Defining retention policies

Use data set names and data set name masks to define retention policies for data sets. Use job names and job name masks to define retention policies to further qualify the criteria for applying retention and movement policies. For data sets, you can request the different types of retention:

Retention by cycles: You can use retention by cycles for generation data groups (GDGs), pseudo-GDG data set names, or data sets with the same name. For non-GDG data sets, DFSMSrmm considers each occurrence of a data set to be a cycle.
Retention by cycles by days: You can use retention by cycles by days when you want DFSMSrmm to manage all copies of a data set created on a single calendar day as a single cycle.
Retention by number of elapsed days: You can retain a data set specifying a number of days since it was created.
Retention for a number of extra days: You can retain a data set for a number of days beyond the date when the data set is no longer retained by the previous vital record specification in a vital record specification chain.
Retention by days since last referenced: You can retain each copy of a data set produced for a set number of days since the data set was read or written.
Retention while data set is cataloged: You can retain any data set as long as it remains cataloged.
Retention to a specific date: You can set a deletion date for a vital record specification. When that date is reached, the vital record specification is deleted. All data sets and volumes that would match the vital record specification become eligible for release processing, or might match a less specific vital record specification that might specify different retention and movement information.
Retention by expiration date: You can retain the data set on a volume as long as the volume expiration date has not yet been reached.
Retention of open data sets: You can specify a separate policy to apply to all data sets that are currently open.
Retention of data sets closed by abend processing: You can specify a separate policy to apply to all data sets that were open at the time of an application or system abend.
Retention of deleted data sets: You can specify a separate policy to apply to all data sets that were created with a normal disposition of DELETE.

You can also use a vital record specification management value instead of a data set name to define retention policies. A vital record specification management value assigns management and retention policies to tape data sets and is defined by your installation. You can define data set vital record specifications for vital record specification management values to provide support for special JCL-specified expiration dates. You can use the sample installation exit contained in SYS1.SAMPLIB, EDGUX100, to assign vital record specification management values.

You can use management class names when you are managing data sets. See Managing volumes with special dates for information on assigning management class names and vital record specification management values using EDG_EXIT100.