Operating the virtual machines (ADMIN dialog via $VMCONS)

Refer to "Example of ADMIN and VC dialog via $VMCONS" for an example of an ADMIN and VC dialog via $VMCONS.

Recommendation

The ADMIN dialog is normally conducted from a privileged user task in the monitor system (see "Privileges of the user task in the monitor system").

The following stages are involved in operating a VM in an ADMIN dialog via $VMCONS.

>	Establish a connection to $VMCONS via OMNIS (see "Establishing a connection to $VMCONS") or via a suitable DCAM application.
>	Open the ADMIN dialog using the VM2000 command <pac>:/BEGIN-VM-DIALOG VM-IDENTIFICATION=...,PASSWORD=...,TYPE=*ADMIN(...) You must specify the OMNIS connection name <pac>: here to assign the command to the OMNIS connection. The slash (/) must always be specified to identify the VM2000 command. If TYPE=*BOTH is specified, both the ADMIN and a VC dialog will be handled under the same connection name. The VM prefix is used to distinguish entries for administration of a VM and entries for administration of the guest system. After the /BEGIN-VM-DIALOG command has been completed successfully, the VM2000 administrator is informed of the authorization name for this ADMIN dialog (message VMS1013). Messages for the ADMIN dialog are logged in the CONSLOG of the monitor system under this authorization name (@nnn, n=0..9).
>	Enter VM2000 commands to operate the VM (see "Operating a VM" and "VM2000 commands") or the VM2000 system as a whole (see "Operating the whole VM2000 system" and "VM2000 commands").
>	Terminate the ADMIN dialog with one of the VM2000 commands /END-VM-DIALOG VM-IDENTIFICATION=...,TYPE=*ADMIN,DISCONNECT=... /DELETE-VM VM-IDENTIFICATION=... When you enter /END-VM-DIALOG, you can specify whether the connection to $VMCONS is to be maintained or cleared. If TYPE=*BOTH is specified, both the ADMIN dialog and the VC dialog are terminated. If /DELETE-VM is specified, VM2000 terminates all ADMIN dialogs with the VM and all VC dialogs with the guest system on the VM.

One ADMIN dialog per VM can be opened via $VMCONS (if there are free connections to $CONSOLE, see Note on "Establishing a connection to $VMCONS"). In addition, up to 15 ADMIN dialogs per VM can be opened concurrently via different, privileged user tasks.

VM prefix

The VM prefix is used to assign a command or message to a VM in the ADMIN dialog via $VMCONS. It comprises the string VMnn:. Here nn is the VM index (2 digits, padded to the left with zeros, e.g. VM03:).

VM2000 adds the VM prefix to all output and messages of the ADMIN dialog via $VMCONS. If the ADMIN dialog is opened with TYPE=*ADMIN(OUTPUT-PREFIX=*NO), output of the VM prefix can be suppressed.

If a number of dialogs are conducted across a single connection to $VMCONS, the VM2000 commands must include the appropriate VM prefix if the assignment has not already been carried out by the preceding command.
If several OMNIS connections are used, both identifiers, i.e. the OMNIS connection name and the VM prefix must be added to any input, e.g. XY01:VM02:/SHOW-VM-ATTRIBUTES.
It is recommended, however, that you establish a separate connection to $VMCONS for each ADMIN and each VC dialog, see "Establishing a connection to $VMCONS".

Logging

VM2000 commands, output and messages in the context of the operation of VM2000 and the VMs are logged to the monitor system’s CONSLOG file (for more information on the CONSLOG file see the “Diagnostics Handbook” [4]).
The commands entered and messages output during an ADMIN dialog via $VMCONS can be identified on the basis of the unique authorization name (@nnn, n=0..9) stored in the sender/recipient field of each entry in CONSLOG. The VM2000 administrator is informed of the authorization name at /BEGIN-VM-DIALOG (message VMS1013), at /END-VM-DIALOG or /DELETE-VM (message VMS1012) or if a connection is terminated abnormally (message VMS1531).

When an authorization name becomes free, it is immediately reassigned by UCON.

OMNIS logging provides a further type of logging (see the “OMNIS/OMNIS-MENU” manual [12]). When OMNIS logging is activated, OMNIS logs all messages in the OMNIS logging file. This means that both, the ADMIN dialog and the VC dialog, are logged in the OMNIS logging file, but not the VM2000 commands and messages to and from a BS2000 console in the monitor system.

For the purpose of evaluation, the OMNIS administrator must replace the logging file, make it readable with the OMNISLC utility and then make it available.