SYSLOG
The system log: a running record of every console message and command on a z/OS system.
Also written system log, OPERLOG, SDSF LOG, hardcopy log
SYSLOG is the system log. It records every message that appears on the console and every command that was entered, in time order, with the system and job that produced each line.
In SDSF you open it with the LOG command. In a sysplex there is often a combined log for all systems, called OPERLOG, which SDSF can show as well. Older parts of the log are archived regularly so it does not grow without limit.
The log is where you go to find out what happened around a certain time. It shows when jobs started and ended, which jobs failed and with what abend code, security failures, dataset problems and operator actions. A single line in a job's own output often makes more sense when you look at what else the system was doing at the same moment.
Production support staff use it constantly during problems. A good habit is to note the exact time an error happened, then search the log from that time.
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- System consoleThe screen where z/OS shows its messages to operators and accepts system commands.
- SDSFThe tool for looking at what jobs are running, what has finished, and what output they produced.
- SpoolThe system-managed holding area where job output waits to be read, printed or purged.
- OperatorThe person who watches the running systems, responds to messages, and starts, stops and recovers work.
- Production supportKeeping live systems running: diagnosing failures, fixing what broke, and getting the service back.
- JES2The job entry subsystem: the part of z/OS that queues jobs, decides when they run, and collects their output.