When volumes expire prematurely

If your volumes are expiring and being returned to scratch status sooner than you expect, perform these tasks.

Ensure that the default retention period is not too low.
Ensure that vital record specifications are correctly specified and that you have defined all necessary ones.
List the data sets and the vital record specifications that DFSMSrmm matches to the data sets.

Recommendation: You might have to define additional vital record specifications with more specific data set names to ensure that the volumes are correctly retained.

Create an ACTIVITY report using the EDGHSKP utility to determine why a data set is not retained by a vital record specification. If you cannot resolve the problem after checking the retention period and vital record specifications, run the EDGAUD utility to produce a report on the history of volume movement.

Related Reading: For information about the ACTIVITY report and how to obtain an audit trail report using EDGAUD, see z/OS DFSMSrmm Reporting.