Selecting spill backup volumes

When DFSMShsm selects a spill backup volume, it considers whether this is the initial spill volume selection or a subsequent spill volume selection.

If an error occurs during the selection process for a tape and the error is associated with a particular volume, DFSMShsm considers the tape spill backup volume unavailable for spill backup processing and selects another spill backup volume. Each time DFSMShsm is started, all non-full backup volumes are considered available for backup processing.

The subparameters of the SPILL parameter of the SETSYS command control the type of spill backup volume selected for output during spill processing. DFSMShsm ignores the device category specified for backup when it performs spill processing:
  • SETSYS SPILL(ANY) specifies that any type of spill backup volume can be selected for output during spill processing.
  • SETSYS SPILL(DASD) specifies that only DASD spill backup volumes are selected for output during spill processing.
  • SETSYS SPILL(TAPE) specifies that only tape spill volumes are selected for output during spill processing. The automatic class selection (ACS) routines determine whether the spill function is directed to a system-managed tape library.
  • SETSYS SPILL(TAPE(unittype)) specifies that only tape spill volumes are selected for output during spill processing. The ACS routines determine whether the spill function is directed to a system-managed tape library.

    When the spill function is not using a system-managed tape library, UNITTYPE specifies that only tape spill volumes capable of being mounted and written to on the specified type of unit are selected for output during spill processing.

Related reading

For more information about spill processing, see z/OS DFSMShsm Implementation and Customization Guide.