IBM Tivoli Workload Scheduler

IBM Tivoli Workload Scheduler is a family of IBM Tivoli workload automation products that plan, execute and track jobs on several platforms and environments. It comprises two products:

• IBM Tivoli Workload Scheduler for z/OS, previous known as OPC
• IBM Tivoli Workload Scheduler, previously known as Maestro when IBM acquired Unison Software in 1997

Plus some ancillary applications

• IBM Tivoli Workload Scheduler for Applications - for managing business applications like SAP, Oracle and PeopleSoft
• IBM Tivoli Dynamic Workload Broker - for automating grid application environments

Products can be integrated to schedule and monitor from a single point of control with the use of a java console called JSC (Job Scheduling Console) or in the latest versions with a web based user interface called TDWC (Tivoli Dynamic Workload Console).

IBM Tivoli Workload Scheduler for z/OS (TWSz) was originally produced in the 1970s by IBM's Nordic Laboratory in Lidingo, Sweden where it was known as OPC, which stands for "Operations Planning and Control". In 1989 the name was changed to Operations Planning and Control/Advanced (OPC/A) when many advanced features were added and the product has remained very much the same ever since. The name changed again to Operations Planning and Control/ESA (Enterprise Systems Architecture) when later adapted to work in a Sysplex Environment. After IBM bought the Tivoli company and OPC came under Tivoli's umbrella it was briefly renamed TME/10 (Tivoli Management Environment/10), then to Tivoli Workload Scheduler, but as Tivoli had previously renamed Maestro to Tivoli Workload Scheduler OPC was renamed Tivoli Workload Scheduler for z/OS. However the name Operations Planning and Control continued to appear on the primary option panel and elsewhere until Version 8 Release 5. The TWSz version numbers jumped from Version 3 to Version 8 to align with TWSd (Maestro).

IBM Tivoli Workload Scheduler (TWSd) was originally produced by Unison Software where is was known as Maestro. Maestro was bought by the Tivoli company when they realised the needed a Unix scheduler. It was renamed Tivoli Workload Scheduler (TWS). IBM bought the Tivoli company and gave it the responsibility for systems management, both distributed and mainframe. Tivoli at first decided to drop OPC and, because Maestro had an agent that ran on zOS, get OPC customers to migrate to Maestro. When it became obvious that Maestro couldn't replace OPC, Tivoli brought OPC under the Tivoli Workload Scheduler name. Many of the OPC concepts were ported to Maestro.

In 1988 users of OPC (later know as Tivoli Workload Scheduler) together with support from IBM, established ASAP - TWS Education + Training (formerly known as OPC/A Users Conference Inc.) - a volunteer, user supported, not-for-profit organization which is managed by a volunteer board of directors (representatives of member companies) and administered by MeetingWorks, LLC of New London, CT. ASAP's mission is to provide a world class organization that promotes knowledge, idea sharing, and creates an atmosphere where our membership can leverage learned best-of-breed practices to better manage their enterprise automation systems. The annual training held each spring, is the premier TWS training and educational program available to users. For more information go to twsuser.org.