Multivolume data sets

All pieces of a multivolume data set must be converted from SMS management at the same time. You can do this by using the SELECTMULTI keyword.

If you do not specify SELECTMULTI, then you must specify all the volumes in the DDNAME or DYNAM volume list on which the data set resides.

If you specify input volumes (with either the DDNAME or DYNAM volume list) for NONSMS processing, a data set is selected based on the following criteria:

When you either specify SELECTMULTI(ALL) or specify input volumes without specifying the SELECTMULTI keyword, all of the volumes that contain a part of the non-VSAM data set or VSAM base cluster must be in the volume list.
When you specify SELECTMULTI(ANY), any part of the non-VSAM data set or VSAM base cluster can be on a volume in the volume list.
When you specify SELECTMULTI(FIRST), the volume list must include the volume that contains the first part of either the non-VSAM data set or the primary data component of the base cluster for a VSAM sphere.

Those volumes not included in the volume list will be placed in the INITIAL state. Being in the INITIAL state locks all allocations to the volume until all data sets residing on it are converted.

DFSMSdss cannot determine whether or not a volume being converted is a candidate volume for one or more data sets in the system. If such a volume is converted, DFSMSdss cannot ensure that all of the volumes of the data set (or sets) for which the volume is a candidate, are converted consistently. This can result in a data set having both SMS-managed and non-SMS-managed volumes in its volume list, which can cause the data set to become unusable.

To avoid this situation when performing CONVERTV operations, if you specify any volume of a multivolume data set in the list of volumes to be converted, ensure that you also include at least one of the primary volumes of the data set. This allows DFSMSdss to ensure that all of the volumes of the data set are converted consistently.