3.2 What is a LANSA Partition?

A LANSA partition is a means of dividing up or "partitioning" one LANSA system. Each partition is completely separate from other partitions.

Generally partitions are used to:

• separate classes of users from one another (for example, separating production from development although they should also be separate LANSA systems.)

• create "stand-alone" application systems or software packages.

With LANSA, you can create separate environments and partitions by either:

• installing separate LANSA systems

or

• configuring partitions within a LANSA partition.

Each time a developer invokes LANSA, an end-user runs a LANSA application or accesses the IBM i using LANSA/Server or LANSA/Client, a partition should be specified.

To invoke LANSA, the following command, which includes the partition, is generally used:

<pgm libl>/LANSA PARTITION(_ _ _)

If no partition is specified, the SYS partition will be used by default.

What is in a Partition?

Technically, a partition is a set of libraries for storing your programs and data. In addition, each partition or set of libraries must store the characteristics of the environment. Characteristics which affect the applications developed are defined at the partition level. These include security, defaults for function keys and CUA compliance.

Functionally, a partition is an environment with its own set of objects and LANSA "characteristics". For instance, each partition has its own Repository (and if appropriate, processes and functions). Some optional facilities, such as LANSA's Task Tracking and Documentor, are also installed at partition level.

For more information, go to 3.4 System and Partition Characteristics

Managing Partitions

LANSA provides a complete set of facilities to help System Administrators manage partitions. For example, Import and Export, to allow objects to be copied from one partition to another, or from one system or machine to another.

What is your Partition plan?

You should maintain separate LANSA development and production systems.

This means more than just having separate development and production partitions in one LANSA installation.

On the development system you could have:

• DEM - demos, training, experimenting

• DEV - development and maintenance of production systems

• ACT - acceptance testing

• SYS - LANSA system partition. Note: Each LANSA system must have a SYS partition. A SYS partition is installed when you install LANSA.

On the production system you could have:

• PRD - production systems

• SYS - LANSA system partition.

You could even have a third "middle" system for consolidating and testing completed development work.

The benefits of maintaining a separate LANSA development system are very significant. Amongst other things, this gives you an opportunity to install, configure and test new versions of LANSA or EPCs without affecting your production systems. You can change system-wide System Variables, such as the date, in order to test system changes without affecting the production system's processes.

You minimize the possibility of production downtime by verifying that your applications work correctly with the new software before deploying it to production systems.

Second system? What to do?

It is easy to install an additional copy of LANSA for development purposes. Assuming you are installing on a machine for which you are already licensed, you do not need to pay additional license fees or to obtain new license codes.

You will need:

• extra disk space.

• the license codes issued for this CPU to be re-entered using the LANSA License facility – if you still have the codes available. If not, you can request a re-issue of your existing license codes for this CPU from the LANSA Licensing Department. You will re-enter the license codes after the new LANSA system's install is complete.

Also see

3.3 About the SYS Partition

3.4 System and Partition Characteristics