What Are Private Resources?

A private resource is known only to the virtual machine in which it is located. It is not identified to CP and it is not explicitly known throughout the TSAF or CS collection. Each private resource name within the TSAF or CS collection only needs to be unique within the virtual machine in which it resides. Any authorized users in the TSAF or CS collection or the SNA network can access private resources. The private resource server virtual machine uses a special NAMES file, which lists private resources and the authorized users for each resource.

Resources (for example, a plotter) that are not frequently used should be defined as private. Resources that should be limited to a single user or a specific group of users (for example, a department) should also be defined as private. For example, a user working on a workstation uses a program to access files in their virtual machine. These files would be defined as private resources and the workstation user would be the only authorized user of the resources.

If a system administrator wants to control access to a resource rather than having the resource manager program control access, the resource should be defined as private. The system administrator can create a protected batch-like environment using private resources. The administrator can authorize the server virtual machine to issue privileged instructions. The administrator can also identify which programs run in the server virtual machine and limit which users can run certain programs.

The private resource server virtual machine does not need to be logged on and the resource manager does not need to be started when a program requests a connection. If the private resource server virtual machine is not logged on and its CP directory entry contains an IPL statement, CP will automatically log it on and start the private resource manager. The virtual machine in which the private resource resides is the LU for that resource.

In a TSAF or CS collection, private resource support has been enhanced with the system gateway. Using the system gateway in these environments, the same private server may be defined on all systems in a TSAF or CS collection. The system gateway may be used to access the desired private server. In this case, the system gateway name is the LU name qualifier and the user ID of the private server is the target LU name.