Defining vital record specification chains

You can combine retention types and movements within a vital record specification to manage data sets and volumes by defining vital record specifications chains. A vital record specification chain can be one or more vital record specifications linked together using NEXTVRS and ANDVRS operands. The first vital record specification in the chain is a data set or volume vital record specification. You can link vital record specifications to the first vital record specification to add additional retention types and movement policies for a data set or volume. When combining retention types, you can include the WHILECATALOG operand and the UNTILEXPIRED operand with one other retention type in a single vital record specification. To combine more retention types together so that all must be true concurrently, you link multiple vital record specifications using the ANDVRS operand. To combine different retention types to be implemented consecutively or to move a data set or volume through multiple locations consecutively, you link multiple vital record specifications using the NEXTVRS operand. An exception is that when the EXTRADAYS operand is used as a retention type. EXTRADAYS must be the only retention type at that point in the vital record specification chain. Do not link to or from the vital record specification that specifies the EXTRADAYS operand using the ANDVRS operand.

See z/OS DFSMSrmm Managing and Using Removable Media for information about chaining vital record specifications.

Figure 1 is an example of creating a vital record specification chain. The data set name vital record specification moves a data set from the installation media library to the REMOTE storage location. The name vital record specification, MOVE2, moves the volume from the REMOTE storage location to the DISTANT storage location.

Figure 1. Defining a vital record specification chain

RMM ADDVRS DSNAME(STEGO.SAURUS) COUNT(1855) DAYS LOCATION(REMOTE) -
     STORENUMBER(30) NEXTVRS(MOVE2)
RMM ADDVRS NAME(MOVE2) LOCATION(DISTANT) STORENUMBER(1825)

You can define retention and movement policies for specific volumes and volumes that match a generic volume serial number. If you use a specific volume serial number, DFSMSrmm retains the volume that matches that volume serial number. If you use a generic volume serial number, DFSMSrmm retains a number of volumes matching the generic volume serial number based on the number you specify.

When multiple vital record specifications retain a volume, and each vital record specification contains a different destination, DFSMSrmm decides where to move the volume based on priority number. Lower priority numbers have higher priorities. Table 1 shows the movement priority DFSMSrmm uses if you do not assign movement priority numbers. For example, if you define both REMOTE and DISTANT as the destination for the volume, DFSMSrmm selects the REMOTE storage location as the destination. The selection is based on the REMOTE priority number of 100 which has a higher priority selection value than the DISTANT priority number of 200.

Table 1. DFSMSrmm movement priority
Priority Number	Location Name or Location Type
100	REMOTE DFSMSrmm built-in storage location name
200	DISTANT DFSMSrmm built-in storage location name
300	LOCAL DFSMSrmm built-in storage location
2000	Installation defined storage locations
4800	AUTO automated tape libraries
4900	MANUAL manual tape libraries
5000	SHELF location name