Adding a CICS region to a region type

Add more CICS® regions to a region type to scale up the capacity of an active platform. You can also share CICS regions that are already part of a platform between multiple region types in the platform, to modify your platform’s architecture.

Before you begin

Follow this procedure if your platform is already installed and active in the CICSplex. For more information about platform status, see Checking the status of a platform. If you have created a platform bundle but not yet installed it, use the platform editor to modify the platform bundle to change the CICS regions that are included in the platform.

Before you add an existing CICS region to a platform for the first time, or add it to a different region type in a platform, the CICS region must be shut down. To shut down a CICS region, in the Regions view, right-click the CICS region and select Shutdown. Refresh the Regions view and confirm that the status of the region is INACTIVE. Alternatively, shut down the CICS region using CICSPlex® SM or CICS commands.

To check the CICS regions currently in your platform, use the Cloud Explorer view in the CICS Cloud perspective to view the active platform. Expand the platform to view the region types. If you want to view the CICS regions that are already included in a region type, expand the region type, and then expand the Regions list to view the CICS regions.

About this task

When your capacity requirements and workload change, you can choose from the following actions to scale up your active platform or modify its architecture appropriately:

Add an existing CICS region in the CICSplex to an adopted region type. The CICS region is adopted as part of your platform to increase the capacity of the platform.
Create a new CICS region in a created region type. The CICS region is created as part of your platform to increase the capacity of the platform.
Add a CICS region that you previously created or adopted, to a different region type in the platform, or to a region type in another platform. The CICS region is able to assist with the workload for its new region type. Adopted regions can only be added to adopted region types, and created regions can only be added to created region types. The CICS region can continue to be included in its previous region type as a shared region, and assist with both workloads. Or you can remove the CICS region from its previous region type, if it is no longer required there.

Procedure

To add an existing CICS region that is managed by CICSPlex SM to an adopted region type:
1. In the Cloud Explorer view, right-click the region type and select Add Existing Region. CICS Explorer® displays the CICS regions that exist in the CICSplex and are available to be included in this region type.
2. Select the existing CICS region that you want to include in the region type, and click OK. The CICS region is added to the region type, and its system definition (CSYSDEF) is added to the corresponding system group (CSYSGRP) in CICSPlex SM. The CICS region has now become an adopted region and part of the platform.
To create a new CICS region in a created region type, first create a definition for the CICS region in the platform, then set up the CICS region. As an alternative to setting up a new CICS region, you can use an existing CICS region that was not previously managed by CICSPlex SM.
1. To create a definition for the CICS region in the platform, right-click the region type and select Add New Region Definition. In the Add New Region dialog:
  - Specify a name (up to 8 characters) for the CICS system definition (CSYSDEF) for the new CICS region. The CSYSDEF name must be unique within the CICSplex.
  - CICS Explorer provides an APPLID for the new CICS region that matches the name you specified, which is best practice. The APPLID is the name by which the CICS region is known in the intercommunication network, that is, its netname. Change the APPLID if required to meet the requirements of your own network.
  - Specify a SYSID for the new CICS region. The SYSID, also known as the SYSIDNT, is a 1-4 character name by which the CICS region is known to other CICS regions.
  - Click OK.
  A CICS system definition (CSYSDEF) is created for the new CICS region, and is added to the corresponding system group (CSYSGRP) in CICSPlex SM.
2. To set up a new CICS region, create the region with an APPLID, SYSID, and other attributes that match the system definition that you created. For instructions to do this, see Setting up a CICS region in the CICS TS V5.3 product documentation. As a best practice, CICS regions in a region type should be clones of each other.
3. When you have set up the new CICS region, or if you are using an existing CICS region, perform the steps on the CICS region to make it known to CICSPlex SM as a managed application system (MAS). For instructions to do this, see Setting up a CICS managed application system (MAS) in the CICS TS V5.3 product documentation.
To add a previously adopted or created CICS region to a different adopted or created region type:
1. In the Cloud Explorer view, right-click the region type and select Add Existing Region. CICS Explorer displays the CICS regions that are available to be included in this region type. You can use a CICS region from a different region type in this platform, or from a region type in another platform.
2. Select the CICS region that you want to include in the region type, and click OK. The CICS region is added to the region type, and its system definition (CSYSDEF) is added to the corresponding system group (CSYSGRP) in CICSPlex SM.

What to do next

To begin using the added CICS region as part of your platform:

Start the region using your normal method. If necessary, use the COLM transaction to connect the CICS region to CICSPlex SM. When you start the CICS region, the CICS bundles for the applications that are deployed to the region type are installed in the region.
Refresh the Cloud Explorer view and confirm that the status of the region is ACTIVE.
Using the Cloud Explorer view, verify that the CICS bundles for the appropriate applications have been installed in the CICS region, and that the status of the applications shows a successful install. If an application is enabled or available in the CICS regions that were already in the region type, the status of the application and the installed CICS bundles should be ENABLED in the newly added CICS region. CICS enables the application in the CICS region if the install is successful, but does not make it available immediately.
When you are ready to make each application available in the CICS region to users of the platform, in the Cloud Explorer view, right-click the application name and click Make Available, then OK to make the application available. The application is now available to callers through its application entry points.

If you added a previously created or adopted CICS region to a different region type, you can either leave the region in its previous region type to be a shared region, or remove the region from its previous region type by following the procedure in Removing a CICS region from a region type.

If you receive any error messages when you attempt to add a CICS region to another region type, follow the procedure in Diagnosing platform runtime errors to resolve the issue.

If the status of the applications that use the CICS region is not as expected, follow the procedure in Diagnosing application errors to resolve the issue.