Control-M

Welcome to the Control-M Page. Control-M is a software solution (supplied by BMC) which allows enterprise users to schedule and control complex job batches. The product exists in two distinct versions, one for the mainframe (which is the original version) and another for distributed systems. Product highlights include;

• Control-M runs as a server on over 20 platforms, including UNIX, AS400, Windows NT, OpenVMS, Tandem and IBM z/Series machines (i.e. mainframe). The front end GUI (i.e. the Enterprise Controlstation) is the same no matter what platform is used as the server.
• Control-M has a fully supported command line interface.
• Control-M is integrated with a wide range of framework tools - ITO/VantagePoint (HP certified), Tivoli TME and Solstice via an open SNMP interface.
• Control-M supports disk mirroring/RAID. The Control-M databases can re-synchronise after the resumption of 'main' platform.
• A three tier architecture lies at the heart of Control-M (BMC call this their Enterprise Production Management - EPM - solution) and it allows a large degree of flexibility in the way that Control-M is deployed. Each layer can run on a variety of platforms and at each layer you can employ different platforms along side each other to allow for contingency planning and flexible development (see diagram).

• Extensive security measures allow, if required, strict controls to placed on user functions and also provides user profiles, allowing restricted viewing of the batch.

I should take this opportunity to plug my own skills in this area of computing. I have installed and configured Control-M for several major companies, performing all tasks from hands-on configuration of complex batches up to, and including, full project management. You can find my CV here (or here to download it in Word format) and contact me at the . I have also made presentations regarding my experiences with Control-M at BMC user conferences (the presentation is in PowerPoint format and will take a minute or so to download).

I will add some of my Control-M documents here in the near future. In the meantime, here are my Control-M links - BMC's own site (there are various versions of Control-M, so you will have to work your way through the various categories) and a good Control-M user group. Firms requiring specialist Control-M advice might wish to contact IT Concepts, who are a consultancy firm with branches in various European countries.

Update 08/2006: See the new Control-M Usage site - tips, tricks, resources and information on all Control-M related matters (in French or English).