Agent Lists in TA

An agent list is any set of licensed nodes in your network. You can assign jobs to run using agent lists similar to the way you assign them to individual agents. With agent lists, however, you have access to useful functions not available with individual agents. You can specify alternate agent(s) to run your jobs if the primary agent is unavailable, you can balance the workload of many jobs among the agents in the list, or you can broadcast jobs to run on all the machines in the agent list at the same time.

The Master does not pick an agent from the agent list assigned to a job until that job is ready to run. Because the agent is not assigned to a job until the last minute, if a user looks at a Job Details dialog before the job runs (e.g., the job is in a Waiting on Dependencies state), the Agent field on the Override tab is empty. The Master does not select an agent from the agent list displayed in the Agent List field until the job’s dependencies are met and the job is ready to run. Once the job is submitted to run and the agent is selected, the name of the agent displays in the Agent field. If the job reruns, the Master may assign a different agent from the agent list according to the demands of the production schedule. If you make a change to the Agent field, then the Agent List field is cleared since you, not the agent list, are selecting the agent.

TA supports Windows, Unix, z/OS (formerly MVS or OS/390) and O/VMS agent platforms, but you cannot combine agents of different platform types in one agent list.

Types of Agent Lists

  • Ordered Agent List – You can use an ordered agent list to provide alternative agent(s) in case the primary agent is not available when a job is ready to run. When there is a network or machine failure on the primary agent, the job is automatically routed to the next available alternate agent in the list. Agents are tried in the order that they appear in the list until an operational agent is found. The primary agent is always the first in the list. Alternative agents follow the primary agent.

  • Broadcast – Simultaneously runs a job on every agent in the list. For example, you might use a broadcast list to backup each machine’s files.

  • Workload Balancing – You can use workload balancing to distribute jobs evenly among all the agents in the list. There are three kinds of agent lists that support workload balancing:

    • Balanced Load – Launches jobs on the agent which currently has the lightest load. Use this type of list with TA agents on platforms that provide load information.

    • Balanced Available – Launches jobs on the agent which currently has the lightest load and job limit available to run the job. Use this type of list with TA agents on platforms that provide load information.

    • Rotation – Launches jobs by selecting agents successively. When the end of the agent list is reached, TA starts at the beginning of the list again.

    • Random – Launches jobs by selecting agents randomly. Use this type of list to approximate workload balancing with remote shell agents.

Agent List Hierarchies

You can manage your agent lists by placing them into hierarchies of parent agent lists and child agent lists. A job using a parent agent list uses all agents belonging to the child agent lists.

Agent list hierarchies are a convenient way to organize a large set of agents into smaller more manageable sets. When a job is slated to run on an agent list, each child agent list in the parent agent list is treated as if it were a single agent list. For example, in a lightest load agent containing four child agent lists, the child agent list with the lightest load is chosen. The job then chooses among the agents with the lightest load inside the child agent list.

An agent list hierarchy can only consist of agent lists of the same type. For example, you can have balanced load lists under balanced load lists, but not ordered lists under balanced load lists.

Agent Lists Interface

Click Definitions > Agent Lists on the Navigation pane to display the Agent Lists pane. Then, select a type of agent folder.

Buttons

Note: Buttons will not be available until you open a platform folder.

  • Add Agent List – Displays the Agent List Definition dialog to add an agent list.

  • Edit Agent List – Displays the Agent List Definition dialog to edit an agent list.

  • Delete Agent List – Removes the agent list definition from the TA database.

  • Refresh – Updates the data in the current pane.

  • Print – Displays the Reports pane to view and print your agent lists. For more information, see Monitoring Production.

  • Where Used – Allows to view the objects to which the selected agent list has been referred.

  • Top – Select this option to bring the agent list view to the top level.

Search Field

Enter text that you want to search for within the columns displayed into this field.

Note: This field at the top right of the grids will only search text columns that are not grayed out and are string-based.

Columns

Note: There are no columns in the Agent Lists pane until you open a platform folder.

The console view for each platform type contains the same columns:

  • Status Light – The status light indicates the status of the agent list.

    A green light is shown if one or more agents in the agent list are active.

    A red light is shown if all agents in the agent list are inactive.

    A gray light is shown if no agent is added to the agent list or an agent list is disabled.

  • Expand/Collapse –This column indicates whether or not the agent list is expanded to show all agents in the list, or collapsed to show only the agent list name.

  • Name –The name of the agent list.

  • List Type –The type of agent list: Ordered, Random, Balanced Load, Balance Available, Broadcast, or Rotation.

  • Enabled – The value is Yes, if the agent list is enabled. The value is No, if the agent list is disabled.

  • Description – A description of the agent list. Since the Description field of the Agent List Definition dialog is optional, this column may be blank.

  • Status – Shows one of these statuses:

    • Active – If one or more agents in a parent/child agent list are active.

    • Inactive – If all agents in an agent list are inactive.

    • No Agent – If no agent is added to the parent/child agent list.

    • Disabled – If an agent list is disabled.

  • Modified –The last time the agent list definition was modified.

Agent Lists Preferences Dialog

Note: Preferences will not be available until you open a platform folder.

If you select Preferences from the View main menu while viewing an Agent Lists pane, the Agent Lists Preferences dialog appears.

From the Agent Lists Preferences dialog, you can select which columns are displayed in the Agent Lists pane and in what order they appear.

  • A checkmark to the left of a column title indicates that it will be displayed in the pane. No checkmark indicates that it will not be displayed.

  • To rearrange the order in which the columns are displayed, select the column and click the up or down arrow.

Navigation Context Menu

Right-click in the Navigation pane while viewing the Agent Lists pane, to view the Navigation context menu.

The Agent Lists Navigation context menu contains these options:

  • Add Agent List – Displays the Agent List Definition dialog to add a new agent list. This option has the same function as the Add Agent List button.

  • Refresh – Updates the data in the current pane.

  • Print – Displays the Reports pane to view and print your agent list definitions. This option has the same function as the Print button on the toolbar. For more information, see Monitoring Production.

  • Select All – Select or highlights all rows in the Agent Lists pane.

  • Export – Saves the data in the current pane as an ASCII text file. You can then use the file data in other applications.

  • Preferences – Displays the Preferences dialog for the Agent Lists pane.

  • New Root Folder – Displays the New Root Folder dialog, which can be used to name the new root folder that is created in the Navigation pane.

Agent Lists Pane Context Menu

Right-click in one of the Agent Lists platform panes to display the Agent Lists pane context menu.

The Agent Lists pane context menu contains these options:

  • Add Agent List – Displays the Agent List Definition dialog to create a new agent list.

  • Edit Agent List – Displays the Agent List Definition dialog for the selected agent list.

  • Delete Agent List – Deletes the selected agent list.

  • Refresh – Refreshes the data on the Agent Lists pane.

  • Print – Displays the Reports pane used to view and print information about agent lists.

  • Print Selected – Prints the selected agent list.

  • Select All – Selects or highlights all rows in the Agent Lists pane.

  • Disable – Deactivates the selected agent list making it unavailable for use. If an agent list is disabled, a job using this agent list completes with the status “Agent Inactive” in the Job Activity pane.

    Note: The Disable option is not shown for Broadcast type agent lists in the Agent Lists pane context menu.

  • Enable – Activates a disabled agent list making it available for use. You can also enable an agent list by using the Enabled option in the Agent List Definition dialog.

    Note: The Enable option is not shown for Broadcast type agent lists in the Agent Lists pane context menu.

  • Where Used – Allows to view the objects to which the selected agent list has been referred.

  • Cascade List Type – Changes the child agent list type(s) to the selected parent agent list type.

Agent List Definition Dialog

The Agent List Definition dialog displays when adding or editing an agent list definition.

Common to All Tabs

  • List Name – The name of the agent list (up to 60 characters). The agent list name must be unique. Note that the type of agent platform (operating system) you initially selected displays next to the List Name field. To select a different platform, cancel the dialog, select the folder of the correct platform type, and Add a new agent list.

  • Parent List – From the drop-down menu in the Parent List field, you can select a parent agent list. If you specify a parent agent list, the agent list you are editing will be a child agent list of the parent and will appear below its parent in the agent list hierarchy.

  • List Type – The type of agent list based on how you want jobs assigned to the agents in the list:

    • Ordered – TA chooses the first available agent to run the job based on the order in which the agents appear in the Agents Selected field. For example, if the first (primary) agent listed is not available, TA tries the second (alternative) agent in the list. You might want to use this list type for critical jobs –specifying substitute agents in case the primary agent becomes unavailable.

    • Random – TA chooses agents from the Agents Selected field randomly. This is a form of workload balancing that works well with Unix rsh agents. However, if you are working with TA agents on platforms that track load information, you should choose the Balanced Load option.

    • Balanced Load – TA chooses an agent from the Agents Selected field based on lightest load when the job is ready to launch. You can choose this option to balance your workload on all the available agents in the list. If you are working with Unix rsh agents, you should choose the Random or Rotation option.

    • Balanced Available – TA chooses an agent from the Agents Selected field based on lightest load and job limit availability to run the job when the job is ready to launch. You can choose this option to balance your workload on all the available agents in the list. If you are working with Unix rsh agents, you should choose the Random or Rotation option.

    • Broadcast – TA runs the job on every agent in the Agents Selected field. For example, you can use this option to schedule backups on each machine in the list using the same job.

    • Rotation – TA cycles through the list of agents in the Agents Selected field and launches jobs assigned to that list in rotation. When the end of the agent list is reached, the first agent in this list is chosen. This is a form of workload balancing where you can predict where the next job will run.

  • Enabled – Activates a disabled agent list making it available for use. You can also enable an agent list by using the Enable option in the Agent Lists pane context menu.

Note: As the Broadcast type agent lists are always enabled, the Enabled checkbox remains selected and is read-only for this type of agent lists.

Agent List Definition – List Tab

  • Child Lists/Selected Agents – Displays the child agent lists and the selected agents.

    Note: The child agent lists appear by default.

  • Search Grid – Initially displays the total number of records. Enter a search keyword to display the number of records filtered based on the keyword.

  • Agents Available – Displays the list of available agents of the platform type. All inactive agents contain a red X over the agent icon.

  • Up Arrow – Click to move the selected child agent list or the agent one position up in the Child Lists/Selected Agents grid (for ordered lists).

  • Down Arrow – Click to move the selected child agent list or the agent one position down in the Child Lists/Selected Agents grid (for ordered lists).

  • Left Arrow – Click to move the selected agent from the Agents Available grid to the Child Lists/Selected Agents grid.

  • Double Left Arrow – Click to move all agents from the Agents Available grid to the Child Lists/Selected Agents grid.

  • Right Arrow – Click to move the selected agent from the Child Lists/Selected Agents grid to the Agents Available grid.

  • Double Right Arrow – Click to move all agents from the Child Lists/Selected Agents grid to the Agents Available grid.

Agent List Definition – Context Menu

Right-click on a selection in the Child Lists/Selected Agents grid or Agents Available grid to display the context menu.

The context menu in the Child Lists/Selected Agents grid contains these options:

  • Select All – Selects all agents and child agent lists from the grid.

  • Remove from List – Moves the selected agent to the Agents Available grid.

    Note: You cannot move child agent lists to the Agents Available grid.

  • Remove All from List – Moves all agents to the Agents Available grid.

  • Move Up in List – Moves the selected agent or child agent list one position up in the grid.

  • Move Down in List – Moves the selected agent or child agent list one position down in the grid.

The context menu in the Agents Available grid contains these options:

  • Select All – Selects all agents from the grid.

  • Add to List – Moves the selected agent to the Child Lists/Selected Agents grid.

  • Add All to List – Moves all agents to the Child Lists/Selected Agents grid.

Agent List Definition - Description Tab

Description – A free text field for up to 255 characters (optional).

Agent Lists Procedures

Adding an Agent List

You can add an agent list under a parent agent list of the same type, or under the root platform folder. When you add an agent list under a parent agent list, the parent agent list treats the agent list as if its agents were direct members of the list.

To add an agent list:

  1. Click Definitions > Agent Lists on the Navigation pane to display the Agent Lists pane. Then, choose a type of agent folder.

  1. Right-click and select Add Agent List from the context menu to display the Agent List Definition dialog. Specify the properties for the agent list. For more information, see Agent List Definition Dialog .

  2. Click OK to add the agent list. The agent list appears in the Agent Lists pane.

Changing the Order of the Agents or Child Agent Lists in the Parent Agent List

To change the order of the agents in the list:

  1. Click Definitions > Agent Lists on the Navigation pane to display the Agent Lists pane. Then, choose a type of agent folder.

  1. Double-click the agent list you want to edit or right-click the agent list and select Edit Agent List from the context menu.

  1. Choose the agent or agent list whose position you want to change in the Child Lists/Selected Agents grid.

  1. Click up-arrow to move the agent or agent list one position up in the list, down-arrow to move the agent or agent list one position down in the list or right-click and use the context menu options to move the agent or agent list up or down in the list.

    Note: If you are specifying an ordered list, the first agent in the list is considered as the primary agent. All subsequent agents act as alternative agents if the primary agent or other alternative agents are unavailable.

Deleting an Agent List

You can delete an agent list from an Agent Lists pane. You cannot delete the platform folder that contains the agent lists. If you delete a parent agent list, the child agent lists are also deleted.

To delete an agent list:

  1. Click Definitions > Agent Lists on the Navigation pane to display the Agent Lists pane. Then, choose a type of agent folder.

  1. Click the agent list to delete and click Delete on the TA toolbar, or right-click the agent list and select Delete Agent List from the context menu.

  2. Click Yes in the confirmation dialog to delete the agent list and all its child agent lists (if any) from the TA database.

Editing an Agent List

You can edit an agent list to add or remove agents, to change its name, or to change its parent agent list. You cannot change its platform type, agent list type, nor can you change its parent to a list of a different type.

To edit an agent list:

  1. Click Definitions > Agent Lists on the Navigation pane to display the Agent Lists pane. Then, choose a type of agent folder.

  1. Double-click the agent list you want to edit, or right-click the agent list and select Edit Agent List from the context menu.

  1. Edit the properties for the agent list. For more information, see Agent List Definition Dialog.

  1. Click OK to update the agent list in the TA database or Cancel to discard your changes and close the dialog. The update takes effect the next time the Master is refreshed.

Moving an Agent List

You can move agent lists to a different location in the agent list tree. You cannot move agent lists from one platform to another, nor can you move agent lists to an agent list of a different list type (Ordered, Random, Balanced Load, Balanced Available, Broadcast, or Rotation), nor can you move a parent agent list into one of its own child agent lists.

To move an agent list:

  1. Click Definitions > Agent Lists on the Navigation pane to display the Agent Lists pane. Then, choose a type of agent folder.

  1. Double-click the agent list you want to edit, or right-click the agent list and select Edit Agent List from the context menu.

  1. Choose a new parent agent list from the dropdown list in the Parent List field.

Selecting Agents and Child Agent Lists for a Parent Agent List

You can select the agents or child agent lists for a parent agent list from the Agent List Definition dialog. You can also order the selected list. This is necessary for ordered list types where you can specify the primary agent by placing it first in the list.

To select an agent or a child agent list for a parent agent list:

  1. Click Definitions > Agent Lists on the Navigation pane to display the Agent Lists pane. Then, choose a type of agent folder.

  1. Double-click the agent list you want to edit, or right-click the agent list and select Edit Agent List from the context menu.

  1. Choose the agents to include in the agent list from the Agents Available grid. The agents shown in this grid are all licensed agents on your system with the specified platform. Note that any agents with a red X are not available for use, although they are licensed agents.

  2. To add agents to the Child Lists/Selected Agents grid, click:

    • The left arrow button (<) to move the selected agents to the Child Lists/Selected Agents grid.

    • The double left arrow button (<<) to move all agents to the Child Lists/Selected Agents grid.

  1. To remove agents from the Child Lists/Selected Agents grid, click:

    • The right arrow button (>) to move the selected agents to the Agents Available grid.

    • The double right arrow button (>>) to move all agents to the Agents Available grid.

Viewing Agent Lists

Agent lists are displayed in a hierarchical format in the agent lists panes. Each platform that TA supports has its own agent lists pane. Each agent list displays its associated agents as child nodes, and displays any child agent lists.

Click Definitions > Agent Lists on the Navigation pane to display the Agent Lists pane. Then, choose a type of agent folder.

Viewing Agent List Properties

To view an agent list’s properties:

  1. Click Definitions > Agent Lists on the Navigation pane to display the Agent Lists pane. Then, choose a type of agent folder.

  1. Double-click the agent list you want to view, or right-click the agent list and select Edit Agent List from the context menu.