Archive for category RACF

What is RACF and what does it do?

RACF (Resource Access Control Facility) helps to secure an organization’s Mainframe environment by providing:

- Flexible control of access to protected resources

- Protection of installation-defined resources

- Ability to store information for other products

- Choice of centralized or decentralized control of profiles

- An ISPF panel interface

- Transparency to end users

- Exits for installation-written routines.



A typical RACF protected system is organized in a certain manner. Users that need access to the same resources are gathered together and placed into groups. These groups are then given access to the data and resources needed by its members:

1. Several Users

2. Are placed into Groups

3. Which are given access to Resources.

 

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How to check which RACF datasets are in use

Knowing the names and locations of the RACF datasets that are currently being used by the system is quite easy.

For this we have to use the command TSO RVARY

Example:

TSO RVARY

Returns:

RACF DATABASE STATUS:
ACTIVE USE  NUM VOLUME   DATASET
------ ---  --- ------   -------
YES   PRIM   1 TSTCT1   SYS1.RACF.PRIMARY
YES   BACK   1 TSTDL1   SYS1.RACF.BACKUP
RVARY COMMAND HAS FINISHED PROCESSING.

Note:

YES indicates that the dataset is active and therefore in use by the system.

TSTCT1 and TSTDL1 are the volume names where each of the RACF datasets are located.

Tip:

Issuing the command TSO RVARY is exactly the same thing as issuing the command TSO RVARY LIST.

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