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IT Essentials — Computer Operations

Abended Jobs

The details of the runs are captured in log files. Exceptions, known as abends or terminations, should
be logged, and appropriate personnel should be notified. There are three common reasons files
abend:

 Disk space is not available to complete the backup.
 File expected is not present.
 File expected is open and locked so backup cannot occur.

Jobs that abend can be restarted once more space is allocated, the file requested is available for
backup, or the job is updated to exclude the file in question. Terminations (i.e., the job stopped
before it was completed) typically happen when the allocated time to complete the backup is
exceeded.

Restore Services

Restore is the term used to describe the process of taking a file currently located in some sort of
secondary storage, and placing it back on the network for user consumption. Users will contact the
help desk directly or through the self-service tool, requesting a file that may have been accidentally
deleted from primary storage or may be archived. Computer operations will then need to run a job
to restore the file.

If computer operations fail to identify, notify, or follow-up on unsuccessful backup completions,
future restore requests will fail or provide incomplete data.

Network Activity Monitoring

IT operation activities typically include the monitoring of critical devices and services. Most
computer operations centers include a wall of screens to provide the operators and help desk
personnel with a clear visual on the status and alerts for each critical system.

If configured, an alert sounds when network congestion is detected or a service fails. The computer
operations center should follow the instructions located in the knowledge management module of
the service management tool. If they cannot resolve the exception, they will create a problem ticket
and assign it to second-level support for further analysis.

Managing and Monitoring Software

Computer operations should manage and monitor the use of all types of software within the
organization. This not only avoids licensing violations and fines, but also better ensures
unauthorized software is quickly discovered and either added to inventory or removed from the
network. The inventory also helps to identify what devices require patching.

Copyright © 2021 by The Institute of Internal Auditors, Inc. All rights reserved.