Cloning and Transferring MCP Runtime Systems

By Andy Wardle, Senior Architect, Unisys

Both Enterprise Application Environment (EAE) and Agile Business Suite (AB Suite®) include utilities that allow generated MCP Runtime systems to be used as a source when creating copy systems (cloning) and updating existing systems (transferring).

These utilities – the System Management Utility (SMU) and Runtime Transfer Utility (RTU), respectively – are summarized below.

For more on the SMU and RTU, be sure to check out the documentation included in the Runtime for ClearPath MCP Administration Guide.

SMU

With the SMU, you’re able to take an existing ClearPath® MCP Runtime system and clone it as a new Runtime system. And you can do so while changing some or all of the following properties:

• Usercode
• System Name
• Database Name
• COMS Window Name
• Pack Locations
  

Note that the SMU is a screen-based utility that requires you to manually input parameters before initiating the cloning process.

RTU

Using the RTU, you can update an existing MCP Runtime system, known as the “target,” with the code generated for another “source” Runtime system, allowing you to deploy tested code bases into production environments and refresh test environments without generation.

While the RTU does include the option to transfer both the code base and associated database, the code is typically the only thing transferred. You can provide properties of the source system using an RTU parameter file – created by a Developer extract file in EAE or Builder in AB Suite. Meanwhile, the target system’s properties can be supplied manually or included in the same RTU parameter file.

Like the SMU, the RTU is a screen-based utility that requires you to manually input the parameters before creating a runtime transfer deployment package. Once created, you can deploy the package whenever you wish. Just keep in mind that you’ll need to provide additional manual inputs if the RTU parameter file doesn’t contain the relevant properties of the target system.

Is There a Batch Option?

The simple answer, from a product perspective, is “no.”

But after some client requests, we’ve developed two custom utilities to provide this capability:

• SMU Batch Controller
• RTU Batch Controller
  

These utilities – which work with both EAE and AB Suite – take the basic set of parameter values you manually input into the standard utilities, run the standard utility as a subsidiary task, and pass the parameter values as and when required. This way, you can run these utilities from a WFL job containing the actual parameter values.

Here’s an example of a WFL job to run the SMU Batch Controller:

Although we initially developed these utilities to support our associates during client engagements, we’re open to the possibility of you using them in your own organization.

If you’re interested in taking advantage of these custom capabilities – or would like any more information about them and the SMU or RTU – please contact your Unisys sales representative or reach out to me directly at andy.wardle@unisys.com.