Infor System21 Machine Manager Day Start and Day End Schedule Worksheet
An editable worksheet for documenting and reviewing the Infor System21 Machine Manager Auto Day Start (ADS) and Auto Day End (ADE) job streams, prefilled with jobs suggested in the IBM Redbook. Fill in owners, durations and last-verified dates, then export to Excel for your runbook.
| Schedule | Sequence | Application | Job or function | Command or task | Purpose | Run time | Expected duration (min) | Depends on | Owner | Last verified | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Job names, commands and task codes are from IBM Redbook SG24-5967, Appendix C (Tables 94 to 97) and chapter 6. Sequence numbers are shown only where the Redbook table is unambiguous. Durations are placeholders for you to replace with times from DSPMNGLOG or DSPDAYHST. The Redbook also lists Work Management tasks (STRWM, WMRECOVER and others) that take your environment name; add them if you use Work Management, and confirm task codes for your release.
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What Machine Manager is
Machine Manager is the System21 scheduler, integrated with Application Manager so it can run application tasks as well as IBM i commands. It has four parts: day-start activities, end-of-day activities, scheduled daily activities and power-down schedules, with libraries IPGMMP4, IPGMMD4 and IPGMMF4. The JOBSCH job runs in QCTL and wakes at the interval set in the job schedule times. Unlike WRKJOBSCDE, which schedules independent IBM i jobs by time, Machine Manager runs ADS and ADE as ordered streams by sequence number and day mask, can call Application Manager tasks with their prompt data stored, and drives the daily cycle: ADS ends with SBMENDDAY, and ADE ends with a power down or a new ADS.
How to read and maintain the schedule
Tasks with a scheduled time of 99:99:99 run inside the ADS or ADE stream in sequence order; tasks with a job description are submitted to a job queue, and those without run as part of the stream. Use MNGADSJOB and MNGADEJOB (or STRIPGMM options 1 and 2) to maintain the lists, DSPDAYSCH to see what will run on a given date and DSPMNGLOG to read the log. The Redbook suggests sequence numbers in steps of 10 or 100 so new tasks can be inserted. The day mask is read relative to when ADE starts: if Day End starts at 2:00 a.m., a weekend job meant for Saturday night needs Sunday in its mask.
- MNGJOBSCH: today's scheduled jobs and scheduler delay
- MNGENDDAY: Day End start time and user warning
- MNGPWRDWN: power down times and IPL defaults
- SBMJOBSCH: restart the JOBSCH job in QCTL
Common failure points
The schedule fails quietly more often than loudly. If SBMENDDAY is removed from ADS, Day End never runs again. If interactive or background subsystems are not ended before the backup, files stay locked and the save misses objects. Programs that fail leave soft locks, such as ACTF40 on OEP40 or rows in INP99, which is why the suggested ADS clears INP99 before users sign on. A held job queue, often PWRDWNSYS or QBATCH after manual work, stops submitted tasks. Finally, a task set up with a user profile that has lost authority to the Application Manager task will fail every night until someone reads the log.
How to verify last night's run
Each morning, run DSPDAYHST for the previous date or DSPMNGLOG and check that every ADE task completed and that ADS ran after the IPL. Confirm JOBSCH is active with WRKSBSJOB QCTL. Check that the backup job ended normally and that the GL and other background subsystems are active again. Record the actual minutes for each task in this worksheet once a month; the total shows how much of your night window the stream uses and warns you before growth pushes Day End into the working day. Restrict Machine Manager commands to QSECOFR or other authorised users, as the Redbook recommends.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Machine Manager and WRKJOBSCDE?
WRKJOBSCDE schedules individual IBM i jobs at set times. System21 Machine Manager runs ordered Day Start and Day End streams by sequence number and day mask, can launch Application Manager tasks with their stored prompt data, and controls power down and IPL. Most System21 sites use Machine Manager for the daily cycle.
How do I start the System21 job scheduler?
Run SBMJOBSCH to start the JOBSCH job in QCTL, or set the system startup program to IPGMMP4/MMSTRPGM so the scheduler and Auto Day Start run after each IPL. You can also press F7 (Run Day Start) on the job schedule times screen reached with MNGJOBSCH.
Why did System21 Day End not run last night?
The usual causes are that JOBSCH was not active, SBMENDDAY did not run in the previous Day Start, the Day End time was overridden, or an earlier ADE task failed and stopped the stream. Check DSPMNGLOG, confirm JOBSCH in WRKSBSJOB QCTL and review MNGENDDAY.
Where can I find the full System21 administration guidance?
The IBM Redbook SG24-5967, Geac System 21 Implementation for AS/400, covers Machine Manager in chapter 6 and lists suggested schedules in Appendix C. Infor's System21 Machine Manager product guide and your installation documentation cover later releases; check them for task codes added since.
If you want an assistant that reads the Machine Manager log each morning and tells your team in plain English what failed and why, on your own IBM i, we can set that up.
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