The intermodule communications area (IMC) is a vital link to diagnostic information. If you are not using the SMSDATA verb exit, you can locate the IMC in the summary portion (SUMDUMP) of a dump. You should use the IPCS/PRDMP SUMDUMP verb to format all dumps. This permits you to extract significant failure-related information from the IMC and other data areas.

To locate the IMC in a SUMDUMP, scan the EBCDIC portion for the eye-catcher IGDSSIIM. See Figure 1 for an example of a SUMDUMP.