Migration Methodology to CONTROL-M®

Introduction
Over 1,800 satisfied customers have migrated from their existing
scheduling solution to CONTROL-M Business Integrated Scheduling,
and over five million job definitions have been automatically converted
to CONTROL-M using BMC Software’s automatic conversion tools.

When considering a replacement of an existing scheduling system, a fast and efficient

conversion process is vital. To ensure a successful conversion and reduce risks, BMC
Software offers a proven combination of knowledge and know-how, skilled professional
services, a dedicated migration team, and high-level automatic conversion tools.

CONTROL-M’s automatic conversion tools support the conversion of all common

schedulers, such as CA-7, AutoSys, Tivoli TWS, Zeke, and CA-Jobtrac. If needed, BMC
Software Professional Services can manage and execute the entire conversion process for
you, providing onsite training and support, and integrating the knowledge and experience
of your data center with our industry-proven conversion methodology. Also, CONTROL-
M is capable to run in parallel with your existing scheduler to guarantee the uninterrupted
continuation of your production environment during the test phase of CONTROL-M.

The following information is based on extensive experience based on hundreds of

CONTROL-M conversions. This overview describes the migration methodology,
capabilities and support provided by BMC software for users planning a migration to
CONTROL-M. This overview will better prepare you for the conversion process, save
you on unnecessary expenses, and highlight the stages required for a smooth and safe
process.
Smooth Migration to CONTROL-M
BMC Software has developed a robust suit of automatic conversion tools (ACTs) and
professional services methodologies that enhance and standardize the conversion process.
Each package contains a detailed conversion manual, and dedicated conversion tools
developed specifically to the converted product. Using our tools and methodologies, the
conversion from old systems to CONTROL-M’s new technology is achieved fast and in a
cost-efficient manner.

A free ACT package is available for migrating to CONTROL-M from the following
products:

• CA: AutoSys, CA-7, CA-11, CA-JobTrac, CA-RunTrac, CA-Scheduler, CA-

Manager, CA-ADC2
• ASG: ZEKE, ZEBB
• IBM’s Tivoli: TWS (formally Maestro), TWS for OS/390 (formally OPC), DJC
• Home grown: Home-grown scheduling solutions

The migration process is completed in five phases:

1. Migration plan
2. CONTROL-M Installation and Tuning
3. Migration Process
4. Parallel Testing
5. CONTROL-M Activation
Phase 1 – Migration Plan
Designing the overall migration process is the first step to a successful CONTROL-M
implementation. All relevant information is gathered, potential logic conflicts and distinct
situations analyzed, and the site’s underlying configuration and infrastructure thoroughly
assessed.

This initial assessment prevents the conversion of inaccurate data by allowing database
cleanup and problem resolution to occur, and enables the data center to begin the
conversion process.

During this phase, the following issues should be addressed:

Formation of the Migration Team

The first step, and one of the most important ones in the migration project, is to
allocate the human resources that will be in charge of the migration project. A solid
team with the best individuals that cover all aspects of administration, implementation
and operation of the scheduling solution is key to a successful migration. The
migration team is organized and a team leader designated. This team should include
those who support the current environment, such as operators, production control
administrators, product administrators, production analysts, application support and
programming personnel, and security administrators.

Migration Team Profile

The conversion team should be familiar with the features and operation of the old
scheduling product, CONTROL-M, BMC Software’s ACTs, and the site’s rules,
procedures, naming conventions and work environment.

Old Scheduler Assessment

• Identify the exact release of the old scheduling product and the operating system.
• Identify the users of the old scheduling product.
• List all user or system exits, reports and software interfaces that were customized
in the data center.
• Amount of jobs defined.
• Number of jobs that run on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
• Number of job definitions that are in use, and number of obsolete job definitions.
• Unsatisfactory scheduling definitions and executions.

Data Center’s Scheduling Environment

• Identify major applications running in the site, considering size, complexity and
value to the business. Also, look for bottlenecks or constraints in the scheduling
implementations of the applications.
• List all production-related products that are available in the site, such as job
restart, console automations, tape management, output management, etc.
• Identify all manual scheduling-related actions.
• Identify the way resources are managed (i.e. tape drives, initiators, etc.).
• Identify peak times, and the number of jobs that run during these times.
• Number of jobs that use JCL automation features and the type of automation used.
• Identify jobs that are scheduling using dataset triggering, job arrival, etc.

Phase 1 Results
• A list of the conversion team, including a team leader.
• Software/hardware configuration map.
• Definition of product component sizing.
• Identification of required functional options.
• Identification of conversion tool options.
• Identification of functionality gaps between CONTROL-M and the product being
replaced.
• Completed security matrix.
• Outline of implementation strategy.
Phase 2 – CONTROL-M Installation and Tuning
During this phase, all components of the BMC Software solution are installed on the
site’s target platforms. The system administration group members are the key figures in
this phase. They should become familiar with the installation procedures and
considerations of CONTROL-M, and learn the similarities and differences between the
original scheduler and CONTROL-M. If BMC Professional Services are involved in this
process, this is the time to conduct technical training sessions to ensure optimal results of
the installation, and that the administration skills are well acquired by the data center’s
members.

As part of the installation process, all required administrative jobs and tasks should be
created and scheduled to maintain proper operation of CONTROL-M. Special
consideration is taken for the site’s standards, security aspects, SMP/E regulations, space
allocation, etc.

Phase 2 Results
• CONTROL-M installation.
• All required administrative jobs tasks tailored and running.
• All local tuning/tailoring completed.
• All product components tested.
• All exits tailored and in place.
• Product security interfaces activated and tested.
Phase 3 – Migration Process
The third phase involves the actual data conversion from the old scheduler to
CONTROL-M. Utilizing ACTs that use the old scheduler reports, JCL libraries and other
databases as input, the scheduling definitions are converted into CONTROL-M standard
scheduling definitions. The tools are tuned and adjusted using existing program
parameters and executed in accordance with the site’s standards and needs. ACT
documentation can be obtained prior to the conversion process – please contact your local
BMC representative for details.

This automatic process eliminates manual conversion work and streamlines resource
requirements. In cases where the automatic conversion process does not cover all
scheduling definitions, additional manual conversion actions are performed. It is strongly
recommended to choose one or two applications as pilots. By implementing a pilot, the
employees involved in the conversion have the opportunity to learn and get familiar with
CONTROL-M on a smaller scale than the whole production environment.

The amount of scheduling jobs in the pilot applications should be relatively small, yet
reflecting typical applications of the site in terms of scheduling complexity, such as
resources utilized, job flow structure and interactions with other products (tape
management, console automation, etc). A successful pilot implementation is the
foundation for the replacement of the rest of the site’s applications.

Additionally, CONTROL-M supports either phased or full conversions, providing the

ability to convert one application at a time or the entire data center at once according to
your specific business requirements. With CONTROL-M’s thorough training, analysis
and testing process, the actual conversion is simply a matter of how much to convert and
when.

If needed, this phase may also include local modifications to the base conversion tools, or
the creation of site-specific conversion software to complete the conversion of
exceptional scheduling requirements.
BMC Software’s automatic conversion utilities use the data-center JCL libraries and
standard reports generated by the original scheduler to create CONTROL-M’s
databases.

Phase 3 Results
• Internal product elements from old product converted to CONTROL-M using
automatic conversion tools and, if needed, manual processes:
o Job schedule tables.
o Calendar definitions.
o Old scheduler documentations to job documentation.
o Old scheduler specific JCL automation to CONTROL-M Auto-Edit variables.
o Conversion of third party product interfaces and batch job utility processes.
Phase 4 – Parallel Testing
In order to assure integrity of the scheduling flow, it is highly recommended to perform
this simulation process for each of the applications prior to the activation in production.
As mentioned before, it is also recommended to execute a phased conversion process
instead of converting all applications at one time. Testing separately each one of the
converted applications by activating CONTROL-M in parallel is also recommended.
First, one or two pilot applications should be chosen. The amount of jobs in the pilot
should be small, yet reflect a typical application in the data-center in complexity,
interfacing with external application and utilizing resources (e.g. tapes, initiators,
databases).

Following the actual conversion process, CONTROL-M should be activated in parallel to

the old scheduling product and only simulate execution of jobs. In this phase,
CONTROL-M simulates the execution of the production applications without actually
executing the jobs. Use the CONTROL-M mass update utility (CTMTBUPD) to create a
copy of the scheduling definition tables. This copy should contain dummy jobs instead of
real jobs. These dummy jobs consume negligible CPU time and therefore do not interfere
with the production flow.

By scheduling the dummy jobs instead of the real ones, the production managers can
validate that CONTROL-M will schedule the production applications in the right order
and timing as the original scheduling system did. The Utilities Guide should be used in
order to assure the accuracy of the scheduling flow.

Phase 4 Results
• Activation of converted elements in simulation mode to process production data
in parallel with the old product.
• Adjustment and validation of converted elements.
• Review of data center’s support staff capabilities.
• Data-center staff is familiar with CONTROL-M.
Phase 5 – CONTROL-M Activation
After finalizing all previous phases, the data center should have a complete CONTROL-
M scheduling environment, similar to the old scheduler production environment. At this
stage, the data center should switch from the old scheduling product to CONTROL-M.

Phase 5 Results
• Activation of converted elements in ‘production’ mode.
• Onsite support and fine-tuning during the transition phase.
• Finalization and delivery of operation guide.

Summary
As the leader in automated conversions, BMC Software has the tools, expertise and
experience to ensure a smooth and successful migration. CONTROL-M’s strong and
proven methodology, along with the BMC Software’s skilled Professional Services has
already helped many sites migrate to the market’s best-of-breed scheduling solution.

BMC Software’s
Professional Services
assures a fast and reliable
migration process
utilizing its vast
experience and proven
methodology.
In-house migration
assistance guarantees an
even faster return on
your investment.

For more information about BMC Software products and solutions, visit us at
http://www.bmc.com/products/pm/

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