Supported hosts

This section describes hosts supported by the IBM® TS7700.

The TS7700 supports the following host attachments:

  • IBM Z® mainframe
  • IBM s390 server

The TS7700 supports the following operating systems:

  • z/OS®, V1R13 and later (earlier release levels were initially supported, however those release levels are no longer in service. Refer to Preventive Service Planning bucket D/T3957 from the IBM Support and Downloads link in the Related information section for the list of applicable maintenance)
  • z/VM®, V5.4.0 and later. V5.4.0 or later with the PTFs for APAR VM64979 is required for both guest and native VM support providing base CP functions.
  • z/VSE®, 4.3 and later. With z/VSE, the TS7700 is transparent to host software. z/VSE supports the TS7700 as a stand-alone system in transparency mode. z/VSE 5.1 or later supports copy export and a multi-cluster grid.
  • zTPF, V1.1 and later. With z/TPF the TS7700 is supported in both a single node and a grid environment with the appropriate software maintenance. The category reserve and release functions are not supported by the TS7700.
Later versions of host software might be required to fully use TS7700 enhancements.
Notelist:
  • Native VM Tape library support for these drives is provided by DFSMS/VM FL221 with PTFs for RMS APAR VM64773 and VM65005 and their prerequisite service.
  • EREP V3.5 plus PTFs is required.
Supported hosts connect to the TS7700, which connects to a TS3500 or TS4500 Tape Library, either directly or through a 3953 L05 Library Manager.
Note: Attachment to a TS3500 Tape Library via a 3953 L05 Library Manager is only supported by TS7740 microcode levels prior to 8.5.0.xx. Attachment to a TS3500 Tape Library without a 3953 L05 Library Manager is supported by TS7740 microcode level 8.5.0.xx or later.

A host connects to the TS7700 via the 8 Gb or 16 Gb FICON® adapters. Each installed adapter supports 512 virtual paths.

Control Paths
A control path is a virtual path into the virtual library along which a host sends control commands. Each tape drive that is attached to a subsystem can act as a control path. A 3592 Tape Drive must be designated as a control path if 3592 Tape Drives are to operate successfully in a TS3500 Tape Library attached to the TS7700.
Control path functions are performed at the tape library operator panel. For general information on control paths, see the IBM System Storage TS3500 Tape Library Introduction and Planning Guide, GA32-0469. For the procedure to enable, disable, or modify control paths, see the IBM TS3500 Tape Library Operator Guide, GA32-0560.
Attention: Coordinate performance of the following activities with your service representative:
  • Control path modification
  • Dynamic reallocation of tape drives
Both of these activities require reconfiguration of the subsystems associated with the tape drives. Failure to reconfigure the subsystems after control path modification or dynamic tape allocation can disrupt normal tape library operation.