Features and benefits

x37 abend recovery

To help to recover from x37 type abends, Advanced Allocation Management performs the following tasks:

• Controls reduction of primary space to satisfy allocation
• Adds volumes dynamically at end of volume processing as required
• Recovers from secondary allocation space failures by reducing the allocation amount to a value that is consistent with the current free space on the volume
• Increases PDS directory size dynamically, if exhausted

x37 abend prevention and avoidance

To help prevent and avoid x37 type abends, Advanced Allocation Management performs the following tasks:

• Automatically adds a secondary allocation if one is not specified
• Reduces secondary allocation to the largest available free extent
• Increases the size of the secondary allocation as data set extends occur after a particular extent and at a particular volume number
• Recovers unused disk space by automatically releasing allocated, unused, data set space at data set close

Enhanced Allocation Management

To centralize the control of allocation attribute usage, you can perform the following actions:

• Set allocation attributes that are not specified, or override allocation attributes that do not meet your standards
• Control a wide variety of allocation attributes such as SMS-managed, non-SMS-managed, UNITNAME, UNITTYPE, VOLSER, DATACLAS, STORCLAS, MGMTCLAS, RECFM, LRECL, BLKSIZE (to force system-determined blksize), DISPOSITION (allows forcing catalog control), SPACE parameters, expiration date, and retention period values
• Fail jobs that specify installation-restricted allocation values
• Cause SMS DATACLAS values to override values that are specified through JCL, DEFINE statements or dynamic allocation

Volume group support

Using volume group support, you can define DASD groups from which to select additional volumes, as needed.

Supported data set types

Advanced Allocation Management supports the following data set types:

• VSAM and non-VSAM data sets
• SMS and non-SMS-managed data sets
• Physical sequential
• Partitioned
• Striped data sets
• Dynamically allocated data sets

Advanced Allocation Management supports the LARGE data set format, which allows the specification of more than 65535 tracks for the primary and secondary allocation for non-VSAM data sets that are specified with a DSNTYPE of LARGE.

VSAM support

Advanced Allocation Management VSAM support includes the following items:

• VSAM data sets (KSDS, ESDS, RRDS, VRRDS, and LDS)
• VSAM data sets accessed in record-level sharing (RLS) access mode
• Alternate indexes
• Index and data components of clusters, where applicable

For VSAM data sets accessed in RLS mode, Advanced Allocation Management can detect the dynamic addition of a new volume in conjunction with the VOL_ADD function on the current or other system images. Upon detecting the new volume Advanced Allocation Management updates the system control blocks in the current allocation to reflect the addition of the new volume or volumes so that the data set does not have to be closed and re-opened to access the new volumes. For the detection and control block adjustment to occur successfully, Advanced Allocation Management must be active on all systems where the data set is processed. In addition, a rule definition must match for the allocation and the rule definition must have the VOL_ADD function enabled.

4GB-limited VSAM data set support

Advanced Allocation Management provides facilities to assist in managing VSAM data sets that are defined without the Extended Addressability attribute and thus are limited to 4GB in size.

First, an optional function is provided whereby a warning message will be issued when a data set is extended to a size which meets or exceeds a user-specified percentage value of the maximum 4GB capacity of the data set as represented by the high-allocated relative byte address. This is intended to provide an early warning as the data set begins to approach maximum capacity allowing the user to react as needed to prevent a future abend. This function works both with Advanced Allocation Management secondary allocation functions and for secondary allocations made when no other intervention by Advanced Allocation Management would otherwise normally occur.

Second, another optional function will adjust allocations for 4GB-limited data sets such that the allocation will not cause that allocation to exceed the 4GB limit. For secondary allocations and the primary allocation on a candidate volume the extent size will be adjusted to the nearest control area size multiple of allocations units (cylinders or tracks) that is at or below the 4GB limit. For initial primary allocations the error indicating that the primary allocation amount exceeds the 4GB limit for a data set will be detected and normal primary allocation reduction processing will occur. This function will allow the data set to extend closer to the 4GB limit than it might otherwise perhaps providing a cushion of activity before an abend occurs allowing the user to identify the impending abend and react accordingly. This function also works both with Advanced Allocation Management functions and for secondary allocations made when no other intervention by Advanced Allocation Management would otherwise normally occur.

Extended Address Volume support

Advanced Allocation Management supports z/OS 1.10 Extended Address Volume (EAV) functionality for VSAM data sets. Preference for allocation in the Extended Addressing Space (cylinder-managed space) is based on the size of the allocation as compared to the Breakpoint Value (BPV) that is defined at the system level or within an SMS storage group. When Advanced Allocation Management determines the eligibility of a candidate volume for advanced volume selection (AVS) or VOL_ADD processing, it uses this preference, which is based on the BPV, within each of the selection algorithms as appropriate. Similarly, the preference is considered when a secondary allocation is reduced as part of SEC_REDUCE, SEC_BEST, PRIM_REDUCE on non-first volumes.

Advanced Allocation Management supports the EAV functionality that was added in z/OS 1.11 for Extended Format Sequential data sets and the EAV functionality that was added in z/OS 1.12 for partitioned data sets, partitioned data sets extended, direct access (DA) data set organization, large format sequential data sets, basic format sequential data sets, and data sets of undefined data set organization. The EATTR Extended Attributes data set option is also recognized by the product and can be used as a selection criterion. The Enhanced Allocation Management function SET_EATTR supports the EATTR keyword. For more information, see SET_EATTR.

Event recording and reporting

To help you evaluate product benefits, specific events that Advanced Allocation Management encountered, and subsequent actions that were taken for a particular job or time frame, and so on, Advanced Allocation Management provides an extensive event recording and reporting facility.

To view event history, use the online user interface or the batch reporting utility. To create customized reporting programs to suit your needs, see Event recording and reporting.

Integration with the Tivoli Enterprise Portal (TEP)

Integration with IBM® Tivoli® OMEGAMON® XE for Storage through TEP delivers seamless integration with related storage management capability and helps you monitor the effect of allocation abends that are managed by Advanced Allocation Management. You can view information and be alerted to situations from a single GUI through integration with TEP.

Extensive and flexible rule definitions

Extensive rule definitions give you the flexibility to choose the combination of selection criteria and functions that best suit your needs.

User-defined variables

To further customize Advanced Allocation Management processing, you can specify user-defined variables on select keywords.

Online user interface

You can access Advanced Allocation Management through an online user interface. Authorized users can issue operator commands to perform selected operations. For more information, see Managing control data set members and subsystems.

Operator commands

Authorized users can issue operator commands to view and update Advanced Allocation Management subsystem information, activate rule and volume group definitions, and enable or disable specific product functions such as product-level intercepts, from an operator console.

User-specified messaging

Advanced Allocation Management provides user-specified messaging for specific actions that were taken. You can direct the product messages to the JES SYSMSG data set, the operator console, or both.

SMF Reporting Utility

To help you evaluate potential Advanced Allocation Management cost savings, the SMF Reporting Utility generates a Projected Savings Report. For more information, see SMF Reporting Utility.