Spool Requests

Batch job steps typically generate spool requests when they run. This is not for all batch jobs but for most. The output in these spool requests often provide information as to how the program functioned during the recording and also during the playback.

Spool requests generated by batch jobs captured in the recording are now created as new linkage types at the end of the recording process (during the data transfer back to the central system). For the playback, these same spool requests generated by the batch jobs run during the playback are retrieved once the playback is completed (in a post-processing step).

While the spool requests from the recording and the playback are not currently compared in any way, the spool requests provide critical information to the user when investigating failures during the playback.

An example of the new investigate screen for the linkage type spool request is shown below.

Linkage Type - Spool Request

As you can see, both the spool request generated by the batch job in the recording is shown on the left and the spool request generated by the same batch job in the playback is shown on the right. You can visually compare the two spools to determine if they functioned in a similar manner.