CA-7 is the shorthand used to refer to the CA Technologies Workload Automation CA-7 Edition. The CA-7 software manages workload processing and is hosted on a mainframe. CA-7 is a more advanced version of the job schedulers used on individual computers; it has many of the same functions, though CA-7's are more efficient, in addition to mainframe-specific functions. CA-7 also includes new workload
. automation agents that allow the workload managers to monitor many different processes from a single point of control, reducing the number of employees required. CA Technologies provides some support and instructions for using CA-7, including the original product sheet with details about the software (http://www.ca.com/~/media/Files/ProductBriefs/cs0741-workload-automation-7-ps.pdf) and several support documents (https://support.ca.com/irj/portal/anonymous/prddtlshome?prdhmpgform=p&productID=1171). There are also community resources hosted on the CA Technologies Mainframe Community (http://www.ca.com/us/communities-insights/Communities/mainframe.aspx), where mainframe professionals discuss scheduling, storage, installation and errors. The CA-7 primer initially provided by CA Technologies is available elsewhere on the internet, at the JMIT site (http://www.jmit.com/os390/docs/CA/CA7-33-Primer.pdf). A primer for the Personal Scheduling module of CA-7 is also available elsewhere, in this case from the National Institute of Health IT services department (http://silk.nih.gov/dbtek/viewdoc?vdsn=vpod.d9979582.pdf). Those who are already using CA-7 can also find an online CA-7 tutorial by typing "help" on the command line. However, CA Technologies does not provide a straightforward tutorial for mainframe managers who are using CA-7 for the first time. Fortunately, several websites have provided CA-7 tutorials of varying sorts. IBM Mainframes 360 hosts a basic introduction to CA-7 (http://www.mainframes360.com/2010/07/ca-7-commands.html) that includes a flow chart demonstrating how CA-7 schedules processes as well as a number of instructional videos. Anjali has posted an overview of CA-7 for students at Scribd (http://www.scribd.com/doc/48707906/Anjali-CA-7-Presentation). In addition to those tutorials, there are also several places that list important commands, terms and functions. Fon Roberts lists several of the most useful CA-7 commands on his site (http://www.fonrob.com/CA7.html). Another simple listing of commands is available from Scribd (http://www.scribd.com/doc/23541486/CA-7-COMMANDS). http://www.ca.com/~/media/Files/ProductBriefs/cs0741-workload-automation-7-ps.pdf or http://www.jmit.com/os390/docs/CA/CA7-33-Primer.pdf