Mainframe Data Library 100V - Dell · Introduction 1 Chapter 1. Introduction The Bus-Tech Mainframe...

Mainframe Data Library 100V

Installation Guide

Part Number 40-03308-B0-001

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Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Statement

WARNING: This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause interference to radio communications. It has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A computing device pursuant to Subpart J of Part 15 of FCC Rules, which are designed to provide reasonable protection against such interference when operated in a commercial environment. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause interference in which case the user at his own expense will be required to take whatever measures may be required to correct the interference.

THIS EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN TESTED CONCERNING COMPLIANCE WITH THE RELEVANT RFI PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS BOTH INDIVIDUALLY AND ON A SYSTEM LEVEL (TO SIMULATE NORMAL OPERATION CONDITION). HOWEVER, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THESE RFI REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT MET UNDER CERTAIN UNFAVORABLE CONDITIONS IN OTHER INSTALLATIONS. IT IS THE USER WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR COMPLIANCE OF HIS PARTICULAR INSTALLATION.

COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE REGULATIONS DEPENDS ON THE USE OF SHIELDED CABLES. IT IS THE USER WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PROCURING THE APPROPRIATE CABLES.

Bus-Tech Mainframe Data Library 100V Installation Guide Part Number 40-03308-B0-001 June 2009

© Copyright 2009 by BUS-TECH, INC. 129 Middlesex Turnpike Burlington, MA 01803 Voice: (781) 272-8200 Fax: (781) 272-0342 All Rights Reserved.

The information contained in this document is proprietary.

Duplication of this document or any part thereof should be undertaken only with the written permission of Bus-Tech, Inc.

Acknowledgments: Bus-Tech, Mainframe Data Library, and Virtuent are trademarks of Bus-Tech, Inc.

Ethernet is a registered trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation, Intel® Corporation and Xerox Corporation.

IBM, System/390, and OS/390 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines, Inc.

Other names are used herein for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Table of Contents i

Table of Contents

About This Publication .................................. iii Who Should Use This Publication ................... iii

How to Use This Publication ........................... iii

What is Included in This Publication ............... iv

Chapter 1 . Introduction..................................1 Installation and Configuration ...........................2

Chapter 2 . Hardware Installation .................3

Installing the System Unit ..................................3

System Connections ...........................................3

Connecting a FICON Channel ...........................4 FICON Interface Status Indicators ................4

Connecting an ESCON Channel ........................5 ESCON Interface Status Indicators ...............5

Network Connection ..........................................5

Fibre Channel Storage Connection ....................5

Fibre Channel IBM 3592 Connection ................6

Controls and Indicators ......................................6

Initial Power Up .................................................8 Setting System Passwords .............................9

Root Password Prompt .....................................10

Reference Material ...........................................11

Chapter 3 . Configuring the Network Interfaces ........................................................13

Chapter 4 . Configuring MDL-100V Devices .............................................................19 Determine the WWN .......................................19

Configuring Your VTL ....................................21

Configuring Virtual Devices ............................23

General Configuration Parameters ...................25

Adding Devices ................................................27

Modifying or Deleting Devices .......................30

Selecting an Active configuration ....................33

Chapter 5 . Using MDL-100V with z/OS, OS/390, or MVS .............................................35 Configuring the Devices ..................................35

Real 3590 .....................................................36 Manual Tape Libraries .................................36 MTL-Related IBM maintenance ..................38

Virtuent Scratch Utility Program .....................39 VTSCR Parameters ......................................41 RMM Considerations ...................................43 TMS Considerations ....................................44 TLMS Considerations ..................................44 TSM Considerations ....................................44

VTCMD Utility Program .................................45

DFSMShsm Considerations .............................47

Specifying Tape Compaction ...........................47

Missing Interrupt Timer ...................................47

Dynamic Device Reconfiguration (DDR) Considerations..................................................48

Chapter 6 . Using MDL-100V with VSE .....49 Overview ..........................................................49

Configuration Parameters Unique to VSE .......49

VSE Programs ..................................................50

VSE Sample Jobs .............................................51

Tape Drives ......................................................51

VIRMOUNT Utility.........................................52

VIRMAINT Utility ..........................................53

Dynam/T Support.............................................54

VIRSSD Utility for Dynam/T Operation .........54

Dynam/T Message Exit ....................................56

Using Dynam/T ................................................57 Create New Tape Data Sets .........................57 Prepare a Scratch Pool .................................57

ii MDL-100V Installation Guide

Volume Scratching and Erasing with Dynam/T ......................................................58

BIM-EPIC ACL Support .................................59

VIRSSE Utility for EPIC Operation ................60

Using CA-EPIC or BIM-EPIC .........................61 Creating New Tape Data Sets ......................62 Volume Scratching and Erasing with EPIC .63

All Environments .............................................64 Multiple VSE Images ...................................64 Specifying Tape Compaction .......................64 Sending Console Commands and Running Scripts from VSE .........................................64

Chapter 7 . Using MDL-100V with VM .......67

Installing VTSCR and VTCMD ......................67

VTSCR .............................................................68

VTCMD ...........................................................71 Using VTCMD to Mount a VOLSER .........72

Chapter 8 . System Operation......................75 VT Console ......................................................75

Starting / Stopping Tape Devices ....................77

Virtual Tape Operator Commands ...................80 Command Syntax .........................................80 EXPORT Command ....................................80 HELP Command ..........................................80 IMPORT Command .....................................81 INITIALIZE Command ...............................81 LOAD Command .........................................81 QUERY Command ......................................81 RESET CHANNEL ADAPTER Command 82 REWIND Command ....................................82 SAVE TRACE Command ...........................83 SET Command .............................................83 SHOW Command ........................................84 SNMP Command .........................................85 STOP CHANNEL ADAPTER Command ..85 UNLOAD Command ...................................85 UNQUIESCE Command .............................86 UNREADY Command ................................86

UPDATE Command ....................................86

System Poweroff / Reboot ...............................87

Unlocking the Console .....................................88

Changing Passwords ........................................88 masadmin Password .....................................89 root Password ...............................................90 VNC Password .............................................91

Set Date and Time ............................................92 Using an NTP Server ...................................93

Restore Factory Default Configuration Files ...94

Manage Log Files ............................................95

Chapter 9 . Back-End Tape Support...........97

About Data Compression .................................98

Help and Service Information.......................99 Step 1: Problem Solving ..................................99

Step 2: Preparing for the Call ...........................99

Step 3: Placing the Call ..................................100 Additional Technical Support Resources ..100

Index ..............................................................101

Customer Response ......................................103

About This Publication iii

About This Publication This Guide provides the information necessary to install Bus-Tech's Mainframe Data Library (MDL) 100V Controller.

The following terms may be used as synonyms for the PCI ESCON Adapter in this publication and in some software installation screens:

Bus-Tech PCI to ESCON Adapter

ESCON adapter

channel adapter

The following terms may be used as synonyms for the PCI FICON Adapter in this publication and in some software installation screens:

Bus-Tech PCI Bus to FICON Adapter

FICON Adapter

channel adapter

The following term is used as a synonym for the Mainframe Data Library throughout this publication:

MDL

Virtuent is Bus-Tech’s tape emulation technology and is used to power all Mainframe Data Library models, including the MDL-100V. Wherever the term Virtuent is used within this manual you can assume it is referring to the MDL-100V controller.

Who Should Use This Publication

This publication is intended for the system administrator responsible for installing and configuring the Mainframe Data Library 100V to connect with a z/OS, OS/390, MVS, VM, or DOS/VSE mainframe.

How to Use This Publication

This manual is specific to the MDL model 100V and is organized into distinct chapters. Refer to those chapters specific to completing the task(s) you are performing.

iv MDL-100V Installation Guide

What is Included in This Publication

This User's Guide contains information on how to complete the following tasks:

Install the MDL 100V into an industry standard rack

Connecting channel interfaces, network interfaces and storage to the MDL

Configuring the IP network in the MDL

Configuration of the storage sub-system, the tape devices, and the mainframe as well as day-to-day operation of the controller are topics of the Virtuent User’s Guide which came with your system.

Chapter 1. Introduction 1

Chapter 1. Introduction The Bus-Tech Mainframe Data Library is a family of mainframe channel attached controllers which provide a tape-on-disk system for IBM or IBM-compatible mainframes. MDL is a hardware / software solution that emulates a collection of IBM 3480, 3490, or 3590 tape drives. The MDL-100V emulates 3590s. As the mainframe writes a tape volume to any of the emulated drives the MDL creates a file on a back-end, open-systems storage sub-system (Figure 1-1).

Figure 1-1. MDL-100V Stores Mainframe Tape Volumes on Open-Systems VTL

The tape emulation in all MDL models is provided by a common tape-on-disk software package known as Virtuent.

The MDL-100V is a single, rack mountable controller capable of providing 1 or 2 FICON or 1, 2, or 3 ESCON connections to the mainframe and emulating up to 32 tape drives.

MDL-100V includes dual 4 Gbit fibre channel ports for connecting to an open-systems Virtual Tape Library (VTL).

Mainframe Tape Volumes (VOLSERs)

MDL-100V

Open-Systems VTL

Mainframe

2 MDL-100V Installation Guide

Installation and Configuration

There are several installation and configuration steps that must be completed to successfully connect a Mainframe Data Library-100V to a System/390 compatible mainframe. These steps include:

1. Unpacking and mounting the MDL unit in a rack.

2. Connecting the MDL to a mainframe channel and storage network.

3. Configure a VTL on the VTL Server for use by MDL

4. Configuring the virtual tape drives on the MDL.

5. Configuring the tape drives in the System/390 operating system.

6. Configuring VSE interface applications (VSE only).

7. Activating the MDL tape drives.

Steps 1 and 2 and 4 – 8 are the topics of this manual. You will need to refer to documentation that accompanied your Virtual Tape Library (VTL) to complete step 3.

Note that there are 2 things that need to be done on the VTL to ready it to work with MDL-100V:

1. You must define a dedicated library (VTL) on the VTL Server for use by MDL-100V. This library can have a single robotic arm, up to 32 emulated tape drives, and up to 20,000 slots. The tape drives must be 3590 (3592) device types. The library type must be capable of supporting the number of IBM drives you require.

2. You load the VTL with empty cartridges and configure the bar codes for those cartridges so that the first 6 characters of the bar code are valid IBM tape volume serial numbers (VOLSERs).

Chapter 2. Hardware Installation 3

Chapter 2. Hardware Installation

Installing the System Unit

The Mainframe Data Library 100V (MDL) is shipped as a 2U (3.5” high) rack mount system. The MDL is designed to install into an industry standard 19” RETMA communications rack. Your system is shipped with a slide rail kit in order to allow MDL to be easily serviced without having to remove it from the rack.

Follow instructions that accompanied the rail kit to mount the rails into your rack and then mount the MDL-100V onto the rails.

System Connections

The standard MDL-100V configuration includes a single FICON or single ESCON interface (Channel 0), two fibre channel ports (FC1 and FC2), and two Gigabit Ethernet interfaces (ETH0 and ETH1) which are used only for administration. Optionally, your MDL-100V may be configured with a second FICON interface (Channel 1) or a second (Channel 1) and third (Channel 2) ESCON interface (see Figure 2-1).

Figure 2-1. MDL-2000 System Connections

The MDL-100V may also have a single port fibre channel HBA for attachment of a point-to-point IBM 3592 tape drive. When present this single port HBA will be installed below the dual port Fiber Channel adapter.

The MDL-100V includes a 1 + 1 redundant power system. Both primary and redundant power connectors must be plugged in to provide redundancy. Each power supply provides 750 Watts of power and is self-selecting, operating at 100-120V or 200-240V.

Channel 0

Mouse

Keyboard

FC1 FC2 Channel 1

ETH 0 ETH 1 Monitor

Channel 2


Connecting a FICON Channel

Each MDL FICON interface has a single LC-type fiber optics connector. The type of cable you must use depends the type of connector on the mainframe (which may be either LC or SC) and the type of fiber optic cable (single-mode or multi-mode) supported by the mainframe channel. MDL FICON interfaces may be ordered either with single-mode or multi-mode fiber optic cable support. Single-mode fiber optic cable has a micron rating of 9/125. Multi-mode fiber optic cable has a micron rating of either 50/125 or 62.5/125.

To connect the MDL to a FICON channel simply remove the FICON wrap plug inserted for shipment and plug the male LC fiber connector on the cable directly into the LC female connector on the MDL interface. Ensure the cable end is fully inserted into the socket. You should hear a click as the connector locks into place.

FICON Interface Status Indicators

Each FICON interface has a four character display visible on the back edge of the system adjacent to the interface connector. The display will scroll the status of the interface. Under normal operating conditions the version of the interface’s emulation firmware will be displayed.

The FICON Adapter also has three LED indicators visible through its backplate that indicate which speed the link is running 1, 2, or 4 Gbps. When the link is up the LED will be on steady and if there is traffic it will blink. The numbers stamped into the faceplate correspond to the speed.

Yellow LED 4 Gbps

Green LED 2 Gbps

Amber LED 1 Gbps

Activity

Off Off Off Power Off

On On On Power On

Flash Flash Flash Loss of Synchronization

Flash in Sequence

Flash in Sequence

Flash in Sequence

Firmware Error

On/blink Off Off 4 Gbps link Up / Active

Off On/blink Off 2 Gbps link Up / Active

Off Off On/blink 1 Gbps link Up / Active


Connecting an ESCON Channel

Each MDL ESCON interface has a single ESCON MT-RJ connector.

To connect the MDL to an ESCON channel simply remove the ESCON wrap plug inserted for shipment and plug an IBM-compatible ESCON channel cable directly into the connector. Ensure the cable end is fully inserted into the socket. You should hear a click as the connector locks into place. An ESCON converter cable has been provided in case your ESCON cable uses ESCON duplex connectors. The cable provides a male MT-RJ connector on one end and a female ESCON duplex connector on the other (Figure 2-2).

Figure 2-2. ESCON Converter Cable

ESCON Interface Status Indicators

Each ESCON interface has a four character display visible on the back edge of the system adjacent to the interface connector. The display will scroll the status of the interface. Under normal operating conditions the version of the interface’s emulation firmware will be displayed.

Network Connection

As shown in Figure 2-1 the MDL-100V has 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports labeled Eth0 and Eth1 which may be used for connection to an IP network. These ports are normally used to connect to your corporate network to allow monitoring of the system.

Use standard Cat 6 Ethernet cable to connect to either of these ports.

Fibre Channel Storage Connection

Your MDL-100V includes a dual port fibre channel host bus adapter (HBA) which is used to attach the system to a Storage Area Network (SAN) or point-to-point to the Virtual Tape Library (VTL). These fibre channel ports use standard multi-mode fibre optic cabling with an LC connector. You may connect the SAN to either or both of the fibre channel ports.

ESCON Duplex

ESCON MT-RJ


Fibre Channel IBM 3592 Connection

If your MDL-100V is equipped with the optional support for IBM 3592 attachment there is a single fibre channel port for this purpose. Bus-Tech only supports a point-to-point fibre channel connection between the MDL-100V and a single IBM 3592 tape drive. The fibre channel port supports standard multi-mode fibre optic cabling with an LC connector.

Controls and Indicators

Figure 2-3 shows the front of the MDL-100V with the front bezel removed and overlaid with an enlarged view of the control panel area.

Figure 2-3. MDL-100V Front Panel

The MDL system disks are located in the left most drive bays labeled in Figure 2-3 as Disk 0 and Disk 1.

The controls and indicators are as follows:

A. LAN 2 Activity LED (eth0)

B. LAN 1 Activity LED (eth1)

C. Power/Sleep Button

Turns the system power on/off.

Warning: Do not press the Power/Sleep button while the MDL in online to the host. Follow the shutdown procedures described in the Virtuent User’s Guide before pressing the Power/Sleep button.

D. Power/Sleep LED

Continuous green indicates the system is powered on. Blinking green indicates the system is sleeping No light indicates the system does not have power applied to it.

Disk 0 Disk 1


E. Disk Activity LED

A continuous light indicates drive ready status. The light blinks off to indicate disk activity.

F. System Status LED

Continuous green indicates the system is operating normally Blinking green indicates the system is operating in a degraded condition Continuous amber indicated the system is in a critical or non-recoverable condition

ID LED.

A blue light that lights when the ID Button has been pressed. There is a second blue ID LED that can be seen on the back of the unit when the ID Button has been pressed and this LED is lit. The ID LEDs allow you to identify the system you are working on in a rack with more than one system.

G. ID Button (see above description for ID LED).

H. Reset Button

Reboots and initializes the system.

Warning: Do not press the Reset button while the MDL is online to the host. Follow the shutdown procedures in Virtuent User’s Guide before pressing the Reset button.

I. USB Connector

J. NMI button

Pressing this recessed button with a paper clip or pin issues a non-maskable interrupt and puts the system into a halt state for diagnostic purposes.

K. Video Connector

All LEDs are visible through the front bezel. The bezel must be removed to press the NMI, Power, Reset, or ID buttons.


Initial Power Up

The MDL-100V uses an administrator console for configuration and control. There are two alternatives for providing console capabilities. First, a monitor, keyboard, and mouse may be attached directly to the system. Alternatively, a PC may be Ethernet attached to either of the system’s Gigabit Ethenet (LAN) ports. The MDL console is then accessed using either a Java-enabled web browser or the open-source application known as “vncviewer”.

If you elect to attach a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, the monitor should be capable of a1024x768 resolution and you’ll need a standard PS/2 style keyboard and mouse. Once the monitor, keyboard, and mouse are attached you may power up the MDL.

A yellow Ethernet cross-over cable has been supplied to allow you to plug a PC (laptop) directly into one of the LAN interfaces (without an Ethernet hub or switch). Once you are attached to the LAN, power up the MDL.

Both LAN ports have been pre-configured with default IP addesses. LAN 1 (Eth0) is configured with the IP address 192.168.1.1. LAN 2 (Eth1) is pre-configured with the IP address 192.168.2.1. Both addresses use a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. To access the MDL desktop with a Java-enabled web browser you will need to configure your laptop or PC with an appropriate IP address based on which port you have connected to. For example, if you plug into LAN1 (Eth0) then you might configure your PC with address 192.168.1.2 subnet mask 255.255.255.0. If you were plugged into LAN2 (eth1) then you might configure your PC with address 192.168.2.2 subnet mask 255.255.255.0. Once you have your PC configured and attached open your browser and enter the IP address for the LAN interface you are connected, a colon (:), and the port number 5801. For example, to access the desktop from LAN 1 (eth0) you would enter:

http://192.168.1.1:5801/

To access the desktop from LAN 2 (eth1) you would enter:

http://192.168.2.1:5801/

You will be prompted for a password which is set to “bustech” by default.

As an alternative to using a Java-enabled web browser, you can use the open-source application vncviewer to access the MDL. The vncviewer application can be downloaded from a number of Internet sites. For example, at the time this manual was written, a Windows executable version of vncviewer was available at the following site:

http://www.tightvnc.com/download.html


The port used by vncviewer is 5901. To to access the desktop from LAN 1 (eth0) with vncviewer you would enter the address:

192.168.1.1:1 or 192.168.1.1:5901

at the vncserver prompt. From LAN 2 (eth1) you would enter:

192.168.2.1:1 or 192.168.2.1:5901

To enable access through a firewall, your firewall must allow access to port 5901 for vncviewer or port 5801 for web browser access.

Setting System Passwords

The first time you power on the MDL, you must set three system passwords.

The root user is the system’s superuser - the primary administrator - and has permission to perform absolutely any task on the MDL. For obvious reasons, the root user’s password should be a very strong password that would be difficult for an unauthorized user to guess.

The masadmin user is the user that runs the MDL console. Though masadmin does not have the permissions to perform administrative tasks like root, masadmin should also be protected with a strong password to prevent unauthorized usage.

The vnc password is the password used to remotely access the MDL desktop and will be required whenever you attempt to access the system from a web browser or the vncviewer application. After you enter a vnc password you will be asked if you want a vnc view-only password. If you want to allow someone to monitor the MDL console without being able to operate it respond to the prompt with “y” and then enter a view-only password. Otherwise respond to the view-only password prompt with “n”.

On initial power on all three passwords have been set to ‘bustech’.

The first time the MDL is powered up an automatic script will prompt you for each of the three passwords, root, masadmin, and vnc (See Figure 2-4).

Your passwords should be a mix of capital letters, lower case letters, and numbers and should be a minimum of six (6) characters in length.


Figure 2-4. Entering a masadmin Password

CAUTION: Be sure to save the new passwords in a safe place. If you forget the passwords you may not be able to recover them without performing a complete system installation.

Exit the password change script by pressing the ENTER key.

Root Password Prompt

Often when you are performing system administrator activities on the MDL you will be prompted with a root user password prompt as shown below in Figure 2-5. Whenever you receive this prompt, you need to respond to it with the root user password you supplied during initial poweron of the MDL (See page 9) in order to continue the function you are performing when the prompt appears.

Figure 2-5. Prompt for root Password


Reference Material

The following Bus-Tech documentation should have been provided along with this manual:

“Virtuent System Messages”, part number 40-03209-xx-001

The following Intel® documentation may be of use:

“Intel® Server System SR2500AL User’s Guide”, order number D31969-003

“Intel® Server Board S5000PAL User’s Guide”, order number D31968-002

Each of these documents may be downloaded from Intel’s web site (www.intel.com).

In you are installing MDL in a VSE environment using B I Moyle’s BIM-EPIC tape management system you will need to refer to the following manual:

“BIM-EPIC Installation and System Guide”

Chapter 3. Configuring the Network Interfaces 13

Chapter 3. Configuring the Network Interfaces The MDL-100V provides two Gigabit Ethernet LAN interfaces which may be used to provide access to the MDL Administrator console (desktop).

On initial power up both LAN interfaces are active and are pre-configured with an IP address. LAN1 (Eth0) has a default IP address of 192.168.1.1. LAN 2 (Eth1) has a default IP address of 192.168.2.1. You can connect your network to either of the LAN ports or to both.

To begin changing the MDL network configuration right-click anywhere on the MDL desktop. A menu will pop up (See Figure 3-1). Drag the mouse pointer over “Configure Ethernet Interfaces” and click the left mouse button.

Figure 3-1. Starting Network Configuration

Once you have responded to the root user password prompt (see Figure 2-5) the system will prompt for setup method (see Figure 3-2). Click Next to continue.


Figure 3-2. Setup Method Prompt

The Network cards configuration overview panel will display (see Figure 3-3).

Figure 3-3. Network Cards Configuration Overview

Only the two Gigabit Ethernet ports (Eth-0 and Eth-1) should be listed. The eth-0 device is labeled LAN 1 on the MDL Chassis. The eth-1 device is labeled LAN 2 on the chassis.


To modify a device’s IP configuration highlight the device and click Edit. The network address setup panel for the device you highlighted will be displayed (Figure 3-4).

Figure 3-4. Network Address Setup

Here you can assign the IP address and subnet mask. As shown the default IP address for eth0 is 192.168.1.1 and is automatically selected when you enter the screen. To change the IP address simply type in a new address. To change the subnet mask tab forward to the subnet mask field.

You can change the MDL system or domain names and assign a domain name server (DNS) to be used by clicking the “Host name and name server” button. The Host name and name server configuration panel (Figure 3-5) will be displayed.

Note: If you have more than one MDL connected to the same storage and/or on the same IP network, you should change the name(s) to make each system unique.

Enter the IP address(es) in the Name Server fields for any domain name servers (DNS) you want the MAS to be aware of.


Figure 3-5. Host Name and Name Server Configuration Panel

Complete the fields as appropriate for your network and then click Ok.

You can define any static routing information and a default network gateway by clicking the “Routing” button to display the “Routing configuration” panel (Figure 3-6).

Figure 3-6. Routing Configuration


Once you are sure your Ethernet interface is properly configured click Next on the “Network address setup” panel (Figure 3-4). The “Network cards configuration overview” panel (Figure 3-3) will display. Click Finish to save your changes and re-configure the network.

If you are attached to the MDL via the network you will temporarily lose your connection. Wait 15 – 20 seconds and then re-attach. Keep in mind that if you have just changed the IP address for the LAN port you are connecting through you will need to use the new IP address to attach.

If you are using a monitor, keyboard, and mouse attached directly to the MDL you can confirm that the network is running using a standard TCP/IP ping command. Click the Shell icon on the MDL desktop to open a terminal window. Type the command “ping ipaddress –c 5” where ipaddress is any valid IP address in your network. You should receive positive response to your ping as shown in Figure 3-7. (Note: not all systems respond to the ping. If you get no response, be sure the system you are sending the ping to normally responds to such a request).

Figure 3-7. Positive Ping Response

Chapter 4. Configuring Virtual Devices 19

Chapter 4. Configuring MDL-100V Devices Once the SAN / VTL have been attached, the MDL-100V is up and running, and you have configured the IP address(es) for administration you are now ready to begin configuration.

There are several steps required to properly connect and configure the VTL and the MDL. The steps are:

1. Determine the World-Wide Name (WWN) of the MDL’s fibre channel port.

2. Configure a VTL for use by the MDL.

3. Configure the virtual devices within the MDL, mapping them to the VTL.

These steps are discussed below.

Determine the WWN

Your VTL Server may require you to configure the World Wide Name (WWN) of the fibre channel ports on the MDL-100V in order to make the VTL available to the MDL.

The following procedure, run from the console of the MDL-100V will display the general information about the fibre channel HBA.

Click the shell icon (Figure 4-1) in the bottom right-hand corner of the MDL-100V desktop to open an administrator window.

Figure 4-1. MDL-100V Desktop

Shell Icon


Enter “root” mode by typing “su –“ and press ENTER (Figure 4-2).

Figure 4-2. Entering root Mode

You will be prompted for the root password. Type the password and then press ENTER.

To list the general information about the fibre channel host bus adapter (HBA) in the MDL-100V, type the “scli –i” command. The response will list a number of general information parameters about the HBA (see Figure 4-3).

Figure 4-3. scli Results

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VTL2 would both be defined with 5 tape drives; 4 that are mapped to the MDL-100V (mainframe) drives, and a 5th drive that will be used for overhead tasks.

Note that for VSE/ESA systems you can only have 1 library defined in each VSE system. Additionally, for VSE systems with tape management software installed you will need to define one mainframe virtual tape drive on the MDL for control. This drive will be used to receive Load Display Mount messages and will not be available for use by applications. So, for example, if you define sixteen (16) tape drives only fifteen (15) will be mapped through to the VTL and be available for use by mainframe applications. For BIM-EPIC environments, read the “BUSTECH MAS Support” section of the “BIM-EPIC Installation and System Guide” before configuring any virtual tape drives.

Once you have decided on an appropriate configuration for your environment begin by configuring the VTL(s) following configuration instructions provided by your VTL vendor. Make sure the VTL to be used by the MDL-100V has an assigned serial number associated with it. You may want to write down the serial number so that you have it readily available in during the next configuration step. It is the VTLs serial number that is used to connect MDL emulated tape drives to a specific VTL within the VTL Server.

A single MDL-100V can only emulate 32 mainframe tape drives and 20,000 slots. Remembering that an additional virtual tape drive should be configured for each VTL connected to the MDL, define you VTLs with the MDL-100V restrictions in mind. For example, there is no point in defining more than 33 drives in a VTL that is going to connect to MDL-100V. MDL-100V will not use more than 32 drives for data and 1 drive for control.

Additionally, you should not define considerably more slots in the VTL than you plan to use. If you library is only 5,000 cartridges, for example, defining a full 20,000 slots in the library will slow down the bring up of the MDL-100V as it scans all 20,000 slots looking for bar codes. It could also slow down mount operations as the MDL-100V looks through all 20,000 slots to locate a specific VOLSER.

Once you have defined the VTL follow instructions from your VTL vendor to define bar code fields for all tape volumes within the VTL. MDL-100V will use the first six characters of the bar code field as the mainframe VOLSER. So be sure to define bar codes values with the first six (6) characters complying to the IBM VOLSER standards. That is, values 0-9 and/or characters A-Z with no lower case characters.


Configuring Virtual Devices

MDL-100V can emulate up to 32 mainframe tape drives. These drives must be configured to emulate 3590 devices to the mainframe.

Virtuent provides a browser-based graphical interface for configuring the virtual tape drives. To invoke configuration click the “Configure Devices” icon on the Virtuent desktop.

A browser window will initiate and the configuration banner screen will display (Figure 4-5).

Figure 4-5. Configuration Start-Up Screen

Click “Configure Devices” and the main configuration screen will appear (Figure 4-6).

Figure 4-6. Configuration Selection Screen


Virtuent allows up to six (6) separate configurations to be kept. Only one configuration is used to activate the devices. The six configuration files are named btixmap0, btixmap1, btixmap2, btixmap3, btixmap4, and btixmap5. When the system is shipped these configuration files contain no device configurations.

To create a new or different configuration you modify one of the six configuration files, designate which configuration file to make active the next time the Virtuent devices start, and then stop and restart the devices. Begin by clicking the “View or Modify” link next to the configuration file you wish to modify. The configuration file will be presented for change and viewing (Figure 4-7).

Figure 4-7. Main Configuration Screen


General Configuration Parameters At the top of the configuration view are general information fields that apply to the overall configuration. Clicking on any of the links for Name, Description, TraceLevel, Adapter Tracing, or Scratch Synonyms will invoke a change screen for all of these fields (Figure 4-8).

Figure 4-8. Common Field Change Screen

The fields may be set as follows:

Name – This field is an optional field you can use to assign a name to this configuration which is meaningful to you and your environment. The name may be 1 to 8 characters in length. This field is not otherwise used.

Description – This field is an optional 1 to 40 character field you may use to enter a meaningful description of this configuration file. This field is not otherwise used.

Trace Level– This pull down field allows you to select the level of tracing to be performed. Available trace levels are:

0 – No Tracing (default) 1 – Trace Errors Only 2 – Trace Errors and Status 3 – Trace Errors, Status, and Headers


4 – Trace Errors, Status, Headers, and Data 5 – Perform a full packet trace (for customer support use only)

Under normal operation trace level 1 should be set for best performance while still capturing error information to the trace file. You can trace individual devices on a channel by setting the trace option in device specific configuration (see page 19).

Adapter Tracing – This field allows you to specify which type of tracing should be performed, device or path.

Device level tracing means that each subchannel will have a trace buffer. All traces to this subchannel from any Host / LPAR will be stored in this trace buffer.

Path level tracing means that each Host / LPAR will have a trace buffer.

With device level tracing, you will get a much shorter trace buffer per device, but you get unique buffers, so you know you can get at least the last few events for the Host / LPAR no matter what else is going on. With device level tracing, you get a much longer trace buffer, but it's shared by all the Hosts/LPARs talking to the particular subchannel so any one Host / LPAR that keeps running to this subchannel will monopolize the shared trace buffer.

Warning Percent (0-100) – This parameter is not used by MDL-100V

Recovery Percent (0-100) – This parameter is not used by MDL-100V

Recovery Amount (1-100) – This parameter is not used by MDL-100V

Tape Export – Tape export is not available on MDL-100V. This parameter should be left disabled.

SNMP Agent – The SNMP agent requires configuration of two parameters; Trap Level and Manager IP. By default the Trap Level is set to “0 = None” indicating SNMP agent is disabled. If either Trap Level or Manager IP are not properly configured the SNMP agent will not work properly.

Trap Level - The trap level field is used to set the message level of the messages that the SNMP agent will send to the SNMP manager application. Virtuent supports three (3) levels of messages; informational, warning, and error. Setting any one of these levels enables the SNMP agent. The default is no messages are sent. Bus-Tech recommends that you set this level to “Warning” so that all warning messages and errors are sent to the SNMP manager.

Manager IP – Set this field to the IP address of the SNMP manager that is to receive messages from the SNMP agent. If you set the Trap Level field (above) to anything other than “0 = None” you must set this field. Additionally the receiving SNMP manager must have the Bus-Tech Management Information Block (MIB) installed. The Bus-Tech MIB is distributed on the MDL Utilities CD under the directory


\util\SNMP. Follow instructions from your SNMP manager documentation for installing third party MIBs.

Scratch Synonyms – Virtuent receives requests to mount new scratch tapes across the channel in a load display command issued by the mainframe. By default OS/390 and z/OS will normally request either a PRIVAT or a SCRTCH tape in these commands. However, installations have the ability to configure their own sub-pools of scratch tapes and request the mount of tapes using names meaningful to their installation. In other words, installations can configure what they want to call scratch tapes on their system. The Scratch Synonyms fields allow Virtuent to be configured to recognize whatever name(s) your installation uses to request scratch tape mounts. Regardless of the definition of other Scratch Synonyms, Virtuent will always mount a scratch tape whenever a load command is received requesting either ‘PRIVAT’ or ‘SCRTCH’.

Note: Scratch Synonyms are not case sensitive and may be entered in either upper or lower case. Scratch Synonyms may be 1 – 8 characters long.

Once you are satisfied with the content of the General Configuration Parameters you can save your changes and exit the Common Field Change screen by scrolling down the screen and clicking Submit Changes. To exit the screen without making any changes click Cancel Changes.

Adding Devices

Each configuration file on MDL-100V can have a maximum of 32 devices.

To add devices to the configuration scroll down the Main Configuration Screen (see Figure 4-7) and click on any undefined device index number. The Control Unit Configuration screen will display. Use your mouse to scroll down to the bottom of the screen (Figure 4-9).


Figure 4-9. Control Unit Configuration Screen

The fields on this screen are:

Minimum Device Address (in hex): - The device address of the first device to be defined. Devices are defined in groups of sixteen (16), dictating the valid addresses that can be assigned. Select an address from the pull down list.

Maximum Device Address (in hex): - The device address of the last device to be defined. Select the device from the pull down list.

Control Unit (in hex): - The hexadecimal control unit number you are configuring. For ESCON valid values are 00-0F. For FICON valid values are 00-FF.

Starting Device Name - A unique device name must be created for each Virtuent device. Bus-Tech recommends using the same device name as defined on the mainframe operating system. The name you enter should end in hexadecimal digits, and the configuration program will increment the name for the number of devices you are defining. For example, if you are defining 16 devices and you enter E980 in the Device Name field, the configurator will name the 16 devices E980, E981, E982, ... E98F. The name you enter may be from 1 to 10 characters long.

Device Type – Select the device type to be emulated. For MDL-100V you should select 3590. Note that all devices on the same Control Unit must be the same type and must match the devices being emulated by the VTL. (3590 or 3592 on the VTL would both be configured as device type 3590 in the MDL).

IDRC – This parameter is not used with MDL-100V.

Encryption key – This parameter is not used with MDL-100V.


Tapelib Path – This field must be modified to identify the VTL that this group of drives is to be allocated to. The format of the information that must be entered into this field for MDL-100V is: VTL-nnnnnnnnnnnn where nnnnnnnnnnnn is the serial number of the VTL this group of drives is assigned to. The serial number must be 12 characters in length, padded on the left with zeros as necessary.

For example, if your VTL has a serial number of 1294379243, then the proper tapelib path entry to point a set of drives to that VTL would be “VTL-001294379243”.

Device specific - The Device Specific parameters field allows you to code a number of optional keyword parameters which will be assigned to the devices being created.

GROUP=nn nn is any decimal number. GROUP should be coded whenever Virtuent is to be used with the VSE VIRMOUNT utility on multiple VSE systems running under VM or on multiple LPARs. All virtual tape drives attached to the same VSE guest machine should have the same GROUP. When VIRMOUNT requests a mount, only virtual drives in the same GROUP are considered for the mount. When not coded all drives default to GROUP=0.

OSADDR=xxxx

xxxx is a 3-digit or 4-digit hexadecimal number. OSADDR should be coded with the address by which the virtual drive is known to VSE whenever Virtuent is used with the VIRMOUNT utility. When VIRMOUNT requests a volume to be mounted on a specific drive, it passes the device address as it's known to VSE. Virtuent then searches for the virtual drive configured with that OSADDR. In addition, when Virtuent satisfies a VIRMOUNT mount request it returns the OSADDR of the drive selected to the VIRMOUNT application.

TRACE=n

Trace allows you to set the trace option for this specific device. Available trace levels are:

0 – No Tracing (default) 1 – Trace Errors Only 2 – Trace Errors and Status 3 – Trace Errors, Status, and Headers 4 – Trace Errors, Status, Headers, and Data 5 – Perform a full packet trace (for customer support use only)

When you are finished configuring a range of devices click on either of the “Submit” buttons to create the range of devices.


Modifying or Deleting Devices

To modify device definitions or to delete a range of devices start by selecting the configuration file on the Configuration File Selection screen (see Figure 4-6), From the Main Configuration screen (Figure 4-10) scroll down to the device you want to modify and click on the Index field. To modify / delete a range of device click on any Index field in the configuration.

Figure 4-10. Main Configuration with Devices Configured

The Modify Configuration Panel will display (Figure 4-11).

Figure 4-11. Modify Configuration Screen


As described at the top of the screen, this panel has three (3) sections; one for modifying individual parameters on a single device, one for modifying all devices on a control unit, and one for deleting a range of devices from the configuration. Scroll down to the section you need to use.

The individual device change section (Figure 4-12) allows you to change the device name, the VTL (tapelib path) the device points to, and any device specific configuration parameters. It also allows you to set the device entry active (Yes) or inactive (No). Setting a device inactive means Virtuent will not present the device address to the mainframe. If the mainframe tries to vary the device online, the vary will fail.

Figure 4-12. Device Specific parameters

If, for example, you were trying to create the configuration shown in Figure 4-4, you would do that with the following steps:

1. Use the Add Devices Panel (Figure 4-9) to define a controller with sixteen (16) devices.

2. Use the Modify Device Panel (Figure 4-12) to change the Tapelib Path on devices 1 – 4 to point to VTL1 and devices 5 – 8 to point to VTL2.

3. Then use the Modify Device Panel to make the entries for devices 9 – 16 in active by setting the “Entry Active:” selection to No.

The only configuration parameter you can change for an entire control unit is the device type (Figure 4-13). Changing the device type will affect all devices on the control unit.


Figure 4-13. Control Unit Specific Parameters

To delete a range of devices scroll all the way down to the bottom of the screen (Figure 4-14). Select the range (or ranges) of devices you wish to delete and then click the “Delete Selected Device Range(s)” button.

Figure 4-14. Delete a Range of Devices


Selecting an Active configuration To activate a different configuration file the next time Virtuent starts devices click “Select Configuration for Next Startup” button on the Select Configuration File screen (Figure 4-6).

The Selection screen will display (Figure 4-15) listing the four possible configuration files.

Figure 4-15. Select Configuration for Next Start

If you click on any of the underlined configuration files it will immediately become the file set for activation and you will be returned to the previous screen. The next time the devices are started this configuration file will be used. If you decide you really do not want to make a change, click the “No Change” button.

When you have completed configuration of the devices the virtual tape application (vt) must be stopped and restarted in order to properly reconfigure the channel interface(s) (see page 77).

Chapter 5. Using MDL-100V with z/OS, OS/390, or MVS 35

Chapter 5. Using MDL-100V with z/OS, OS/390, or MVS Bus-Tech provides several small utilities for the z/OS, OS/390 and MVS environments. The utilities provided include:

VTSCR – A scratch utility which sends volser scratch requests to Virtuent

VTCMD – A utility allowing Virtuent commands to be sent from the mainframe console

VTLIB – A utility allowing you to define scratch volumes to an MTL

To use any of these utilities you will need to upload a file from the MDL Utilities CD to your mainframe. The file you will need is called /UTIL/MVS/MDLZOS.XMI. This file should be FTP’d to the mainframe as follows:

ftp target_system_name

(satisfy login requirements of the mainframe)

quote site recfm=fb lrecl=80

bin

put mdlzos.xmi (the file will be placed on the host as ’uid.maszos.xmi’, where uid is the login user id used for the ftp. Alternatively, you may use put maszos.xmi ‘filename’ to force a specific filename of your choice.)

quit

Once the file is on the mainframe use ISPF function 6 (Command Shell), and issue the command :

receive indataset(‘uid.maszos.xmi’)

When prompted with ‘Enter restore parameters or delete or end’ enter:

da(‘BTI.MODULE’)

A ‘BTI.MODULE’ will be created with members:

VTLIB - A utility to add volumes to an MTL

VTSCR - The Virtuent scratch utility

VTCMD - The Virtuent command Utility

Configuring the Devices

z/OS, OS/390, and MVS use the Hardware Configuration Definition (HCD) utility to define devices to the system. HCD provides an interactive interface that allows you


to define the system’s hardware configuration to both the channel subsystem and the operating system.

There are two alternatives for configuring Mainframe Appliance for Storage devices to the mainframe. They are:

1. Configure the devices as real 3590 tape drives.

2. Configure the devices as a Manual Tape Library (MTL).

Each of these alternatives will be discussed.

If you are planning on using MDL with IBM’s Object Access Method (OAM) then you should configure the Virtuent devices using alternative 2, a Manual Tape Library. OAM requires tape drives to be SMS managed. The IBM document SC35-0426, “DFSMS Object Access Method Planning, Installation, and Storage Administration Guide for Object Support”, describes how to use a library for OAM object use.

Bus-Tech’s support web site contains a number of sample I/O device gens (IOCDS) on how to configure Virtuent devices to your mainframe. The link is:

http://www.bustech.com/support/techtips/mdl/mdlcfg.asp

Real 3590

Virtuent emulates 3590 tape drives. If your mainframe installation does not have 3590s installed you can elect to configure the Virtuent devices as real 3590 drives to your mainframe’s operating system.

However if you have real 3590 tape drives configured in your system do not attempt to define Virtuent devices in this manner. Configuring Virtuent devices as real 3590s will result in mis-allocation where z/OS will request a real 3590 cartridge on a Virtuent device or request a Virtuent tape-on-disk volume on a real 3590 drive.

If you do plan to define Virtuent devices as real 3590s than make sure that the esoterics configured for tape in your installation do not include the MDL devices. More specifically, if your JCL is using the esoteric TAPE (UNIT=TAPE) then make sure that TAPE does not include the 3590 devices within the MDL.

Manual Tape Libraries

If you have 3590 tape drives installed in your installation then you cannot define Virtuent devices just as real 3590 tape drives. Doing so will result in allocation errors as described in the previous sub-section. To avoid mis-allocations define your Virtuent devices as 3590 tape drives and then include them in a Manual Tape Library (MTL) so that they will be isolated from your other 3590s.

IBM introduced the concept of a Manual Tape Library (MTL) with APAR OW45271. This APAR allows standalone tape drives and their associated volumes to be SMS managed by treating a group of such drives as a logical tape library. Allocations to such a logical library are managed by SMS just as any automated tape library


dataserver (ATLDS) would be with the exception that mount messages will be routed to a tape operator console rather than the ATLDS robotics. IBM document SC35-0427, “PISA Guide for Tape Libraries”, describes the issues regarding MTL support.

Begin by configuring the Virtuent devices as 3590 tape devices using HCD. The standard HCD 3590 definitions should be used. On the Device/Parameter Feature definition screen for each drive, you must select MTL as YES and supply an artificial LIBRARY-ID and LIBPORT-ID. The control unit should also be defined as a 3590 with 16 tape drives available.

All the devices in the same logical library should have the same LIBRARY-ID, with each group of 16 devices having a unique LIBPORT-ID. IBM’s requirement that there can be only 16 tape drives to a LIBPORT-ID will require you to configure multiple control units on the same channel using different logical control unit addresses when you want to configure more than 16 drives. Each control unit’s devices would have the same LIBRARY-ID, but have a unique LIBPORT-ID per control unit. For example:

Dev Add CU Log CU Library-ID Libport-ID E800 CU800 00 12345 01 E801 CU800 00 12345 01 E80F CU800 00 12345 01 E810 CU810 01 12345 02 E811 CU810 01 12345 02 E81F CU810 01 12345 02

Once the MTL has been defined to HCD it must be defined to SMS using the library management function. Then your ACS routines should be updated to allow jobs to select the new library with appropriate user defined ACS management, data, and storage classes and groups. For example, if you define a new esoteric called “VTAPE”, your ACS routines could allocate the dataset to the SMS storage group using the MTL whenever UNIT=VTAPE is specified in JCL.

The characteristics of Virtuent virtual tape cartridges match the SMS Media Type; specifically, “MEDIA4” for 3590. Be sure to specify the MEDIA4 on the Library Definition screen. In addition, since SMS will request scratch tapes using the media type, you must add MEDIA4 to the list of Virtuent scratch name synonyms (see page 19).

Note that once the MTL is configured, it is treated much the same as a real library. That is, cartridges must be ‘entered’ into the library before they can be used. When you defined the VTL to be used by MDL-100V, you were instructed to set the bar codes for the volumes in the library to the VOLSERs you were planning to use. You will need to define these VOLSERs to the mainframe library before they can be used. To simplify this, the VTLIB utility may be used to enter cartridges into the MTL.


VTLIB must be executed out of an authorized library. An example of the JCL required to link VTLIB follows:

//L EXEC PGM=HEWL,PARM=’MAP,LET,LIST,NCAL,AC=1’ //SYSLMOD DD DSN=USER.LIBRARY,DISP=SHR //SYSUT1 DD DSN=&&SYSUT1,SPACE=(1024,(120,120),,,ROUND), // UNIT=SYSALLDA,DCB=BUFNO=1 //SYSPRINT DD SYSOUT=* //DDIN DD DSN=BTI.MODULE,DISP=SHR //SYSLIN DD * INCLUDE DDIN(VTLIB) NAME VTLIB® /*

The following is an example of JCL to run VTLIB:

//S2 EXEC PGM=VTLIB //SYSUDUMP DD SYSOUT=* //OUTDD DD DSN=VTLIB.LOG,DISP=SHR (recfm=fb,lrecl=80,blksize=4000) //INDD DD * * TO ENTER VOLUMES INTO THE MTL, THE SYNTAX IS AS FOLLOWS: * 1ST CHAR MUST BE AN 'M' * 4-9 IS THE STARTING VOLSER * 11-18 IS THE LIBRARY NAME ASSIGNED DURING SMS LIBRARY ADD * 20 IS THE MEDIA TYPE (DEFAULT=2). SPECIFY 4 FOR 3590 LIBRARY * 21-25 COUNT OF VOLSERS TO BE ADDED (DEFAULTS TO 1 IF BLANK * MAX COUNT=10000) * VOLSER LIB COUNT M BT0000 MTL1 5000 M AA0000 MTL2 10000 /*

The log file will list the result of each cartridge entry request, including any error codes. The VTLIB utility uses IBM's CBRXLCS macro, and the return codes and reason codes can be found in:

DFSMSdfp Diagnosis Reference (GY27-7618) section 11.4.1.

MTL-Related IBM maintenance

The PTFs for the following APARs should be applied when using Virtuent in an MTL environment:

APAR OA03749 MTL more than 1 device fails to vary on-line

APAR OA06698

Replacement tape drives get MSG IEA437I in an MTL environment

APAR OA07945 Mount hangs / timeouts using MTL with OEM Automated Library

APAR OA08963 Tape volume capacity incorrect for OAM object support users


APAR OA10482 MTL scratch volume mount error

Virtuent Scratch Utility Program

Virtuent provides the VTSCR utility which can be used with any of the major tape management systems to keep your tape management system scratch status in sync with the Virtuent scratch status.

The VTSCR utility must be linked as an authorized program into an authorized library under the name VTSCR. It is highly recommended that RACF be used to restrict the use of VTSCR to authorized users only.

An example of the JCL required to link VTSCR follows:

//L EXEC PGM=HEWL,PARM='MAP,LET,LIST,NCAL,AC=1' //SYSLMOD DD DSN=USER.LIBRARY,DISP=SHR //SYSUT1 DD DSN=&&SYSUT1,SPACE=(1024,(120,120),,,ROUND), // UNIT=SYSALLDA,DCB=BUFNO=1 //SYSPRINT DD SYSOUT=* //DDIN DD DSN=BTI.MODULE,DISP=SHR //SYSLIN DD * INCLUDE DDIN(VTSCR) NAME VTSCR(R) /*

VTSCR runs on the mainframe and sends volume scratch requests to Virtuent. Since the tape management system (TMS) may dynamically release tapes back to scratch status, VTSCR should be periodically run to maintain synchronization between the TMS catalog and the MDL. To use VTSCR the user must run a TMS scratch report and then input that scratch report into VTSCR. VTSCR scans the scratch report for Virtuent owned volumes and sends the appropriate scratch requests to the MDL.

There are 2 methods of running VTSCR. Method 1 uses an offline tape device which points to the MDL-100V. This is the preferred approach and should be used whenever you are not using all 32 tape drives in your library.

For example, let’s assume you plan to use eight (8) drives on the MDL-100V, mapping them through to 8 virtual drives within the VTL. In the MDL-100Vs configuration, configure 9 active drives. On the 9th drive, leave the Tapelib Path field (see page 29) defaulted to ‘/tapelib’ rather than pointing it to a device in the VTL.

On your IBM mainframe define all 9 devices to z/OS. But configure the 9th drive to remain offline at startup. If you are defining the devices into an MTL, leave the offline drive out of the MTL. To prevent accidental allocation to this 9th device if were to be varied online you may wish to define it into its own MTL.

The following JCL will run VTSCR using the offline device:


<JCL to Generate Scratch Report Here> //LOG EXEC PGM=VTSCR,PARM='DEV=xxxx,parms' //VTSLOG DD DSN=VT.LOGFILE,DISP=OLD //VTSSCR DD DSN=SCRATCH.REPORT,DISP=OLD

where xxxx is the device address of the MDL-100V offline device and parms may include any of the parameters described below.

The second method for running VTSCR is to use a dedicated control tape within the VTL. Use this approach when you need to have all 32 of the MDL-100Vs drives participating in the library. When using a control tape (VOLSER) rather than an offline device, VTSCR uses a control file called VTSCTRL. A DD statement for this file must be added to the JCL. The first time you run VTSCR use the following JCL:

<JCL to Generate Scratch Report Here> //LOG EXEC PGM=VTSCR,PARM='parms' //VTSLOG DD DSN=VT.LOGFILE,DISP=OLD //VTSSCR DD DSN=SCRATCH.REPORT,DISP=OLD //VTSCTRL DD DSN=VT.CTRL,UNIT=VTAPE,VOL=SER=SCRTCH, // DISP=(,CATLG)

Do not code the DEV=xxxx parm when using the VTSCTRL DD statement. Then, following the initial execution of VTSCR update the VTSCTRL DD statement to use the same control tape on subsequent executions of VTSCR:

<JCL to Generate Scratch Report Here> //LOG EXEC PGM=VTSCR,PARM='parms' //VTSLOG DD DSN=VT.LOGFILE,DISP=OLD //VTSSCR DD DSN=SCRATCH.REPORT,DISP=OLD //VTSCTRL DD DSN=VT.CTRL,DISP=(,KEEP)

Using VTSCR in this fashion creates a permanent control tape in the VTL that will occupy one of the VTLs slots.


VTSCR Parameters

In addition to the DEV parmameter described above, any of the following parameters may be substituted as needed for parms in the sample JCL:

TYPE=x where x is used to select the tape management system. Valid types include RMM, TMS, TLMS, ZARA, CTLM, or CTLT. This is the only required parameter.

PREFIX=y where y is a string of prefix characters that will limit processing to volumes whose volume serial numbers (VOLSER) begin with the character(s) specified. Unless otherwise specified by the PREFIXLN parameter, the default prefix length is 2. ‘PREFIX=AAABAC’ would cause VTSCR to process only volumes whose serial numbers begin with AA, AB, or AC. Coding this parameter prevents VTSCR from trying to unnecessarily scratch volumes that are not stored on the MDL. If no PREFIX is specified VTSCR will process the entire scratch list.

PREFIXLN=n where n can be a single digit between 1 and 5. This value replaces the default prefix length of 2 for the ‘PREFIX=’ parameter. PARM=’PREFIX=ABCD,PREFIXLN=1’ will cause VTSCR to process only volumes whose serial numbers begin with A, B, C, or D.

NODSNCHK Virtuent will normally validate Data Set Names if found in the scratch report as part of the scratch process. A scratch will not successfully complete if the data set name in the scratch report does not match the data set name in the HDR1 label on the volume being scratched. NODSNCHK prevents the dataset name check from being performed and is not recommended for normal use.

FREESPACE The default of VTSCR is simply to reclassify volumes being scratched as eligible for scratch allocation requests, without freeing up the space occupied by that volume. The FREESPACE parameter may be used to request that the space be freed. Note that FREESPACE requires the volumes to already be in scratch status. Therefore to immediately free the space, VTSCR will need to be run twice. The first execution should be run without the FREESPACE parameter to scratch the volumes and the second execution should be run with the FREESPACE parameter to release the space.

Keep in mind that Virtuent will automatically free the space of scratchedvolumes when it needs space so it is generally not necessary to run VTSCR with the FREESPACE parameter.


FREEAFTERSCR While the FREESPACE option requires a volume already be in a scratched state, FREEAFTERSCR will immediately free space from a volume as soon as VTSCR scratches it. While FREEAFTERSCR allows you to scratch a volume and free the space associated in a single execution of VTSCR, it should be recognized that once the space has been freed the volume cannot be recovered if it was scratched by mistake.

NODATECHK Virtuent will normally check the creation date of a tape volume and will not allow any volume to be created and scratched in the same 24 hour period. Setting this parameter will allow volumes to be created and scratched on the same day. This parameter ignores the default date check in VTSCR.

IGNLCSERR This parameter will ignore any errors reported by Library Call Subsystem used by OAM with MTL volumes. Normally VTSCR will log any error returned by LCS and will stop processing scratch tapes when these errors occur. If this parameter is set, VTSCR scratch processing will continue even when LCS errors are encountered.

ALLVOLS This parameter will allow scratch of volumes with data set names of all zeros.

IGNLCSRC4 This will allow VTSCR processing to continue after a return code 4 from LCS processing, but terminate if the return code from LCS processing is greater than 4.

NOTCDB This will prevent VTSCR from attempting any TCDB updates. This should only be used if the TMS already performs this function.

NOTIFSCR This will prevent VTSCR from attempting to change the TCDB use attribute to scratch if Virtuent reports that the volser was already a scratch.

The output VTSLOG file will maintain a history of the results of each delete request. The file should have a logical record length (LRECL) of 133. If an error occurs during a scratch request (such as scratching a non-existent volume) the failure will be recorded in the log file, the program will continue with the next scratch request, and a non-zero return code from the program execution will result.

The output VTSCTRL file is used to allocate a Virtuent tape device for use as a control path to pass the scratch request(s). If there are multiple tape libraries being used to contain the virtual volumes, the user must select a tape device address associated with the library containing the volumes to be scratched.


The VTSSCR file must point to the scratch report that the user has created using the appropriate TMS utility. The scratch report must be generated with a logical record length (LRECL) of 133. To avoid any possibility of confusion, it is strongly recommended that a single job be used that generates a current scratch list file and then runs the VTSCR utility against that file. In this way there is no possibility of accidentally running the VTSCR program against an old scratch report and causing the TMS and the MDL to become out of sync. In addition, since there is a slight time interval between the creation of the extract file and the processing of the report, Virtuent will not scratch a volume that has been created today. Additionally, the utility will not execute against a scratch report that was not created the same day.

The Scratch utility will use the data set name (dsname) information from the scratch report to verify volumes being scratched. If the data set name written in the volume header does not match the data set name on the scratch report for that volume the scratch request will be rejected.

In must be emphasized that once the VTSCR utility has completed, tapes that were successfully scratched by the utility can be re-used or erased at anytime.

RMM Considerations

The following rules must be observed when using Virtuent with RMM:

1. Virtuent scratch volumes must be pre-defined to RMM. You will need to define the VOLSERs you configured as bar codes in the VTL to RMM. If Virtuent volume serial numbers have not been pre-defined as scratch to RMM then new volumes will be rejected by RMM. This will result in an unsatisfied mount request on the mainframe. To resolve the unsatisfied mount, Virtuent scratches would need to be defined to RMM, and a Virtuent LOAD command would have to be issued at the Virtuent console in order to satisfy a stalled request.

2. When defining new Virtuent scratch tapes to RMM, the ‘initialize’ option must be set to ‘no’. If ‘yes’ is accidentally used and RMM detects that the volume must be initialized (or EDGINERS is run), RMM will send a request for a ‘blank’ volume serial number to be mounted on Virtuent. Virtuent will not automatically come ready since it has no idea which volume to mount. Consequently, a manual mount requiring a Virtuent LOAD command at the Virtuent console would be needed for each volume being initialized.

3. VTSCR will process two types of RMM scratch reports; the scratch report created by EGDRPTD, or that created by EDGJRPT using the EDGRRPTE exec (EDGRPT01). Use the parameter DATEFORM(I) when running EDGRPTD to create scratch reports in order to ensure the expected date format. When the REXX exec form is used, VTSCR may not accept user tailored version of EDGRRPTE.


TMS Considerations

Although there are various reports supported by TMS, VTSCR expects Report-05 or Report-06 to be used.

TLMS Considerations

VTSCR expects either the TLMS003 or the TLMS043 report to be used as input.

TSM Considerations

VTSCR expects a Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) Volume History Report to be used as input to the VTSCR DD.


VTCMD Utility Program

The VTCMD utility is provided to allow the user to issue Virtuent commands from the mainframe. This utility must be linked as an authorized program into an authorized library under the name VTCMD. It is highly recommended that RACF be used to restrict the use of VTCMD to authorized users only.

An example of the JCL to link VTCMD follows:

//L EXEC PGM=HEWL,PARM='MAP,LET,LIST,NCAL,AC=1' //SYSLMOD DD DSN=USER.LIBRARY,DISP=SHR //SYSUT1 DD DSN=&&SYSUT1,SPACE=(1024,(120,120),,,ROUND), // UNIT=SYSALLDA,DCB=BUFNO=1 //SYSPRINT DD SYSOUT=* //DDIN DD DSN=BTI.MODULE,DISP=SHR //SYSLIN DD * INCLUDE DDIN(VTCMD) NAME VTCMD(R) /*

Like VTSCR (see page 39), VTCMD can be run using a dedicated control device or a dedicated control tape (VOLSER).

To run VTCMD using a control device use the following JCL:

//LOG EXEC PGM=VTCMD,PARM=DEV=xxxx //VTCLOG DD DSN=VT.LOGFILE,DISP=OLD //VTCCMD DD DSN=COMMANDS,DISP=OLD

Where xxxx is the device address of the control device. Typically this device would be offline as described in the previous section on VTSCR.

Alternatively, to run VTCMD using a control tape, use the following JCL:

//LOG EXEC PGM=VTCMD //VTCLOG DD DSN=VT.LOGFILE,DISP=OLD //VTCCTRL DD DSN=VT.CTRL,UNIT=VTAPE,VOL=SER=, DISP=(,CATLG) //VTCCMD DD DSN=COMMANDS,DISP=OLD

You may use the same control tape as you use with VTSCR.

The VTCMD program will read one or more Virtuent commands from the VTCCMD input file, and send each command to Virtuent for execution. A success or failure indication will be logged to the file pointed to by the VTCLOG DD statement. Note that any messages and other textual results of the command that display on the Virtuent console are not returned to the host.

The VTCCTRL file is used to allocate a Virtuent device for use as a control path to pass the Virtuent command(s). Any available virtual tape device can be used for the VTCCTRL device.


The VTCCMD DD statement should point to a list of Virtuent commands to be sent. The LRECL of VTCCMD cannot exceed 256. When possible, it should be created using the NONUM ISPF edit option to avoid sequence numbers at the end of the command line. This can optionally be an in-stream input file (VTCCMD DD *) of commands.

The VTCLOG DD statement points to a sequential file for logging the VTCMD results. This file should have a logical record length (LRECL) of 133. If an error occurs during command processing, the failure will be recorded in the log file, and a non-zero return code from VTCMD will result. The possible error codes are as follows:

0x01 Invalid data length (must be between 1 and 256 bytes)

0x02 Virtuent is configured to not accept Host-initiated console commands

0xFF(-1) A general syntax error occurred. (The Virtuent console error message “VIR891E: Invalid command syntax” was displayed.)

0xFC (-4) An “E” level error other than general syntax error occurred. (A Virtuent console error message other than VIR891E was displayed.)

A sample VTLOG output might be as follows:

VTCMD VER 1.0 VTCTRL = EA82 2004/09/10 12:47:49 CMD ERR=FF: this is an invalid command 2004/09/10 12:47:49 CMD ISSUED: q all 2004/09/10 12:47:49 CMD ERR=FC: q xxxxxxxx 2004/09/10 12:47:49 CMD ISSUED: set size=2g dev=EA80

There are two optional methods of passing the commands to VTCMD. They are:

1. Use of PARM=’WTOR’. This will result in message VIR070I ENTER Virtuent COMMAND being issued to the operator, who can then reply with the Virtuent command. The message will be re-issued after each Virtuent command is accepted until END is entered as the reply. The VTCMD input file is not used if this method is employed. e.g.:

//LOG EXEC PGM=VTCMD,PARM=’WTOR’ //VTCLOG DD DSN=VT.LOGFILE,DISP=OLD //VTCCTRL DD DSN=VT.CTRL,UNIT=VTAPE,VOL=SER=, DISP=(,KEEP)

2. Use of PARM=’CMD=’. This allows the user to pass a single Virtuent command on the EXEC card rather than using the VTCMD input file. This also allows a user to call VTCMD from another program, and pass the command as an entry parameter. e.g.:


//LOG EXEC PGM=VTCMD,PARM=’CMD=Q SPACE’ //VTCLOG DD DSN=VT.LOGFILE,DISP=OLD //VTCCTRL DD DSN=VT.CTRL,UNIT=VTAPE,VOL=SER=, DISP=(,KEEP)

DFSMShsm Considerations

To identify esoteric tape unit names to DFSMShsm, you must first define these esoteric tape unit names to MVS during system I/O generation (HCD). Then, you must include the esoteric tape unit names in a DFSMShsm SETSYS USERUNITTABLE command. Only after they have been successfully specified with the SETSYS USERUNITTABLE command can they be recognized and used as valid unit names with subsequent DFSMShsm commands.

Specifying Tape Compaction

Compaction of the virtual tape data under Z/OS or OS/390 is initiated the same way as for a real compression-capable (IDRC) 3590. That is, the user may specify the use of compaction in the JCL by using the DCB=TRTCH=COMP parameter on the appropriate DD cards for output tapes. No JCL parameter is required for input compressed tapes.

Alternatively, the system programmer may specify the COMPACT=YES parameter in the DEVSUPxx PARMLIB member. This would result in compaction being the default option for all of the virtual drives.

It should be noted that the MDL-100V does not perform data compression. Because the MDL-100V is connected to an open-systems VTL, the MDL relies on the VTL Server to perform compression. The MDL-100V will pass the compression indicator sent by the mainframe along with the data blocks to the VTL. The type of compression used and the efficiency of the compression is based on the capabilities of the VTL the MDL-100V is connected to.

Missing Interrupt Timer

The MVS, OS/390, or z/OS Missing Interrupt Handler (MIH) timer value is often set at a value that is too low for the sometimes lengthy operations that can occur on a large tape cartridge. If an operation takes longer than the MIH value, the operating system will report I/O errors and possibly "box" the device, taking it out of service. For this reason, IBM recommends a MIH timer value of 20 minutes or more for tape drives, including virtual tape drives such as those on Virtuent.

Starting in release 3.10, Virtuent reports a preferred MIH timer value of 3000 seconds (50:00 minutes) to the Host when it is varied online, and the Host should take this value as the Virtuent devices' MIH time.


Prior Virtuent releases did not report a preferred time to the Host, which usually results in too low of a default MIH time. In this case, MIH values for Virtuent tape drives should be added to the IECIOSxx member in SYS1.PARMLIB; if omitted, the default is 3:00 minutes, which may be too low for all circumstances.

To determine the current MIH timer value, you can use the following MVS operator command:

D IOS,MIH,DEV=xxxx

where xxxx is any Virtuent tape drive address.

You can temporarily change the MIH value for Virtuent devices by entering the following MVS operator command:

SETIOS MIH,DEV=(xxxx-xxxx),TIME=mm:ss

where (xxxx-xxxx) is the range of Virtuent tape drive addresses.

For more information about the MIH timer and tape drives, refer to the IBM manual 3490 Magnetic Tape Subsystem Introduction and Planning Guide, number GA32-0297.

Dynamic Device Reconfiguration (DDR) Considerations

Since Virtuent is a virtual tape control unit, it cannot benefit from an operator or system-initiated 'swap' function. Accordingly, following any message 'IGF500I SWAP xxxx TO xxxx - I/O ERROR' for any Virtuent device, the operator must reply NO to the subsequent “## IGF500D REPLY 'YES', DEVICE, OR 'NO' ".

Chapter 6. Using MDL-100V with VSE/ESA 49

Chapter 6. Using MDL-100V with VSE

Overview

In z/OS and OS/390 environments, the Virtuent receives Load Display commands from the operating system. Originally, these commands informed an operator of a mount request for a volume on a specific tape drive by lighting the LCD on the top of the drive. Virtuent uses the Load Display commands to mount scratch tapes or input volumes. However, VSE does not send Load Display commands the way z/OS does. Instead, VSE shows either the job name or the mounted volume serial number in the Load Display command, so mount requests cannot be fulfilled automatically by Virtuent using just the operating system functions. Instead, a utility program must be used to send a Load Display command to Virtuent. The program used depends upon whether you are using Epic, Dynam/T or no TMS.

Configuration Parameters Unique to VSE

When configuring virtual devices for VSE use, there are two device specific parameters used to help direct mount requests and send replies to the VSE console.

OSADDR – This parameter is required to specify a 4 digit address (0180) for each drive to use when replying to a mount request from a TMS or VIRMOUNT. Note: There may be a difference between the real channel address and the VSE address when running VSE under VM.

GROUP – Used to define several devices for use by one VSE system. When more than one VSE LPAR, CPU, or guest share a Virtuent controller, you must set up a separate group for each VSE. This the screen scraper or the VIRMOUNT program to ensure that when a mount request is received, the volume is mounted on a virtual address belonging to that VSE.

See the section ‘Adding Devices’ in the chapter Configuring Virtual Devices for more detailed information.


VSE Programs

The following VSE programs are supplied with all Virtuent-based controllers:

VIRMOUNT– Utility for mounting volumes in a non tape manager environment or for some specialized situations such as mounting an unlabeled tape.

VIRSSE and VIRSSD – REXX scripts for the EPIC or Dynam/T environments that are run continuously, usually in a dynamic partition.

VIRLDSPL – An assembler subprogram that is invoked by the REXX scripts.

VIREPSCR and VIRDTSCR – Programs are used to scratch volumes used by Epic and Dynam/T respectively. Uses a module supplied by the TMS vender to access the catalog and search for volumes in scratch status. The volume is placed in scratch status and will eventually be overwritten as space is used up, but it is not erased during this execution.

VIREPERA and VIRDTERA - Programs are used to erase the contents of volumes used by Epic and Dynam/T respectively. Uses a module supplied by the TMS vender to access the catalog and search for volumes in scratch status. If the volume has already been scratched by the VIRxxSCR program, then it will be erased to free up space. Use of these programs is optional.

VIRMAINT – Program reads commands on SYSIPT and can be used in a non tape manager environment to scratch, erase, or unscratch volumes. It can also be used in TMS environments. Note: Use of the erase function can result in lost data if used improperly. Make sure of your SYSIPT data when running this program.

VIRCMD – Program reads SYSIPT and sends console commands or script execution commands to the unit.

VIRDTEXT – Dynam/T message exit program that may be used instead of VIRSSD screen scraper. Invoked by DTOPTIONS MSGHOOK(VIRDTEXT)


VSE Sample Jobs

Please note: These are samples of JCL and may need to be modified to fit you environment and library requirements.

JMOUNT – Execute the VIRMOUNT program

JVIRSSE and JVIRSSD – Executes the Epic or Dynam/T screen scraper REXX script (VIRSSE or VIRSSD).

JEPSCR and JDTSCR – Executes the Epic or Dynam/T scratch utility (VIREPSCR or VIRDTSCR).

JEPERA and JDTERA – Executes the Epic or Dynam/T erase utility (VIREPERA or VIRDTERA).

JVIRMNT – Executes the VIRMAINT utility.

JVIRCMD – Executes the VIRCMD utility.

Tape Drives

A tape drive address must be configured in VSE for each active virtual tape drive defined to Virtuent. In addition, when a tape management system like Dynam/T, CA-EPIC, or BIM-EPIC is in use one tape drive address will be reserved for use as a control device and will not be available for use by VSE applications. It is not recommended that you mix device types on one unit, but if you do so, make sure you allocate device types on a control unit boundary (usually 16 devices per CU).

VSE

You may use the following device types:

3590B (TPA) Mode EML

EPIC ERD

3590B - ADD UCB=CUU,DEV=TPA,FEAT=TI


VIRMOUNT Utility

If your VSE system uses Dynam/T, CA-EPIC, or BIM-EPIC tape management skip this section and follow the instructions in the next section for setting up the VIRSSD or VIRSSE procedure to capture tape mount requests.

The VIRMOUNT utility is provided for VSE systems not running tape management software. VIRMOUNT is a batch program that issues a request to Virtuent to mount a volume on a virtual tape address. Job control for VIRMOUNT can be added to any batch job needing to mount a virtual tape volume.

VIRMOUNT is provided on the MDL Utilities CD in the file /UTIL/VSE/VIRMOUNT.

To run VIRMOUNT, you must assign SYS004 to a virtual address as a control device.

Then set the following parms separated by commas:

1. A 6 digit volser (or SCRTCH or a synonym, if used)

2. S N or A for standard labeled, nonlabeled, or ASCII labeled

3. CUU device address to be used. May be ANY to mount a volume on any free virtual address Or *** to cause the volume to be mounted on the control device NOTE - *** FUNCTIONS LIKE AN MVS MOUNT AND NO ERROR INFO IS RETURNED IF THE MOUNT FAILS FOR ANY REASON. MOUNT REQUESTS FOR OTHER ADDRESSES WILL RETURN ERRORS IF THE MOUNT FAILS.

Examples:

// ASSGN SYS004,280 // EXEC VIRMOUNT,SIZE=AUTO,PARM='FTAPES,S,***’ This will mount a standard labeled scratch tape using the synonym FTAPES on the control drive address (0280). // ASSGN SYS004,280 // EXEC VIRMOUNT,SIZE=AUTO,PARM='V00030,S,281’ This will mount standard labeled volume V00030 on address 281. // ASSGN SYS004,280 // EXEC VIRMOUNT,SIZE=AUTO,PARM='SCRTCH,S,ANY’ This will mount a standard labeled scratch tape using no synonym on any available address in same GROUP as 280.

It is important to unload the virtual volume when it is no longer needed, either in your program or via JCL (MTC, etc.) Otherwise the volume will remain mounted and the address will not be free for mounts.


VIRMAINT Utility

Primarily intended for non-tape manager environments, but can be used in special cases with Dynam/T and EPIC as well. This program can perform three separate functions on individual volumes.

1. The S option is used to scratch volumes and make them available for reuse, but the volume contents still exist.

2. The U option is used to unscratch a volume already in scratch status. 3. The E option is used to erase the contents of an already scratched volume.

Assign SYS005 to an available virtual tape address. The program accepts input from SYSIPT and each input line can contain a single command. Terminate the input with a /*.

You would rarely have a use for the unscratch U option. The scratch S function would be the most commonly used of the three. Normally the automatic reclamation of space would be sufficient, but you might find it useful to free up space manually on occasion with the E option.

Examples:

// JOB VIRMAINT PERFORM MAINTENANCE ON VTAPE // ASSGN SYS005,181 ASSIGN TO AN AVAILABLE VTAPE ADDRESS // EXEC VIRMAINT,SIZE=AUTO S B00000 (Scratch) U B00000 (Unscratch) S D00000 (Scratch) E D00000 (Erase the previously scratched volume)) /* /&


Dynam/T Support

You may choose to use either the VIRSSD screen scraper or the Dynam/T message exit, but not both. The advantage of the message exit is that you do not have the overhead of a REXX script (fairly low) and continuous use of a dynamic partition. If you already are using a message exit, you may choose to use the screen scraper instead. No support is provided for integrating message exits. For more information about the message exit, see the Dynam/T documentation.

You should set your DTOPTIONS to include the following:

ACCEPT(YES)

PROTECT(YES)

CATCHK(NO)

OWNCHK(YES)

STOP(NO) (recommended for performance)

VIRSSD Utility for Dynam/T Operation

Installation of VIRSSD is only required if your system is running Dynam/T and not using the message exit . Note: Virtuent volume serial numbers must begin with a user selectable one character prefix when Dynam/T is used.

The REXX procedure VIRSSD captures mount requests issued by Dynam/T and sends them to Virtuent. VIRSSD runs continuously under VSE. VIRSSD uses an assembler program named VIRLDSPL to send load display messages to Virtuent.

Three installation steps must be completed to successfully install VIRSSD:

1. You must catalog the VIRLDSPL phase into a VSE Library.

2. You must catalog the VIRSSD procedure into a VSE library.

3. You must tailor the JCL and set the correct parms for the REXX script

VIRLDSPL is provided on the Virtuent Utilities CD in /UTIL/VSE. The file includes the assembler source code along with sample JCL statements for cataloging VIRLDSPL.

VIRSSD is provided on the Virtuent Utilities CD in /UTIL/VSE.

Once VIRLDSPL and VIRSSD are cataloged you can tailor the JCL to send mount requests to Virtuent.

The parameters separated by spaces are as follows:

Single digit indicating the number of units or nodes supported (1 – 6)

One character OWNER ID used for the first volume prefix and library


Synonym used for scratch requests for the first library. If no synonym is specified on the unit, use SCRTCH.

Optional parms if more than one prefix/library is used:

One character OWNER ID used for the second volume prefix and library

Synonym used for scratch requests for the second library. If no synonym is specified on the unit, use SCRTCH.

One character OWNER ID used for the third volume prefix and library

Synonym used for scratch requests for the third library. If no synonym is specified on the unit, use SCRTCH.

Sample execute statement for Dynam/T environment: // EXEC REXX=VIRSSD,PARM='3 A SCRTCH B BTAPES D DTAPES'

This sample statement specifies 3 nodes are used. Scratch mount requests for volumes with OWNER=A or input volumes with A as the first character will be processed and the scratch volume mount requests will use no synonym. Scratch mount requests for volumes with OWNER=B or input volumes with a B prefix will be processed and the scratch volume mount requests will use synonym BTAPES. Scratch mount requests for volumes with OWNER=D or input volumes with a D prefix will be processed and the scratch volume mount requests will use synonym DTAPES.

Once VIRSSD is executing you may terminate it by typing:

MSG xx, DATA=HI

Where xx is the partition ID of the partition where VIRSSD is executing.

You may also manually mount volumes using VIRSSD. This is be useful when you want to mount a non-labeled volume or mount a volume for VM to use. The command format to manually mount a volume is:

MSG xx,DATA=vvvvvv dev l

vvvvvv = volume serial number (VOLSER) of the tape to be mounted or SCRTCH (or an alias for SCRTCH)

dev is either the device name on the VIR controller to be used or ‘ANY’ to allow any device to be used. Note: the device name is not necessarily the same as the VSE CUU, particularly in a VM environment.

l is the label type. S=STANDARD, A=ASCII, or N=UNLABELED.


Dynam/T Message Exit

The supplied exit program , VIRDTEXT, requires that user parameters be specified just as the REXX script does and should produce the same results. Look for the user parms section near the start of the assembler source code:

* ******************************************************************** * START OF USER PARAMETERS * * ******************************************************************** VTPPARMS , NODES=1, NODE1=0000, NODE2=0000, NODE3=0000, NODE4=0000, NODE5=0000, NODE6=0000, OWNID1=*, SYN1=SCRTCH, OWNID2=*, SYN2=SCRTCH, OWNID3=*, SYN3=SCRTCH * ******************************************************************** * END of USER PARAMETERS * * ********************************************************************

Change only the parms that apply to your environment. You must have at least one node, a node1 address, and an ownid1 specified. Be careful of continuation columns, etc. The node addresses refer to the control drive address on each node for this VSE. If you have, for instance two nodes with one prefix (A) and volume range (A00000-A99999), it might look like this:

Nodes=2 Node1=0180 Node2=0390 Ownid1=A

To invoke the exit program after it is catalogued, set

DTOPTIONS MSGHOOK(VIRDTEXT)

And restart Dynam/T


Using Dynam/T

The VIRSSD REXX script or Dynam/T message exit look for CADT008D and CADT004D mount messages issued by Dynam/T. CADT008D messages (mount a scratch volume) are checked for the required owner id and are ignored if it does not match. The CADT004D messages (mount an input volume) are checked for a volume label starting with the same character(s) as the owner ID and are ignored if the there is not a match.

When the Dynam/T mount message indicates that the input or scratch volume belongs to Virtuent, the volume will be mounted on an available virtual tape address, and the CADTxxxx message will receive a reply with the drive address.

Create New Tape Data Sets

JCL statements that define new tape data sets to the Dynam/T catalog which will reside on a Virtuent volume must include the OWNER=c, and CLOSE=UNL parameters. The CLOSE=UNL parameter is important to ensure that the virtual volume is not left mounted after the job completes.

Example – Define a Dataset for the VTC

// JOB DEFINE // EXEC DYNCAT DEFINE 'VIR.TEST.1' TAPE OWNER=B CLOSE=UNL /* /&

Prepare a Scratch Pool

Virtuent has a console command (INIT) used to initialize scratch tape volumes in groups by specifying a starting volume number and the number of volumes to create. You should use the following example to create a scratch pool in the DYNAM catalog and specify the same volume numbers as you created on the Virtuent controller. Note that the first character of the volume numbers must match the Owner ID used for VIRSSD or VIRSSE and the dataset definitions.

NOTE: You must specify PROTECT=YES in your Dynam/T option macro to allow volumes defined with SCRPOOL to be opened by Virtuent without physically initializing them.

It is extremely important that Virtuent volumes have been predefined with SCRPOOL.


If Virtuent mounts a scratch volume which has not been defined with SCRPOOL, Dynam/T will reissue the mount message. Conversely, if you have plenty of volumes defined in the scratch pool, but you have not created them on the virtual library with using the Virtuent INIT function, the mounts will not be satisfied and you will get messages on the Virtuent console that there are no volumes available.

EXAMPLE – Prepare a Scratch Pool for the VTC

// JOB DYNAM SCRPOOL // EXEC DYNCAT SCRPOOL FIRSTVOL=A00000 LASTVOL=A99999 DEN=NO OWNER=A /* /&

Volume Scratching and Erasing with Dynam/T

When tapes are changed to scratch status in the Dynam/T catalog, it is necessary to inform Virtuent to scratch the virtual tape files associated with those volumes; making the volumes available again as scratch tapes. The VIRDTSCR program is provided for that purpose.

VIRDTSCR is provided on the Virtuent Utilities CD in the file /UTIL/VSE/VIRDTSCR. The file includes the assembler source code along with sample JCL statements for cataloging VIRDTSCR. Access to the vendor supplied DYNACC object module is required. Modify the JCL to meet your installation’s needs and catalog the VIRDTSCR phase into a VSE library.

The sample JCL below runs the VIRDTSCR utility to scratch volumes on the tape library. You must specify a parm with the owner ID. If you have more than one library prefix, you need to execute the program again with that owner ID.

// JOB JSCRTCH SCRATCH VIRTUAL TAPE VOLUMES // ASSGN SYS005,421 ASSIGN TO AN AVAILABLE DEVICE ADDRESS // EXEC VIRDTSCR,SIZE=AUTO,PARM=’B’ // EXEC VIRDTSCR,SIZE=AUTO,PARM=’C’ /&

Once volumes are scratched on the tape library, they are eligible to be overwritten in the future should the storage capacity reach a predefined threshold. If you wish to free up space before that, VIRDTERA can be used. This will look in the Dynam/T catalog for scratch volumes that match the volume prefix in the user supplied parm and, if the volume is scratched on the virtual tape library, it will be erased down to the VOL1 and HDR1 labels.

VIRDTERA is provided on the Virtuent Utilities CD in the file /UTIL/VSE/VIRDTERA. The file includes the assembler source code along with sample JCL statements for cataloging VIRDTERA. Access to the vendor supplied DYNACC object module is required. Modify the JCL to meet your installation’s needs and catalog the VIRDTERA phase into a VSE library.


The sample JCL below runs the VIRDTERA utility to erase scratch volumes on the library. You must specify a parm with the owner ID. If you have more than one library prefix, you need to execute the program again with that owner ID.

// JOB JERASE ERASE VIRTUAL TAPE VOLUMES // ASSGN SYS005,421 ASSIGN TO AN AVAILABLE DEVICE ADDRESS // EXEC VIRDTERA,SIZE=AUTO,PARM=’B‘ // EXEC VIRDTERA,SIZE=AUTO,PARM=’C‘ /&

BIM-EPIC ACL Support

The support described in this section is provided by BIM-EPIC Release 6.4B and above. BIM-EPIC users with a single Virtuent controller or multiple Virtuent controllers that do not share volumes, are encouraged to use this option. Synchronization between the BIM-EPIC catalog and the Virtuent controller is done automatically.

BIM-EPIC supports the Virtuent controller as an Automatic Cartridge Loader (ACL) device in the same manner it supports ACL’s from other vendors.

BIM-EPIC uses an application program interface (API) to communicate directly with Virtuent in order to mount, scratch, or unscratch Virtuent-resident tape volumes. None of the Virtuent supplied VSE utilities described elsewhere in this manual are used in these activities.

The “BIM-EPIC Installation and System Guide” describes how Virtuent is defined to BIM-EPIC.

BIM-EPIC tape pools must be used for Virtuent-resident tape volumes. Their definition must correspond to the Virtuent volser prefix used. The “ MAS Support” section of the “BIM-EPIC Installation and System Guide” describes how this is done. (Note: Mainframe Appliance for Storage or MAS was the original product name for Virtuent-based controllers). All references to tape volume serial numbers required are now user definable as a one character prefix. IE: B or A, etc. followed by 5 digits. Make sure the tape pool consists of the same volume serial numbers as you define with the Virtuent INIT function.

For each VSE BIM-EPIC system (VM Guest, LPAR, or physical CPU) that will use the same Virtuent controller, a "control drive" must be reserved to communicate with Virtuent. This drive is not usable for tape I/O purposes, but is required for BIM-EPIC's internal use.


VIRSSE Utility for EPIC Operation

Installation of VIRSSE is only required if your system is running EPIC and you are not using the BIM ACL support.

The REXX procedure VIRSSE captures mount requests issued by EPIC and sends them to Virtuent. VIRSSE runs continuously under VSE. VIRSSE uses an assembler program named VIRLDSPL to send load display messages to Virtuent.

Three installation steps must be completed to successfully install VIRSSE:

1. You must catalog the VIRLDSPL phase into a VSE Library.

2. You must catalog the VIRSSE procedure into a VSE library.

3. You must tailor the JCL and set the correct parms for the REXX script.

VIRLDSPL is provided on the Virtuent Utilities CD in /UTIL/VSE. The file includes the assembler source code along with sample JCL statements for cataloging VIRLDSPL.

VIRSSE is provided on the Virtuent Utilities CD in /UTIL/VSE.

Once VIRLDSPL and VIRSSE are cataloged you can tailor the JCL to send mount requests to Virtuent.

The parameters separated by spaces are as follows:

Single digit indicating the number of units or nodes supported (1 – 6).

One character Pool ID used for the first volume pool and library.

Synonym used for scratch requests for the first library. If no synonym is specified on the unit, use SCRTCH.

Optional parms if more than one prefix/library is used:

One character Pool ID used for the second volume pool and library.

Synonym used for scratch requests for the second library. If no synonym is specified on the unit, use SCRTCH.

One character Pool ID used for the third volume pool and library.

Synonym used for scratch requests for the third library. If no synonym is specified on the unit, use SCRTCH.

Sample execute statement for EPIC environment:

// EXEC REXX=VIRSSE,PARM='3 A SCRTCH B BTAPES DTAPES'

This sample specifies 3 nodes are being used. Scratch mount requests for volumes with POOL=A or input volumes with A as the first character will be processed and the scratch volume mount requests will use no synonym. Scratch mount requests for volumes with POOL=B or input volumes with a B prefix will be processed and the


scratch volume mount requests will use synonym BTAPES. Scratch mount requests for volumes with OWNER=D or input volumes with a D prefix will be processed and the scratch volume mount requests will use synonym DTAPES.

Once VIRSSE is executing you may terminate it by typing:

MSG xx, DATA=HI

Where xx is the partition ID of the partition where VIRSSE is executing.

You may also manually mount volumes using VIRSSE. This is be useful when you want to mount a non-labeled volume or mount a volume for VM to use. The command format to manually mount a volume is:

MSG xx,DATA=vvvvvv dev l

vvvvvv = volume serial number (VOLSER) of the tape to be mounted or SCRTCH (or an alias for SCRTCH)

dev is either the device name on the VIR controller to be used or ‘ANY’ to allow any device to be used. Note: the device name is not necessarily the same as the VSE CUU, particularly in a VM environment.

l is the label type. S=STANDARD, A=ASCII, or N=UNLABELED.

Using CA-EPIC or BIM-EPIC

The VIRSSE REXX script looks for mount messages issued by EPIC. VIRSSE will only process EP001 and EP002 messages for normal operation. The EP002 messages (mount a scratch volume) are checked for the Pool ID field and ignored if it is not in the message. For VIRSSE to work properly you must specify TPL=c when defining data sets to the EPIC catalog. The EP001 messages (mount an input volume) are checked for a volume label starting with the Pool ID character and are ignored if the volume label is anything else. Note that EP164 mount messages are also processed for the sequential initialization function only.

When the message indicates that the input or scratch volume belongs to a Virtuent controller, a volume will be mounted on an available virtual tape address, and the EP001 or EP002 message will receive a reply with the drive address.

The following options should be used EPIC. EPS102=YES EPS028=YES EPS033=YES UNLOAD=YES EPS095=YES AUTOSTP=NO (recommended for performance)

Virtuent has a console command (INIT) used to initialize scratch tape volumes in groups by specifying a starting volume number and the number of volumes to create.


You should use the following example to create a scratch pool in the EPIC catalog and specify the same volume numbers as you created on the Virtuent library. When the dummy dataset is deleted in the last statement, all of the added volumes will be put in scratch status. The INIT command should specify EPIC=YES or the volumes will not be recognized as owned by EPIC.

NOTE: You must also set the special option EPS033=YES at EPIC startup in order to use the tape defined in the scratch pool without physically initializing them.

It is extremely important that Virtuent volumes have been predefined to EPIC in this way. If Virtuent mounts a scratch volume which has not been defined, EPIC will reissue the mount message. Conversely, if you have plenty of volumes defined in the scratch pool, but you have not created them on the Virtuent library using the Virtuent INIT function, the mounts will not be satisfied and you will get messages on the Virtuent console that there are no volumes available.

EXAMPLE - Prepare scratch pools

// JOB DEFINE A DUMMY DN AND ADD VERSIONS // EXEC TSIDMNT // JOB TSIDPOL // LIBDEF PHASE,CATALOG=EPICLIB.EPIC BIM-EPIC INSTALL LIBRARY // LIBDEF *,SEARCH=EPICLIB.EPIC BIM-EPIC INSTALL LIBRARY // OPTION CATAL // EXEC ASSEMBLY POOL01 TSIDPOL (E,E00000,E00100),(F,F00000,F00100), X (G,G00000,G00100),TAPE=YES TSIDMAP END=YES END /* // EXEC LNKEDT /* SET SDL TSIDPOL,SVA /* /& /* /&

Creating New Tape Data Sets

When you define tape data sets to the CA-EPIC catalog that are to reside on the Virtuent library, include either the OWN=cc parameter (one or two characters) or the TPL=c parameter. Do not mix them. All Virtuent owned datasets used for a single EPIC catalog must use the same one or two character ID.

EXAMPLE – Define a Tape Dataset for Virtuent Using a Pool ID

// JOB DEFINE A DATASET // EXEC TSIDMNT CAT 'VIR.TEST.1' MOD=00 CYC=2 TPL=B /&


Volume Scratching and Erasing with EPIC

When tapes are changed to scratch status in the EPIC catalog, it is necessary to inform Virtuent to scratch the virtual tape files associated with those volumes in order to make the volumes available again as scratch tapes. The VIREPSCR program is provided for that purpose.

VIREPSCR is provided on the Virtuent Utilities CD in the file /UTIL/VSE/VIREPSCR. The file includes the assembler source code along with sample JCL statements for cataloging VIREPSCR. Access to the vendor supplied TSIDAC2 object module is required. Modify the JCL to meet your installation’s needs and catalog the VIREPSCR phase into a VSE library.

The sample JCL below runs the VIREPSCR utility to remove scratch volumes from the Virtuent library. You must specify a parm with the Pool ID. If you have more than one Pool prefix, you need to execute the program again with that Pool ID.

// JOB JSCRTCH SCRATCH VIRTUAL TAPE VOLUMES // ASSGN SYS005,421 ASSIGN TO AN AVAILABLE DEVICE ADDRESS // EXEC VIREPSCR,SIZE=AUTO,PARM=’B’ // EXEC VIREPSCR,SIZE=AUTO,PARM=’C’ /&

Once volumes are scratched on the Virtuent library, they are eligible to be overwritten in the future should the storage capacity reach a predefined threshold. If you wish to free up space before that, VIREPERA can be used. This will look in the EPIC catalog for scratched volumes matched the Pool ID in the user supplied parm and, if the volume is scratched on Virtuent, it will be erased down to the VOL1 and HDR1 labels.

VIREPERA is provided on the Virtuent Utilities CD in the file /UTIL/VSE/VIREPERA. The file includes the assembler source code along with sample JCL statements for cataloging VIREPERA. Access to the vendor supplied DYNACC object module is required. Modify the JCL to meet your installation’s needs and catalog the VIREPERA phase into a VSE library.

The sample JCL below runs the VIREPERA utility to erase scratch volumes on the Virtuent library. You must specify a parm with the Pool ID. If you have more than one Pool ID, you need to execute the program again with that Pool ID.

// JOB JERASE ERASE VIRTUAL TAPE VOLUMES // ASSGN SYS005,421 ASSIGN TO AN AVAILABLE DEVICE ADDRESS // EXEC VIREPERA,SIZE=AUTO,PARM=’B‘ // EXEC VIREPERA,SIZE=AUTO,PARM=’C‘ /&


All Environments

Multiple VSE Images

If you are using Dynam/T, CA-EPIC, or BIM-EPIC and you are running multiple VSE guest machines under VM or multiple VSE LPARs you need to group virtual tape drives together by VSE system on the Virtuent controller. To do this code the GROUP parameter when configuring virtual tape drives All tape drives attached to the same VSE guest, including the control drive used by VIRSSD and VIRSSE , must be assigned the same group number. Virtuent uses the group number assigned to the VIRSSD and VIRSSE control drive to determine which other drives are available for responding to a mount request received from a specific VSE machine (guest).

Specifying Tape Compaction

Virtuent supports write compression. In VSE, write compression is activated by specifying a mode for the tape drive. The default value can be set on the ADD statement(s) at IPL time.

Alternatively, the compression option can be changed on individual assign statements or by TMS data set definitions.

No mode set parameter is required to read compressed data.

It should be noted that while the compaction option should significantly reduce the amount of storage required on the virtual tape library, there will be some impact on the data transfer performance compared to uncompressed data. The efficiency of the compaction as well as the performance impact will vary depending upon the data.

The file-size values reported by Virtuent “QUERY” command as well as the awsdir and awsprint utilities reflect the compressed data size, not the original uncompressed size.

Sending Console Commands and Running Scripts from VSE

The VIRCMD program may be used to send one or more commands or run script requests to a Virtuent controller. This command requires special settings in the Virtuent configuration in order to function. The command is read from SYSIPT, one command per line. For valid commands, see the section Virtual Tape Operator Commands. Scripts are invoked by the RUN command as follows:

RUN[WAIT[(seconds)]] nnn [optional parameters ...] The RUN command is only honored when sent from the Host (e.g. with the VSE VIRCMD program); it cannot be entered directly at the Virtuent console, or from the vtcmd program.

seconds is an optional number of seconds to wait for the command completion if the WAIT option is specified. This value must be specified within parenthesis. (See RUNWAIT below for more information.)


nnn is a number that identifies the script to be run. The full script name that will be invoked is /etc/bti/userscripts/scriptnnn. Leading zeros are stripped from the nnn, value specified, so specifying either 007 or 7 would invoke script7.

The optional parameters will be passed as command line arguments to scriptnnn.

Scripts invoked by the RUN command will run under the Virtuent application's user ID, vtape. If a script or the program(s) invoked by it need to run under any other user ID, it is the user’s responsibility to put the necessary command(s) inside the script to make it do so.

Scripts invoked by the RUN command will not be able to read from standard input (the keyboard). stdin will be closed before starting the script process, so any program attempting to read from stdin will get an error (end of file). This doesn't prevent redirection of input to programs from within the scripts.

All output from the scripts will by default be discarded. If a script's output needs to be retained (in a file, for example), it is the user’s responsibility to put the necessary redirection command(s) inside the script to make it do so. The feedback returned to the Host from Virtuent says whether or not the Virtuent command itself (in this case, RUN) was successfully executed. This says nothing about whether the invoked script itself, or anything run in the script, successfully accomplished anything.

If the RUN command without the WAIT option is used, Virtuent will return status to the Host as soon as the RUN command is executed; the invoked script will continue to run asynchronously for however long it takes. There will be no notification to the Host when (or if) the script ends. Additional commands could be sent to Virtuent while the script is executing in the background.

If the RUNWAIT variation is used and the RUNWAIT command execution is successful, Virtuent will wait for some time for the script to complete before returning status to the Host. You can specify the optional maximum wait period in seconds. Syntax requires the wait period to be specified in parenthesis to distinguish it from the script number. If omitted, the default is 110 seconds. If the script completes within the time limit specified, Virteunt will return a successful status code to the Host. If the script does not complete within the time limit specified, Virtuent will cancel the script at the expiration of the time limit and return a failure status code to the Host.

With the WAIT option, the drive will be "busy" executing a Load Display (x'0F') CCW throughout the wait period. If the wait for completion exceeds the Host's missing interrupt time limit, the Host application will abend because of a missing interrupt.


Example:

// JOB JCMD SEND COMMANDS TO VIRTUENT // ASSGN SYS005,421 ASSIGN TO AN AVAILABLE DEVICE ADDRESS // EXEC VIRCMD,SIZE=AUTO Q SPACE (display storage usage) UNREADY 425 (make a virtual drive not ready) UNLOAD 425 (unload a virtual drive) RUN 2 (run script #2) RUN 21 (run script 21) RUNWAIT (300) 32 p1 s2 (run script 32 with a time limit of 300 seconds and pass 2 arguments, p1 and s2) /* /&

Chapter 7. Using MDL-100V with VM 67

Chapter 7. Using MDL-100V with VM MDL-100V tape devices can be used by VM just as any other 3590 tape drive would be used. Bus-Tech provides two small utilities for VM / CMS. VTSCR is a scratch utility that can be used to scratch VOLSERs on the MDL that are no longer needed. VTCMD is a command utility that will send MDL commands to a tape device on the MDL-100V.

Like VSE, VM does not send any Load Display CCWs over the channel when a tape volume needs to be mounted. There are 3 methods that can be used to send mount requests (Load Display CCWs) to MDL:

1. Use DMSG utility for CMS. This utility, available as part of a VM download package from IBM, is specifically intended to send a LOAD DISPLAY CCW to a tape device. The CMS user simply issues the DMSG command with a tape device address and VOLSER. MDL recognizes the Load Display CCW and mounts the VOLSER on the drive.

2. Use VTCMD and send an MDL Mount command to the MDL. This is equivalent to using DMSG except that the MDL MOUNT command allows you to mount the VOLSER on a different device than the device the VTCMD uses for sending the command.

3. You can create (or modify) your own program to send a standard Load Display CCW to the MDL.

Installing VTSCR and VTCMD

To install VTSCR and VTCMD in VM you will need to upload files from the MDL Utilities CD to your mainframe. The files you will need are located in the direct /UTIL/VM and are named VTSCR.MODULE and VTCMD.MODULE. You will need to FTP them to the system in binary, and set FIX 1024 before the put of VTSCR MODULE and VTCMD MODULE as in:

ftp> bin ftp> quote site fix 1024 ftp> put vtscr.module ftp> put vtcmd.module

Once they are transferred, they must then be unpacked:

copyfile vtscr module a (unpack copyfile vtcmd module a (unpack

The modules are now ready to be executed.


VTSCR

The VM version of the VTSCR utility can be used to keep your tape management system scratch status in sync with the MDL scratch status.

VTSCR runs under CMS on the mainframe and sends volume scratch requests to the MDL. Since a tape management system (TMS) may dynamically release tapes back to scratch status, VTSCR should be periodically run to maintain synchronization between the TMS catalog and the MDL. To use VTSCR the user must create a TMS scratch report and then input that scratch report into VTSCR.

VTSCR scans the scratch report for MDL owned volumes and sends the appropriate scratch requests to the MDL.

VTSCR can be executed using the following syntax:

VTSCR device report_type parameters

where:

device is the attached unit address of an MDL tape drive to be used as the control device. If there are multiple tape libraries being used to contain the MDL virtual volumes, the user must select a tape device address associated with the library containing the volumes to be scratched.

report_type is:

VMTAPE – indicating VTSCR will process a VM:Tape Summary report from TMCRPT1

If you are not using VMTAPE please contact Bus-Tech Support.

parameters can include the following options:

ALLVOLS - indicating that MDL will allow scratch of volumes with data set names of all blanks. Normally, a volser with a blank DSN is considered to have never been used, and therefore does not need to be scratched.

DEBUG - will cause additional information to be logged into the VTLOG LISTING file. This option should be used when VTSCR is not working properly and the log file should be provided to Bus-Tech support along with the problem description

FREESPACE - may be used to request that the space be occupied by the VOLSERs being scratched be returned to the library as free space. The default of VTSCR is simply to reclassify volumes being scratched as eligible for scratch allocation requests, without freeing up the space occupied by that


volume. FREESPACE requires the volumes to already be in scratch status. To immediately free the space VTSCR will need to be run twice. The first execution should be run without the FREESPACE parameter to scratch the volumes and the second execution should be run with the FREESPACE parameter to release the space.

Keep in mind that MDL will automatically free the space of scratched volumes when it needs space so it is generally not necessary to run VTSCR with the FREESPACE parameter.

NODATECHK - allows volumes to be created and scratched on the same day. MDL will normally check the creation date of a tape volume and will not allow any volume to be created and scratched in the same 24 hour period.

NODSNCHK - MDL will normally validates Data Set Names if found in the scratch report as part of the scratch process. A scratch will not successfully complete if the data set name in the scratch report does not match the data set name in the HDR1 label on the volume being scratched. NODSNCHK prevents the dataset name check from being performed and is not recommended for normal use.

PREFIX - specifies a string of prefix characters that will limit processing to volumes whose volume serial numbers (VOLSER) begin with the character(s) specified. Unless otherwise specified by the PREFLEN parameter, the default prefix length is 2. ‘PREFIX AAABAC’ would cause VTSCR to process only volumes whose serial numbers begin with AA, AB, or AC. Coding this parameter prevents VTSCR from trying to unnecessarily scratch volumes that are not stored on the MDL. If no PREFIX is specified VTSCR will process the entire scratch list.

If the string of prefixes exceeds 8 characters, use parentheses to delineate the entire string of prefixes. Separate each group by 1 blank, with at most 8 characters in each group. For example, PREFIX (00010203 04050607 08)

PREFLEN - specifies a single digit between 1 and 5. This value replaces the default prefix length of 2 for the ‘PREFIX’ parameter. ’PREFIX ABCD PREFLEN 1’ will cause VTSCR to process only volumes whose serial numbers begin with A, B, C, or D.


For example:

VTSCR 180 VMTAPE NODSNCHK PREFIX 010203 DEBUG

VTSCR will log its activities in VTLOG LISTING A, and will expect its input scratch report in VTSCR INPUT A.

The output VTLOG LISTING A file will maintain a history of the results of each delete request. The file should be a fixed lrecl 133 file. If an error occurs during a scratch request (such as scratching a non-existent volume) the failure will be recorded in the log file, the program will continue with the next scratch request, and a non-zero return code from the program execution will result.

The VTSCR INPUT A file must point to the scratch report that the user has created using the appropriate TMS utility. The scratch report must be generated with a logical record length (LRECL) of 133.

To avoid any possibility of confusion, it is strongly recommended that a single sequence be used that generates a current scratch list file and then runs the VTSCR utility against that file. In this way there is no possibility of accidentally running the VTSCR program against an old scratch report and causing the TMS and the MDL to become out of sync.

In addition, since there is a slight time interval between the creation of the extract file and the processing of the report, the MDL will not scratch a volume that has been created today. Additionally, the utility

will not execute against a scratch report that was not created the same day.

The Scratch utility will use the data set name (dsname) information from the scratch report to verify volumes being scratched. If the data set name written in the volume header does not match the data set name on the scratch report for that volume then the scratch request will be rejected.

In must be emphasized that once the VTSCR utility has completed, tapes that were successfully scratched by the utility can be re-used or erased at anytime.


VTCMD

The VTCMD program will read one or more MDL commands from the VTCMD INPUT A file and send each command to the MDL for execution.

The VTCMD INPUT A file should be a fixed lrecl 133 file, and contain a list of MDL commands to be sent.

Optionally, the user can enter commands manually rather than input them from a file. A success or failure indication will be logged to the VTLOG LISTING file. Hoever, note that any messages and other textual results of the command that normally display on the MDL console are not returned to the host.

VTCMD can be executed using the following syntax:

VTCMD device OPER

where:

device defines the attached unit address of an MDL tape drive to be used as the control device. If there are multiple tape libraries being used, the user must select a tape device address associated with the library where the commands are to be executed.

OPER is an optional parameter that when specified will cause VTCMD to prompt the user to enter commands from the terminal rather than use the VTCMD INPUT file. When prompted, the user can enter CMD=command_string. When all commands have been processed, enter END to terminate the program.

For example, entering:

VTCMD 180

will cause VTCMD to read commands from the VTCMD INPUT A file and sen them to the tape drive attached to address 180. The results will be logged VTLOG LISTING A.

Alternatively,

VTCMD 180 OPER

Will result in a command prompt allowing the user to enter MDL commands. VTCMD will continue to prompt until the user types END.

The output VTLOG LISTING A file will maintain a history of the results of each command. The file should be a fixed lrecl 133 file. If an


error occurs during a command request (such as invalid syntax) the failure will be recorded in the log file, the program will continue with the next command, and a non-zero return code from the program execution will result. The possible error codes are as

follows:

0x01 Invalid data length (must be between 1 and 256 bytes)

0x02 The MDL is configured to not accept Host-initiated console commands

0xFF(-1) A general syntax error occurred. (The MDL console error message “MDL891E: Invalid command syntax” was displayed.)

0xFC (-4) An “E” level error other than general syntax error occurred. (A MDL console error message other than MDL891E was displayed.)

A sample VTLOG output might be as follows:

VTCMD VER 1.0 VTCCTRL = EA82

2004/09/10 12:47:49 CMD ERR=FF: this is an invalid command

2004/09/10 12:47:49 CMD ISSUED: q all

2004/09/10 12:47:49 CMD ERR=FC: q xxxxxxxx

2004/09/10 12:47:49 CMD ISSUED: set size=2g dev=EA80

Using VTCMD to Mount a VOLSER

VTCMD can be used to mount a specific tape volume (VOLSER) on an MDL tape drive using the MDL LOAD Command.

For example, if the contents of VTCMD INPUT A contains:

LOAD VOL=000101 DEV=cntrl0001 SL

Issuing the CMS command:

VTCMD 180

Results is the VOLSER ‘000101’ being mounted on the MDL drive named ‘cntrl0001’

To mount a new scratch volume substitute “SCRTCH” or “PRIVAT” for the VOLSER.


Alternatively, the following command sequence entered from CMS will have the same results:

VTCMD 180 OPER

CMD=LOAD VOL=000101 DEV=cntrl0002 SL

END

Chapter 8. System Operation 75

Chapter 8. System Operation Once the storage is attached and configured, the virtual tape devices are defined, and the mainframe has been configured (and re-initialized if necessary), you are ready to start operating the Virtuent controller.

VT Console

The virtual tape application (Virtuent) runs as a started task (daemon) on the MDL controller and is known as “vtd”. vtd will attempt to autostart whenever the MDL controller (node) is powered on and brought up.

A separate program named VT Console can be started at anytime from the Virtuent controller’s desktop. As shown in Figure 8-1 there are two icons on the desktop; one for running configuration (Configure Devices) and one for starting the console program (VT Console).

Figure 8-1. Virtuent Desktop

Whenever you double click the VT Console icon a console will open on the desktop and begin displaying messages from the virtual tape (Virtuent) application. Figure 8-2 shows a sample of an active VT console window.


Operation of the Virtuent (vtd) application is independent of the VT Console. Virtuent will often be running even when the VT Console program is not started. Likewise, the VT Console program can be running without the Virtuent being active. Once the Virtuent controller is running you can check the status of the Virtuent (vtd) at anytime by double clicking the VT Console icon on the Virtuent desktop (Figure 8-1). A VT Console window will display (Figure 8-2) indicating the VT Console is active.

Figure 8-2. Active VT Console

The bottom of the VT Console window contains a blue bar across it which always shows the current status of Virtuent on this controller. As shown in Figure 8-2, Virtuent (VT) is running.

To close the VT Console window enter the command “quit”. The console window will immediately close. Closing the console does not effect the operation of the Virtuent in any way.

When MDL-100V first starts Virtuent, it will automatically identify all VTLs on the SAN that are accessible by the MDL-100V. In Figure 8-2 you will see there are 5 libraries that have been identified as indicated by the VIR201I messages. During startup, Virtuent will automatically index the contents of those libraries. This indexing may take some time to complete. Be patient!


Starting / Stopping Tape Devices

To start or stop the virtual tape devices you must start or stop the virtual tape (vt) application. Control of the vt application is controlled with the “vtd” (virtual tape daemon) command. The vtd command has the following options:

start to start the vt application and activate devices in the active configuration file

stop to stop the vt application. Once the application stops, the channel links are disabled and all virtual drives will cease responding to the host until the application restarts. Any I/O from the host while the application is terminated will receive an I/O error (device not operational). For this reason, you should wait for all host applications using devices to finish, and the virtual tape drives should be varied offline from the host operating system before stopping the vt application.

The stop option will not terminate the application if any virtual drives currently have volumes loaded.

force If the application must be terminated while volumes are loaded, use the force option. Any virtual tapes currently loaded will be immediately unloaded without any further processing.

Note that this may result in an incomplete output tape volume if the host has not yet completed writing and properly closed the tape. For this reason, the force command should only be used in an emergency situation where Virtuent must be brought down immediately. Any virtual tape volumes currently being written should be considered invalid.

status displays the status of the vt application.

restart issues a stop command to the vt application followed by a start command. Restart can only be used when no volumes are currently loaded.

To issue a vtd command open a shell on the desktop by clicking the shell icon in the bottom right hand corner of the Virtuent desktop (see Figure 7-3).


Figure 8-3. Shell Icon on Desktop

When the shell window opens type in the appropriate ‘vtd’ command. For example, as shown in Figure 7-4, to start the vt application type in ‘vtd start’.

Figure 8-4. Issuing vtd in a Command Shell

Shell Icon


Press ENTER to execute the command. As vtd executes progress messages will be displayed (see Figure 7-5).

Figure 8-5. vtd Progress Messages

To close the shell window, type “exit” and press ENTER.

If you have a VT Console window open on the desktop at the time you issue a vtd command, status will also display on the VT Console.

Finally, when the vt application is active, the VT Console window will show the VT status as “Running” and informational, warning, and error messages from the vt application will scroll on the console (See Figure 7-6).

Figure 8-6. VT Console when vt is Active


Virtual Tape Operator Commands

When the virtual tape (vt) application is active and the VT Console window is open (See Figure 8-2), there are several virtual tape commands that can be used to control the virtual tape drives on your system. Be aware that these commands will not work and will not be responded to if the vt application is not running. The VT Console only responds to the “quit” command, which closes the console program.

Command Syntax

Virtual tape operator commands use the following syntax rules:

• UPPER CASE words are keywords and must be spelled as shown. You can enter the keywords in either upper or lower case.

• Lower case words in italics are values that you supply. These values can generally be entered in either upper or lower case. The exceptions are noted in the command description.

• Values in [square brackets] are optional.

• When multiple values are separated by an or-bar ( | ), enter only one of the choices.

• Many commands and keywords can be abbreviated. For those commands and keywords that can be abbreviated, the minimum abbreviation is underlined.

EXPORT Command

EXPORT is not available on MDL-100V

HELP Command

HELP [ command | message number | ABOUT ]

The HELP command displays helpful information about the virtual tape operator commands and messages.

If the command HELP is entered by itself, a summary of all commands is displayed

If a command is specified, a more detailed description of that command is displayed.

If a message number is specified, an explanation of the message is displayed. For example, “HELP 489” would display information about message VIR489E. (Entering the message number as VIR489E, VIR489, or 489 all give the same result.)

A synonym for the word “HELP” is “?”, i.e. “? 489”.

HELP ABOUT displays information about the virtual tape application.


IMPORT Command IMPORT in not available on MDL-100V.

INITIALIZE Command

INITIALIZE is not available on MDL-100V.

LOAD Command LOAD [VOL=]volser [ON] DEVICE=devicename SL [PROTECTED]

The LOAD command is used to perform a manual load of a tape volume.

A manual LOAD could be used, for instance, to load a volume for a host system that does not send Load Display mount messages, or in a situation where you want to mount a tape other than the one being requested by the Host.

DEVICE=devicename is a required parameter and must be specified.

SL, indicating Standard Labels, is a required parameter on MDL-100V.

The PROTECTED option loads the tape as read-only. Otherwise, the volume is loaded in normal read-write mode.

QUERY Command

QUERY [[DEVICE=]devicename[+] | ALL | COMPRESSION | CONFIG | ENCRYPTION | LABELS | MOUNTED |PATHS [ASSIGNED] | SPACE | SCRATCHNAMES | VERSION]

The QUERY command is used to display system information.

QUERY with no operands will display the current status of all the virtual tape drives, while DEV=devicename can be used to display a single drive or range of drives. Use a ‘*’ as a wildcard character to display a range of drives. For example, Q E98* will display all the devices E980-E98F.

QUERY ALL displays information about the virtual tape application, the channel interface card(s), and all of virtual tape devices.

QUERY COMPRESSION is not available on MDL-100V. On MDL-100V compression is done by the VTL, not the MDL-100V.

QUERY CONFIG shows detailed configuration information for all devices.

QUERY ENCRYPTION shows the status of the Virtuent encryption keys.

QUERY LABELS shows the header labels, if any, for all mounted tapes.


QUERY MOUNTED displays information only about the drives that currently have virtual tape volumes mounted.

QUERY PATHS shows all of the channel paths established for the Virtuent devices. if ASSIGNED is specifiec, only channel paths with current host assignment (typically those varied online) are displayed.

QUERY SPACE shows a summary of the disk space used and available in all the tape libraries.

QUERY SCRATCHNAMES displays all of the scratch volume serial number synonyms currently in effect.

QUERY VERSION displays the Virtuent release number.

File-size values reported by the QUERY command reflect the compressed data size, not the original uncompressed size.

RESET CHANNEL ADAPTER Command

RESET CHANNEL ADAPTER n

The RESET command restarts the firmware in the specified ESCON or FICON channel adapter number ‘n’.

This command will be rejected if there are any active paths established on this adapter. Vary offline from the host all the devices / paths / channels attached to this adapter before invoking this command.

REWIND Command

REWIND [DEVICE=]devicename

The REWIND command can be used to perform a manual rewind of the specified virtual tape drive.

Entering the REWIND command for a virtual tape drive is equivalent to pressing the Rewind button on a physical tape drive. Like a physical tape drive, the specified virtual tape drive must be in the Not-Ready state in order for the REWIND command to be accepted (see the UNREADY command).

The REWIND command is executed immediately regardless of whether the tape might currently be in use by the host.

Note that the manual repositioning of the tape could result in data being read from or written to the wrong location of the virtual tape volume by the host, if the host is still processing the volume and has not yet properly closed the tape. For this reason, the REWIND command should only be used in an emergency situation when a tape volume is known to not be in use by a host application but needs to be rewound to loadpoint immediately.


SAVE TRACE Command

SAVE [TRACE]

The SAVE TRACE command is used to write all Virtuent trace buffers to disk immediately. Normally, Virtuent traces are buffered in memory and only written to disk periodically, for performance reasons. Before examining or copying the trace files, you should perform the SAVE TRACE command to make sure that all currently buffered trace data has been written to disk.

SAVE TRACE also saves channel adapter firmware trace files to disk.

SET Command

SET [ENCRYPTKEY=KEYn|n|NONE] [HWCOMP=ON/OFF] [HWDECOMP=ON/OFF] [IDRC=ON/OFF/FORCE] [PATH=pathname [NOCHECK]] [RECOVER=nn] [RECOVERAMT=nn] [SIZE=xxx] [TIMESTAMPS=NO/YES] [TRACE=n] [WARNING=nn] [DEVICE=devicename|ALL|SYSTEM]

The SET command is used to set various options for the virtual tape devices. Any option set by the SET command is a temporary change, and the setting will revert to the configuration file or default value the next time the virtual tape application is started. To make permanent changes, make the changes in the Virtuent configuration file.

ENCRYPTKEY= KEYn|n|NONE sets the encryption key for the specified device to the key number (1-9) or to no key (and thus no encryption). The ENCRYPTKEY parameter requires a specific DEVICE parameter, and the specified device must not have a tape mounted for the command to be accepted. ‘n’ and ‘KEYn’ are equivalent.

HWCOMP=ON/OFF indicates whether or not Virtuent should perform hardware data compression on a given drive. By default Virtuent will use hardware data compression (HWCOMP=ON) if the compression hardware is present and the mainframe has requested IDRC. If you set HWCOMP=OFF then Virtuent will not use the compression hardware to do data compression; it will perform software compression when IDRC is requested by the mainframe.

HWDECOMP=ON/OFF indicates whether or not Virtuent should perform hardware decompression on a given device. By default Virtuent will use hardware decompression (HWDECOMP=ON) whenever the compression hardware is present and decompression is required. If HWDECOMP=OFF then Virtuent will use software decompression when decompression is required.

IDRC=ON/OFF/FORCE turns on or off write compression on a given drive. FORCE causes Virtuent to compress all data even if the Host does not specify compression on the write. Even if IDRC is set OFF, however, Virtuent will still report to the Host that it supports compression; it just will not actually perform any compression when it


writes data to disk. This is because some Host operating systems or tape managers will not use a drive that does not support compression. IDRC=OFF only affects writing of data; even if IDRC is set OFF, Virtuent can read virtual tape volumes that it previously wrote with compression ON.

PATH=pathname is not available on MDL-100V.

RECOVER=nnn is not available on MDL-100V

RECOVERAMT=nn is not available on MDL-100V

SIZE=xxx is not available on MDL-100V

TIMESTAMPS=NO/YES indicates whether or not date and time should be included in each message sent to the console display. The default is NO; reducing the amount of data appearing on the console. Messages written to the log files are always timestamped. This parameter only affects messages to the console.

TRACE=n sets the trace level for a specific device if a DEVICE=devicename is specified. If SYSTEM is specified, the trace level is set for the general, non-device specific system trace. If ALL is specified, the trace level is set for all devices plus the general system trace at the same time. The default is ALL if no DEVICE is specified. Valid trace levels are 0 (no tracing) to 4 (trace a lot); the default is 1 (trace errors only). This option only affects the virtual tape application traces; to enable the hardware trace in the channel interface adapter(s), see the ENABLE FIRMWARE TRACE command.

WARNING=nnn sets the percentage of disk space usage at which Virtuent will begin to warn about usage. The valid range is 0 to 100. The default is 75%.

SHOW Command

SHOW CHANNEL ADAPTERS

SHOW REJECTED PATHS

SHOW VOLUME LIST [VTL=nnnnnnnnnnnn}

The SHOW command can be used to assist in debugging problems with the configuration of Virtuent or Host devices.

SHOW CHANNEL ADAPTERS displays information about all channel adapters in the Virtuent controller.

SHOW REJECTED PATHS displays connections that the Host has attempted to establish with Virtuent, but which are not configured within Virtuent.

SHOW VOLUME LIST [VTL=nnnnnnnnnnn] shows the current list of tape volumes (VOLSERs) in the VTL with serial number nnnnnnnnnnnn.


SNMP Command

SNMP [SET MESSAGE LEVEL [D | E | W | I]] | SHOW STATUS

SET MESSAGE LEVEL [D | E | W | I] allows the operator to set (or modify) the SNMP message filter level to one of the following:

D = Disable SNMP

E = Send Error messages only

W = Send Error and Warning messages (default)

I = Send Errors, Warning, and Informational messages

SNMP must be configured in the General Configuration Parameters (see Page 25) to be active. Otherwise SNMP is disabled and the SNMP SET MESSAGE LEVEL command will have no impact.

SNMP SHOW STATUS shows the current SNMP settings

STOP CHANNEL ADAPTER Command

STOP CHANNEL ADAPTER n

This command stops and takes out of service the specified ESCON or FICON channel adapter number ‘n’.

This command will be rejected if there are any active paths established on this adapter. Vary offline from the host all devices / paths / channels attached to this adapter before invoking this command.

To bring the channel adapter back into service, use the RESET CHANNEL ADAPTER command.

UNLOAD Command

UNLOAD [DEVICE=]devicename

The UNLOAD command can be used to perform a manual unload of the specified virtual tape drive.

Entering the UNLOAD command for a virtual tape drive is equivalent to pressing the Unload button on a physical tape drive. Like a physical tape drive, the specified virtual tape drive must be in the Not-Ready state in order for the UNLOAD command to be accepted (see the UNREADY command).

The UNLOAD command is executed immediately regardless of whether the tape might currently be in use by the host.

Note that the unloading of the tape will result in an I/O error (Intervention Required) if the host tries to read from or write to the drive after it is unloaded. For this reason, the UNLOAD command should only be used in an emergency


situation when a tape volume is known to not be in use by a host application but needs to be unloaded immediately.

UNQUIESCE Command

UNQUIESCE [ [DEVICE=]devicename | ALL | * ]

The UNQUIESCE command takes one or all of the virtual drives out of the ‘quiesced’ state. After being unquiesced, drives will once again accept mount requests. Any mount request that was ignored while a drive is quiesced does not remain pending in any way; it is not automatically retried when a drive is unquiesced.

Unquiescing a drive does not send any signal to the Host.

ALL and * are synonymous and mean unquiesce all drives at once.

UNREADY Command

UNREADY [DEVICE=]devicename

The UNREADY command can be used to change a virtual drive from the Ready to the Not-Ready (Intervention Required) state.

Entering the UNREADY command for a virtual tape drive is equivalent to pressing the Not Ready button on a physical tape drive.

The UNREADY command is executed immediately regardless of whether the tape might currently be in use by the host.

Note that making the drive Not-Ready will result in an I/O error (Intervention Required) if the host tries to read from or write to the drive while it is not ready. For this reason, the UNREADY command should only be used in an emergency situation when a tape volume is known to not be in use by a host application.

UPDATE Command

UPDATE VOLUME LIST [VTL=nnnnnnnnnnnn]

The UPDATE VOLUME LIST command will cause Virtuent to re-scan the VTL with serial number nnnnnnnnnnnn are refresh the list of tape volumes (VOLSERs) within the library.

MDL-100V scans the library during the power up sequence. Under normal operating conditions, the only time an update would be required would be if you added new tape volumes to the library at the VTL console. You would then issue an update command to pick up the new bar codes (VOLSERs) that had been added. If you do not perform an update the new VOLSERs will not be available until the next time the MDL-100V is restarted.


System Poweroff / Reboot

You should always use the ‘poweroff’ or ‘reboot’ command to shut down the Virtuent controller in an orderly manner. If you simply power off the controller by pressing the power or reset buttons, unpredictable errors will occur on the host for any active connections, possibly resulting in data loss. Prior to using either of these commands, all host programs using virtual devices should be stopped, the Virtuent devices should be varied offline and the Virtuent application should be stopped by using the vtd stop command (see page 77).

To poweroff the system right click the Virtuent desktop and select “Administrator Shell” (Figure 8-7).

Figure 8-7. Administrater Shell

After responding to the root password prompt a shell window will open. The command for powering off the Virtuent controller is poweroff (Figure 8-8).

Figure 8-8. Powering Off the System

The command for restarting the Virtuent controller from scratch is simply reboot. As soon as you press enter the system will automatically enter shutdown state and then reboot.


Unlocking the Console

When the keyboard and mouse are inactive for a period of time, the controller will automatically invoke a screen saver and lock the Administrator’s console.

Press any key or move the mouse to terminate the screen saver. To re-enter the Administrator’s console you are required to specify the masadmin password. Be aware passwords are case sensitive.

Changing Passwords

There are three passwords on the Virtuent controller that you can change at any time; the root password, virtual tape administrator password (masdmin), and VNC (remote access) password.

The root password is the primary administrator password required for many system tasks. The administrator (masadmin) password is the password required to unlock the Virtuent console when the screen saver is displayed.

The VNC password is the password specified when you access the desktop from a remote system using a web browser or the vncviewer application.

All three passwords are set to ‘bustech’ by default and are normally changed during the power up sequence the first time the system is powered on (see page 9).

CAUTION: Whenever you change a password, be sure to save the new password in a safe place. If you forget the password you may not be able to recover it without performing a complete system installation.


masadmin Password

To change the masadmin password, press the Alt-F2 keys together to open a Run Command window. Type ‘kdepasswd’ and press the ENTER key (Figure 8-9).

Figure 8-9. Start masadmin Password Change

You will first be prompted for the current masadmin password then the new password change screen will display (Figure 8-10). .

Figure 8-10. Change masadmin Password

Enter your new password in both the Password and Verify fields and click OK. Click OK when the password confirmation appears.


root Password

To change the root password, press the Alt-F2 keys together to open a Run Command window. Type 'kdesu kdepasswd root' and press the ENTER key (Figure 8-11).

Figure 8-11. Start a root Password Change

You will be prompted for the existing root password and then the change password screen will display (Figure 8-12). Enter your new password in both the Password and the Verify fields and click OK.

Figure 8-12. Change root Password

Click OK a second time when the password change confirmation appears.


VNC Password

To change the VNC (remote access) password click the shell icon in the bottom right hand corner of the desktop. When the shell window opens type the command ‘vncpasswd’. You will be prompted for a new password and then to verify the new password. You will be prompted if you want to enter a read-only password. If you want people to be able to monitor the VIRTUENT console without being able to enter any commands respond with ‘y’ and then answer the prompts for the password. Otherwise respond ‘n’. Figure 8-13 shows a sample session changing the desktop password.

Figure 8-13. Changing the Desktop Password

Exit the window by typing “exit” and then press the Enter key.

Note: You must be the masadmin user to change the VNC password. To be sure of this make sure you use the shell icon on the Virtuent desktop and not the Administrator Shell when running the vncpasswd command. If you run the vncpasswd program in the Administrator Shell your change will not take effect.


Set Date and Time

The Virtuent system date and time is displayed in the bottom right hand corner of the console. System date and time are used to stamp tape volumes being created on disk. If you need to adjust the system date or time you may do so by right clicking the Virtuent desktop and selecting “Date and Time” (Figure 8-14).

Figure 8-14. Changing Date and Time

After responding to root password prompt the adjust time zone screen will appear (Figure 8-15).

Figure 8-15. Adjust Time Zone

You may modify the time zone if you need to. To adjust the date or time click “Change Time or Date”. The change date and time screen will appear (Figure 8-16)


Figure 8-16. Set Date and Time

Click Apply to set the date and time and then Accept to exit the time zone screen.

Using an NTP Server

If your Virtuent controller is connected to your corporate network and a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server is accessible, you can easily configure the controller to get date and time from the server.

From the Virtuent desktop press the Alt-F2 keys together. The run command panel will appear. Type the following command:

kdesu yast2 ntp-client

as shown in Figure 8-17 and then click Run.

Figure 8-17. Open NTP-Client Configuration

You will be prompted for the administrator password. Once you have entered the password the ntp client configuration panel will appear (Figure 8-18).


Figure 8-18. NTP Client Configuration

Click the During Boot radio button (as shown) to enable the NTP Server Configuration fields.

Enter the IP Address of your NTP server into the Address field and the click Finish to save your changes.

The Virtuent controller will now get its time from the NTP server at the address you have entered.

Restore Factory Default Configuration Files

The factory default configuration files are in the subdirectory ‘/opt/bti/mas/misc’. To restore these configuration files, right-click the Virtuent desktop and select “Administrator Shell”. Respond to the password prompt with the root password. When the administrator shell appears type in the following command:

cp /opt/bti/mas/misc/btixmap* /etc/bti

Close the administrator shell by typing ‘exit’ and pressing the Enter key.


Manage Log Files

Virtuent maintains a log of all messages issued to the virtual tape application’s operators console (see page 75). The active log file is named ‘btilog’ in the directory '/var/bti/log'. The virtual tape application limits the active log file’s size to 10 MByte. When a log file reaches maximum size the system performs a log rotation; saving the log and opening a new, empty log file. Saved log files are named ‘btilog_xx’ where xx is an incremental number starting with 01. The most recent saved log file would be ‘btilog_01’, the next oldest would be ‘btilog_02’, then ‘btilog_03’, and so on. The oldest log file has the highest number.

Chapter 9. Back-End Tape Support 97

Chapter 9. Back-End Tape Support Virtuent controllers, including MDL-100V, allow fibre channel attachment of an IBM 3592 or compatible tape drive. Attachment requires the optional Tape Drive Attachment kit be installed on the controller. The kit provides a single fibre channel port on the rear of the controller and software license for Virtuent physical tape functions. You must provide the IBM 3592 drive and a fibre channel cable to connect the drive to the port on the controller.

Note: Bus-Tech only supports point-to-point attachment of a single 3592 tape drive to the controller. Connection via a fibre channel switch is not supported.

Once the drive is physically attached to controller you can map a single mainframe tape drive (device address) through to the physical tape drive for the purpose of writing real tape cartridges from the mainframe. This capability is referred to as “Direct Tape”.

Mapping of a mainframe emulated tape drive to a physical fibre channel attached IBM 3592 (or TS1120) tape drive is accomplished using the device specific configuration field on an individual device’s Tapelib Path. To map a mainframe device address through to an attached IBM tape drive you would specify the device’s Tapelib Path as follows:

DRIVE=nnnnnnnnnnnn

Where nnnnnnnnnnnn is the 12 character serial number associated with the tape drive; padded to the left with zeros (0s). For example, if the serial number of the tape drive is ‘7818330’, then you would map a single mainframe tape device to that drive by coding the device specific parameter:

DRIVE=000007818330

Figure 9-1. Mapping a Device to a fibre channel attached IBM 3592 Tape Drive


As shown in Figure 9-1, the device being configured must be defined as Device Type for both a real 3592 and a TS1120 must be coded as 3590.

Also, once you have mapped a device in this fashion, you must isolate the mainframe device from other virtual devices in the mainframe configuration in order to control when a real tape is written versus a virtual tape written to disk. Specifically, if you have configured your devices in an MTL, then be sure the device address used to access the real tape drive is not part of the MTL. Otherwise you will not be able to control when data goes to a real tape versus a virtual tape. Further you may need to define the device in an MTL of its own in order to prevent accidental allocate to the device from jobs coding UNIT=TAPE in their JCL.

When a mainframe device is mapped to a physical tape drive in this manner mount requests will work just as they would if the drive were directly attached to a mainframe channel. Allocation of the drive will result in a mount request being posted to the mainframe operator console. The request will remain outstanding until the physical drive becomes ready. Normally this will require an operator to mount a tape and ready the drive.

The tape cartridge written will be compatible with 3590 cartridges written from any mainframe attached 3590 tape drive. Virtuent created cartridges can be sent to mainframe locations that do not have Virtuent installed as long as those locations have real or compatible tape drives capable of reading the 3590 cartridge.

About Data Compression

Virtuent supports IDRC data compression. If a mainframe tape device mapped to a physical fibre channel attached drive requests IDRC compression Virtuent will instruct the drive to compress the data before writing it to tape. The tape drive, rather than Virtuent, will perform the data compression in order to ensure compatibility with other IBM drives that may later attempt to read the data.

Help and Service Information 99

Help and Service Information If you have questions about your new Bus-Tech product, or require technical assistance, visit the Bus-Tech Web site at http:\\www.bustech.com. You can also get help and information through the Bus-Tech’s Technical Support line, Monday through Friday, 8:30 am – 5:00pm Eastern time. Response time may vary depending on the number and nature of the calls received.

Step 1: Problem Solving

You may be able to solve the problem yourself. Before calling Technical Support, please prepare for the call by following these steps:

1. If you are having installation or configuration problems, refer to the detailed installation and configuration sections found in this manual and review any README.TXT files found on the installation disk(s).

2. Visit the Technical Support section of the Bus-Tech Web site specific to the product you have purchased. Updated installation instructions, hints, and tips, software, or updated system-specific notes are often published in this section.

Step 2: Preparing for the Call

To assist the technical support representative, have available as much of the following information as possible:

1. Product Name.

2. Product Release number.

3. Product Serial Number.

4. Exact wording of the error message (if any).

5. Description of the problem.

6. Hardware and software configuration information for your system.

If possible, be at your computer. Your technical support representative might want to walk you through the problem during the call.


Step 3: Placing the Call

If you call after your warranty or maintenance contract has expired, you might be charged a fee.

Support 8:30am – 5:00pm, Monday-Friday

U.S.A. / Puerto Rico 1-800-284-3172

From Outside the U.S.A. 1-781-272-8200

Additional Technical Support Resources

Online technical support is available through the Internet during the life of your product.

Online Technical Support

Bus-Tech Web Site www.bustech.com

Index 101

Index

3590, 36, 47 3590 MTL, 36 3592, 97 Active configuration, 33 BIM-EPIC, 22, 51, 52, 59, 61, 62, 64 BTIMOUNT, 52 BTITAPE, 54, 60 CA-EPIC, 61 commands, 80

HELP, 80 LOAD, 81 MOUNT, 81 QUERY, 81 REWIND, 82 SAVE TRACE, 83 SET, 83 SET IDRC, 83 SET PATH, 84 SET RECOVER, 84 SET SIZE, 84 SET TRACE, 84 SET WARNING, 84 SHOW, 84 UNLOAD, 85 UNQUIESCE, 86 UNREADY, 86

configuration adapter tracing, 26 adding devices, 27 control unit, 28 Description, 25 displaying, 81 general parameters, 25 IDRC, 28 maximum device address, 28 minimum device address, 28 Name, 25 network, 13 steps, 2 tapelib path, 29 Trace Level, 25 virtual devices, 19

Configuration Files, 24 Configure MAS Devices, 23

Controls, 6 Data Compression, 47, 64, 83 Date, 92

NTP Server, 93 device

trace, 29 DFSMShsm, 47 Direct Tape, 97

Compression, 98 Encryption, 98

Dynam/T, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 64

Encryption key, 28

Encryptkey, 83 ESCON, 5

Status, 5 eth0, 6 FICON, 4

Status, 4 GROUP, 29, 49, 52, 64 help command, 80 IDRC, 83 Installation, 2, 3 LAN, 6 Log Files, 95 Manual Tape Library, 36 MASLOG, 42 missing interrupt handler (MIH), 47 MVS, 35 network configuration, 13 OS/390, 35 OSADDR, 29, 49 Passwords, 9, 88 Powering Up the MAS, 8 Poweroff, 87 ready state, 86 recover amount, 26 recover percent, 26, 84 rejected paths, 84 RESET CHANNEL ADAPTER, 82 Restore Factory Default, 94 RMM, 43 Root Password, 10


Scratch Pool, 57 scratch synonyms, 27, 82 scratch volumes, 39 SNMP, 26

Command, 85 SNMP Manager IP, 26 STOP CHANNEL ADAPTER, 85 System Connections, 3 System Operation, 75 tape import/export, 26 Tape Library

Query Space, 82 Time, 92

NTP Server, 93 TLMS, 44 TMS, 44 traces, 83, 84 unloading a tape, 85 unlocking the console, 88 unquiesce, 86 USB, 7 Utilities, 35

VTCMD, 45 VTLIB, 37 VTSCR, 39

VIRCMD, 50, 51, 64, 66 VIRDTERA, 50, 51, 58, 59

VIRDTEXT, 50, 56 VIRDTSCR, 50, 51, 58 VIREPERA, 50, 51, 63 VIREPSCR, 50, 51, 63 VIRLDSPL, 50, 54, 60 VIRMAINT, 50, 51, 53 VIRMOUNT, 29, 49, 50, 51, 52 VIRSSD, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 57, 64 VIRSSE, 50, 51, 52, 57, 60, 61, 64 Virtual Devices, 19

Configuring, 19 VM

DMSG, 67 Mount Tape, 67

VM Support, 67 VSE, 49

Configuration Parameters, 49 VTCMD, 45, 71 VTLIB, 37 VTSCR, 39, 68

Parameters, 68 Report Type, 68 VMTAPE, 68

warning percent, 26, 84 write protect, 81 z/OS, 35

Customer Response If you have comments or suggestions regarding our products and documentation, please send them to:

BUS-TECH, INC. 129 MIDDLESEX TURNPIKE BURLINGTON, MA 01803 ATTENTION: CUSTOMER SUPPORT

Or, call us at: (781) 272-8200 FAX: (781) 272-0342. Or, visit our Web Site at: www.bustech.com

MDL-100V Installation Guide Part Number 40-03308-B0-001 June 2009

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