Considerations for operators

Before mounting a DASD volume to reserve it for the system, operators first must ensure that jobs requiring the volume are not selected by an initiator. Operators can hold up job selection by one of the following:

To reserve the volume, the operator then must:

  1. Use the VARY command to put the device offline to each sharing system and wait for the offline message in each system. The device does not go offline until the message is issued.
  2. Use the MOUNT command to notify each sharing system of the unit where the new volume is being placed, and to put the volume in reserved status.
  3. Use the MOUNT command to mount the volume.
After the volume is mounted, operators can use a JES command or activate the class for subsystem scheduling.
Note:
  1. To stop I/O to a shared device or group of devices, operators can use IOACTION QUIESCE. See z/OS MVS System Commands for syntax and examples.
  2. If there is a hardware failure on a device other than the system residence device, the operators must vary the failing device offline on all sharing systems. Operators can then mount the shared volume on another shared device, if one is available, as long as parallel mount procedures occur on all sharing systems.
  3. Operators can release a reserved device and remove a path to it by issuing CONFIG CHP,OFFLINE,FORCE. If operators try to remove a path to a reserved device with any other CONFIG command or with a VARY command, the system issues message IEE379I or IEE719I and does not execute the command.
  4. When you want a shared non-JES3 device to be allocated by only one system, the operator of each system sharing the device should use the VARY command to place the device offline on the sharing systems.