Setting Up and Managing SMF Recording to Data Sets

To record SMF records in SMF data sets, an installation must allocate direct access space and catalog the SMF data sets. IBM® recommends that you catalog the SMF data sets in the master catalog.

SMF should have a minimum of two data sets for its use, and IBM recommends that you run with a minimum of three SMF data sets to ensure availability.

Select DASDs that can handle the volume of data that SMF generates at your installation. If the I/O rate for a device is too slow, SMF places the data it generates in buffers. The buffers will eventually fill, which could result in lost data. Several factors, such as the specific system configuration, the amount of SMF data to be written, the size of SMF buffers (the control interval size), and your installation's report program requirements, determine which device type is most efficient for a particular installation.