Understanding and Configuring User Priority Ranges

Understanding Job Priorities

Job priorities determine execution order when multiple jobs are ready to run:

• Priority range: 1 to 255
• Higher number = higher priority
• Jobs with higher priority start first when resources available

User Priority Settings

Each user has three priority parameters:

Default priority : Assigned to new jobs unless user specifies otherwise

Minimum priority : Lowest priority user can set

Maximum priority : Highest priority user can set

Normal Configuration

System defaults (installed):

Default: 150
Minimum: 100
Maximum: 200

Standard user:

Default: 150
Minimum: 100
Maximum: 200

User can create jobs with priorities 100-200, defaults to 150.

Viewing User Priorities

In btuser:

bash

btuser
# Shows user list with priorities

Display shows:

User    Group   Dft Min Max  Maxll Totll Spcll Privileges
jsmith  staff   150 100 200  1000  10000 1000  CR Cdft

Command line:

bash

# View specific user
btuser -l jsmith

# View all users
btulist

Setting User Priorities

Requires: Write admin file privilege

In btuser:

1. Navigate to user
2. Press d (default priority)
3. Enter value, press Enter
4. Press l (lower/minimum priority)
5. Enter value, press Enter
6. Press u (upper/maximum priority)
7. Enter value, press Enter

Command line:

bash

# Set default priority
btuchange -u jsmith -d 175

# Set minimum priority
btuchange -u jsmith -l 110

# Set maximum priority
btuchange -u jsmith -m 190

Special Configurations

Force User to Specify Priority

Default: 50 (below minimum)
Minimum: 100
Maximum: 200

User must always specify priority - no default available.

Or:

Default: 250 (above maximum)
Minimum: 100
Maximum: 200

Same effect - forces explicit priority specification.

Use case:

Critical production environment where priorities must be deliberate.

Prevent User from Submitting Jobs

Minimum: 200
Maximum: 100

Min > Max makes submission impossible.

Better approach:

Remove Create entry privilege instead:

bash

btuchange -u jsmith -n CR

More explicit and clear.

High Priority User

Default: 180
Minimum: 150
Maximum: 230

User's jobs prioritized over standard users.

Use case:

Administrator, urgent production jobs, time-critical processing.

Low Priority User

Default: 120
Minimum: 100
Maximum: 140

User's jobs run after higher priority work.

Use case:

Background processing, non-urgent batch work, development/testing.

Fixed Priority

Default: 150
Minimum: 150
Maximum: 150

User can only submit jobs at priority 150.

Use case:

Simplified management, prevent priority manipulation.

System Default Priorities

Set defaults for new users:

In btuser:

1. Press D (capital - system default default)
2. Enter default priority
3. Press L (capital - system default minimum)
4. Enter minimum priority
5. Press U (capital - system default maximum)
6. Enter maximum priority

Changes apply to:

• Users added to system after this point
• Doesn't affect existing users unless explicitly copied

Apply defaults to existing users:

In btuser:

• Navigate to user, press a (lowercase) - copy to that user only
• Press A (capital) - copy to all users (confirms first)

Warning: A (all users) overwrites everyone's priority settings. Use carefully.

Priority Strategy Examples

Production Environment

Tiers:

Critical: 180-220
Production: 120-180
Development: 100-140
Background: 80-120

Setup:

bash

# Critical users
btuchange -u prod_ops -d 200 -l 180 -m 220

# Production users
btuchange -u app_team -d 150 -l 120 -m 180

# Developers
btuchange -u dev_team -d 120 -l 100 -m 140

# Background processing
btuchange -u batch_user -d 100 -l 80 -m 120

Result:

Clear separation between job types. Critical jobs always run first, background jobs run when nothing else waiting.

Shared Resource Environment

Equal access:

All users: Default 150, Min 100, Max 200

All users have same priority range. Fair scheduling.

Setup:

bash

# Set system defaults
# In btuser: D=150, L=100, U=200

# Apply to all users
# In btuser: Press 'A'

Time-Critical Processing

Designate urgent job users:

Urgent: Default 200, Min 180, Max 250
Normal: Default 150, Min 100, Max 180

Urgent users can override normal processing when needed.

Setup:

bash

# Urgent processing team
btuchange -u urgent_team -d 200 -l 180 -m 250

# Everyone else stays at normal defaults

Priority Enforcement

Users restricted to their range:

bash

# User jsmith has min=100, max=200

# Submitting with priority 90
btr -p 90 script.sh
# Error: Priority below minimum

# Submitting with priority 210
btr -p 210 script.sh  
# Error: Priority above maximum

# Submitting with priority 150
btr -p 150 script.sh
# Success

Changing existing job:

bash

# User tries to set priority outside range
btjchange -p 250 15033
# Error: Priority exceeds maximum

Monitoring Priorities

View job queue with priorities:

bash

# Command line
btjlist | sort -k5 -n -r

# In btq
# Priority column visible, sorted by priority

Check who's using high priorities:

bash

# Jobs with priority > 180
btjlist | awk '$5 > 180 {print $0}'

Audit user priority usage:

bash

# List users by priority ranges
btulist | sort -k4 -n

Best Practices

Use meaningful ranges:

Create gaps between tiers (100-140, 150-180, 190-220) - makes separation clear.

Document priority levels:

Maintain written policy on what priorities mean:

100-140: Background, non-urgent
150-180: Normal production
190-220: High priority, time-critical

Review regularly:

Audit user priorities quarterly. Adjust as needed.

Start conservative:

Begin with standard defaults (100-200). Expand ranges only when needed.

Consider load levels first:

Use load levels to control resource usage, priorities for execution order.

Avoid too many tiers:

3-5 priority levels sufficient for most environments. More creates confusion.

Educate users:

Explain priority system so users choose appropriately.

Monitor abuse:

Watch for users always submitting at maximum priority.