Resource Helpers

[viccross]

Life can be a bit hard for new RACF administrators, particularly on z/VM. For example, different RACF resource classes have different "interpretations" of the access levels (Read, Update, Control, Alter). The methods used by some products and features can be intricate, such as things like logon-by (is that SURROGAT resources in FACILITY, or LOGONBY in SURROGAT? [1]). Finally, IBM and third-party products that implement their own profiles can be a mystery.

The idea is for "resource helpers", a framework for providing per-class (or per-resource, depending on the class) hints on how to use that resource or class. Examples:

• When viewing VMMDISK resource profiles, a RACF Manager user might see a tooltip hover over a RUCA access level that describes how CP interprets that access level
• Using fields like Installation Data in the resource profile, descriptive text would be available to indicate what the resource is (TCPMAINT.198 might appear as "TCP/IP Configuration Disk" and PMAINT.CF0 might appear as "System Common Parameter disk")

The facility would be extensible so that RACF Manager administrators could develop their own helpers (or modify the tips provided by the existing helpers). ISVs could also develop helpers for the resources used by their products.