DFSMSrmm manages your volumes over their full life, from initial use to the time they are retired from service. You can define all volumes to DFSMSrmm and use DFSMSrmm to manage them now that you can define volumes that have duplicate volume serial numbers. DFSMSrmm provides functions to control the use of undefined volumes and allows you to identify volumes that should be ignored.

You do not have to define a tape volume to DFSMSrmm to use the volume. Volumes that are used to satisfy nonspecific requests and all system-managed tape volumes must be managed by DFSMSrmm. Volumes in a system-managed tape library are automatically defined to DFSMSrmm upon entry into the system-managed tape library, if the volume is not previously defined.

To enhance the integrity of your volumes, DFSMSrmm identifies volumes with permanent errors and temporary errors. DFSMSrmm identifies tapes with permanent errors as requiring replacement. DFSMSrmm tracks and reports information about volumes with temporary errors. This information helps you identify volumes that should be replaced or removed from the library, and prevents their reuse as scratch volumes.

DFSMSrmm eases your operator's handling of volumes by updating drive displays and operator mount messages to indicate a volume's correct shelf location. DFSMSrmm supports the display of messages on drives that have displays. DFSMSrmm can update write-to-operator messages to show the volume's shelf location.

You can set up DFSMSrmm to issue operator messages to a specific console name associated with a system-managed library. DFSMSrmm then issues messages to the specific console and through standard message route codes.

For control of volume movements and retention, you can define policies using DFSMSrmm vital record specifications for both volumes and data sets. For example, you can define a vital record specification that ignores the volume expiration for the volume on which a data set resides. DFSMSrmm then uses the vital record specification retention criteria instead of the user specified retention period to retain the data set. This allows you to control the time a data set is retained before it is considered for release. Use DFSMSrmm vital record specifications to control data set retention including whether or not user specified values are honored.

Use DFSMSrmm with products like DFSMShsm, OAM, and Tivoli® Storage Manager to extend tape management functions and tape integrity checking to tape volumes that are owned by these products. DFSMSrmm ensures that the correct tape volume is always mounted and that only scratch tapes are used for nonspecific tape volume requests. DFSMSrmm can also control the movement of DFSMShsm tape volumes that are selected as vital records, such as alternate volumes that are required for disaster recovery.

DFSMSrmm supports all the tape label types supported by DFSMSdfp and records the tape label type for each DFSMSrmm-managed volume. DFSMSrmm does not support volumes with nonstandard labels. DFSMSrmm also supports the use of bypass label processing (BLP). See Magnetic Tape Volumes and Libraries for more information on tape labels. DFSMSrmm provides support for ISO/ANSI Version 3 and 4 tape labels.