When you initiate a process through a peripheral device, the system records the type of peripheral device in the SOURCEKIND attribute. There is one situation in which the SOURCEKIND value can make an important difference in the capabilities of the process. If the SOURCEKIND value is ODT, the system accords the process ODT status, which is described under Process Security Classes in this section.

Additionally, the system records the physical unit number or logical station number (LSN) of the originating peripheral device in the SOURCESTATION task attribute. The value of this attribute allows messages generated by a process to be routed back to the station that originated the process so that you can easily monitor the progress of your processes.

MARC and CANDE similarly assign the LSN of a session to the STATION task attribute of any tasks (but not jobs) initiated from that session. Refer to Controlling Process I/O Usage for a discussion of the effects of this attribute.

The system also records the name of the originating station in the SOURCENAME task attribute. The station name can be more stable than the LSN, which often changes after a halt/load or Transaction Server quit.