message and skip the job if it cannot.

Automate Network ControlRobot/SCHEDULE, Robot/NETWORK®, Robot/CLIENT,and Robot/ALERTManaging multiple systems in a network can be an all-con-suming job. You need to coordinate jobs on each systemand often have jobs on one system that are prerequisites to

jobs on another system. Robot/SCHEDULEworks with Robot/NETWORK to controlyour Robot products and job schedule acrossyour network. Cross-system reactivity allows ajob on one system to trigger a job on anothersystem. The Robot/SCHEDULE Master onthe Host system provides centralized distri-

bution of productinstructions andjob setup informa-tion to othersystems in thenetwork.

The Robot/NET-WORK StatusCenter allows youto monitor thestatus of your batch

jobs on all your systems. Ifan important job fails, thedisplay highlights the systemin trouble. If no oneacknowledges the problem,

Robot/NETWORK usesRobot/ALERT to senda message.

Robot/SCHEDULEalso works with Robot/CLIENT to integrateWindows, UNIX, andLinux servers into yourSystem i procedures.Robot/CLIENT auto-mates the scheduling andcontrol of batch tasks on

attached servers. Whether you have dozens of servers, orthousands, Robot/SCHEDULE and Robot/CLIENTwork together to automate your server network.

Automate The UnautomatableRobot/SCHEDULE, Robot/REPLAY ®, andRobot/AUTOTUNE®

Some jobs require interactive input before they canrun—you have to fill in screens, specify report names,provide dates, and so on. These jobs have always seemedunautomatable—you couldn’t schedule them becausesomeone always had to be there to enter information.Not any more. Robot/SCHEDULE has a seamlessinterface with Robot/REPLAY, our interactive job man-agement system, so you can schedule any job—eventhose that require interactive input. Robot/REPLAYautomates those interactive duties.

To submit your job, place Robot/REPLAY into learnmode and submit the job as you normally do.Robot/REPLAY records every keystroke and entry andstores them in a Replay object. You can play back, copy,and edit the object. Then, use Robot/SCHEDULE toschedule the object to run using the same options youuse for your other batch jobs.

Robot/SCHEDULE also interfaces with Robot/AUTO-TUNE, our performance tuning and monitoring software.Set your tuning and performance monitoring priorities andRobot/AUTOTUNE adjusts your system for optimalperformance using the same techniques you would use ifyou had the time. Add Robot/SCHEDULE to change thesubsystem pool size based on the job queue attached to thejob. Schedule Robot/AUTOTUNE’s performance historyreports in Robot/SCHEDULE to run at regular intervalsand provide performance benchmarks for your system.

Automate Message ManagementRobot/SCHEDULE, Robot/CONSOLE®, and Robot/ALERTYour System i generates thousands of messages eachday—for every event that occurs on the system.Robot/SCHEDULE has a seamless interface withRobot/CONSOLE, our System i message, resource, andlog management software to help you reduce operationalcrises. Robot/SCHEDULE can execute or schedule abatch job in reaction to a Robot/CONSOLE message.Now, you can initiate all your jobs that run in reaction tosystem or application events—automatically. AddRobot/ALERT to send a text, e-mail, or pager messageto an expert if no one responds to a message.

Automate Backups and RecoveryRobot/SCHEDULE, Robot/SAVE®, Robot/CLIENT ®,and Robot/ALERT ®

Automating your backups has never been easier.Robot/SCHEDULE’s seamless interface with Robot/SAVE, our backup, recovery, and tape management soft-ware, allows you to perform completely unattendedbackups at night, on weekends, or whenever your scheduledictates. Just set up Robot/SAVE and Robot/SCHEDULE takes over. It runs Robot/SAVE saveprocedures and tape management reporting day afterday, automatically. Robot/SCHEDULE can even rununattended restricted state saves, such as *NONSYS and*SAVSYS, as easily as your daily backups.

You already know that Robot/SCHEDULE on yourSystem i can schedule tasks on attached PCs or servers.Combine Robot/SCHEDULE with Robot/SAVE andRobot/CLIENT, our server operations event manager,and you can back up your PC files and directories usingthe same easy-to-use procedures.

If a problem occurs during a backup session,Robot/SCHEDULE uses Robot/ALERT to send atext, e-mail, or pager message to the on-call operator.You can even tell Robot/SCHEDULE to notify youwith the completion status when the job finishes. WithRobot/SCHEDULE, Robot/SAVE, Robot/CLIENT,and Robot/ALERT, you create the exact backup scheduleyour business requires.

Automate Report ManagementRobot/SCHEDULE, Robot/REPORTS®, Robot/ALERT,and Robot/CLIENTAll your applications and business solutions createreports—including the Robot products. In fact, receivingand viewing reports is so much a part of your day-to-daybusiness environment that you may not realizethere’s a better way to manage them. But, thereis: partner Robot/SCHEDULE with Robot/REPORTS, our report management system thatautomates the operator duties of report bursting,distribution, bundling, archiving, and viewing.When you combineRobot/SCHEDULEwith Robot/REPORTS,you have the ideal auto-mated report manage-ment system. Just selectthe Robot/SCHED-ULE option for a reportin Robot/REPORTS,and Robot/SCHED-ULE uses the sophisti-cated report distributionfunctions in Robot/REPORTS to distribute thereport—promptly and onschedule.

Use Robot/SCHED-ULE with Robot/REPORTS’ hierar-chical report archivesystem to schedule aprocedure that movesreports from onemedia to another andremoves all expiredreports, automatically.

When reports areready for distribution, Robot/SCHEDULE usesRobot/ALERT or Robot/CLIENT to send thereports, electronically, via the Internet or yourcompany’s intranet. Report management hasnever been easier.

Build A Solution Set To Tackle Any Automation Problem

W hen you buy any Robot product fromHelp/Systems, you buy the opportunity

to integrate other Robot products to create anautomation solution set that solves your partic-ular System i operations problems. You’ll savemoney and enjoy all the benefits of automatedoperations by simplifying tasks, eliminatingbottlenecks, speeding processing, reducing errors,and satisfying SOX auditors. Here are just afew of the problems you can resolve usingRobot/SCHEDULE as part of an automationsolution set.

W i

6533 Flying Cloud Dr., Suite 200Eden Prairie, MN 55344Phone 952/933-0609

Fax 952/933-8153www.helpsystems.com

World's Leader in System iAutomated Operations

America’s First ISO 9001Software Company.

© Help/Systems, Inc. All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Award-Winning Robot Automated OperationsSolutionWhether you have a single System i, or a network ofthem, Help/Systems is committed to providing you withproducts that automate their operation.

The products of the Robot Automated OperationsSolution look and act the same. All of the Help/Systemsproducts talk to each other through the Solution’s commoncomponent interface. This integration makes all the prod-ucts powerful, yet easy to learn and use. UsingRobot/SCHEDULE with our other products makes yourinvestment in Robot/SCHEDULE much more valuable.

Our product expertise has won us many awards fromnumerous publications. And, our customers have awardedus 55,000 times with product purchases.

Learn More About Robot/SCHEDULEHelp/Systems offers regular training on Robot/SCHEDULE as part of our Educational and ConsultingServices. Our ISO 9001-certified training teaches youstrategies and techniques for basic job setup, handlingschedule changes, working with completion history,forecasting schedules, using advanced scheduling, usingOPAL, creating group and reactive jobs, and much,much more.

Learn more about Robot/SCHEDULE and the otherproducts of the Robot Automated Operations Solution.Detailed class descriptions and schedules are available onour Web site at www.helpsystems.com/education.

Commitment To ExcellenceHelp/Systems became America’s first ISO 9001-certifiedsoftware company in 1992 and has maintained this levelof quality ever since. This international quality standardcovers software design, development, marketing, productsupport, and training. Help/Systems demonstrated thatit has an excellent software quality assurance system inplace, full management commitment to quality, and awell-trained and motivated staff. This certification appliesto all company procedures for ensuring customer satisfac-tion, from those done by the receptionist to the duties ofthe president.

I t’s no accident that Robot/SCHEDULE isthe world’s best job scheduling software for

the System i. When you combine committeddevelopment, marketing, sales, support, andadministrative people with strong manage-ment, processes that really work, a powerfuldrive to succeed, and a complete dedication toquality, the results speak for themselves. Since1982, Help/Systems has focused successfully onone goal: To deliver the highest quality softwareand training possible to help you manage yourSystem i with “lights-out” automation.

Join The 15,000 Customers Using OurAutomated Operations Solution

I i

S080SC6