PLX parameter of the Inquisitor program

The PLX parameter can reduce the time it takes to scan and process different systems that have completely shared DASD, and therefore identical softwareinventories.

When you set PLX=Y, the Inquisitor Import detects libraries that are mirrors or libraries that have not changed and quickly processes scans of these sharedSIDs.

Plan your Repository to receive scans of system identifiers (SIDs) containing libraries that are unique in library name and volume, except when identically named libraries are copies or are shared. If you have libraries that are identical in library name and volume name but are intended to have different content, place these libraries in different Repositories so that they can be processed separately.

If a library with the same library name and volume name is encountered in different SID scans, the Inquisitor Import considers the first instance that it encounters on the first SID to be the base. The Inquisitor Import treats any subsequent instances on different SIDs as mirrors.

The locations of all SIDs for a given library are recorded, but module discovery information is only calculated and stored when the library is encountered on its base SID. This approach ensures consistency in matching if the copies are not synchronized. The approach also saves processing time when SIDs are identical. If the Inquisitor Import encounters mirror libraries, it displays their names, current SIDs, and base SIDs in the log file, and reports their number at the end of the run.

If a SID is decommissioned and is no longer available for scanning, you can run the system deletion job to remove the SID and any libraries, modules, and products that are exclusively attached to the deleted SID. For shared libraries, only the record of the library that is attached to the specified SID is removed. The contents of the library are then attached to the subsequent SID in the list which then functions asthe base SID.

If the PLX=Y option is specified during the Inquisitor run, the Inquisitor Import applies the results of the scan from the Inquisitor file to all SIDs that were previously processed and share the same sysplex ID with the SID in the Inquisitor file. An existing library is processed on its base SID but is recorded as seen on all SIDs of the sysplex. A new library is processed on the current SID which becomes its base SID and is recorded as seen on all SIDs of the sysplex.

The Inquisitor Import requires that the Inquisitor file is more recent than any Inquisitor file that it previously processed for the same SID. If you specify the PLX=Y option during the Inquisitor scan, the Inquisitor file must be more recent than previously processed files of all SIDs of the sysplex.

The default value for the PLX parameter is N (no). If you intend to use the PLX=Y option to save scanning time, you must scan all SIDs at least once and present all the scans to the Inquisitor Import, so that it can determine how the different SIDs are shared.

When you specify the PLX=Y option, the Inquisitor Import processes the file in the following manner:

• Treats the content of all SIDs that share the sysplex ID with the currently scanned SID as being identical to eachother.
• Applies the scan results to all SIDs of thesysplex.

Because the Inquisitor Import process does not verify that all SIDs are identical, incorrect results can occur if the SIDs of the sysplex have different content. Use the PLX=Y option only if you are sure that all SIDs of the sysplex are identical in content at the time of the scan.