VOLSER

Volume identifier. A local VOLSER other than the hard coded physical VOLSER can be specified to ensure unique volume identifiers in the site’s database. Up to six characters must be specified. Mandatory.

SL-NAME

Physical volume serial number that is hard coded on the volume. Up to six characters can be specified. The default value matches the VOLSER. Optional.

MEDIA TYPE

Volume media type defined at time of installation in member CTTPARM. Media types can be a maximum of eight characters. Mandatory.

LABEL TYPE

Type of label. Mandatory. Valid values are:

• SL – Standard label.
• NL – No label.
• AL – ANSI label.
• NSL – Non-standard label.

PRINT LABEL

Whether a label is printed for the external volume. Valid values are:

• Y (Yes) – A label is printed.
• N (No) – A label is not printed. Default.

MVS CATALOG

Whether the data sets on the volume should be cataloged in the MVS catalog. Optional. This field can be set to Y (Yes) only when at least one data set is defined in the EXTERNAL VOLUME DATASET LIST. Valid values are:

• Y (Yes) – The data sets are cataloged in the MVS catalog.
• N (No) – The data sets are not cataloged in the MVS catalog. Default.

ON UNIT

Unit name. A unit name defined in the system. Mandatory if the data set on the volume should be cataloged. Otherwise, optional.

DEL EXPIRED

Whether to physically delete expired tape information from the Media Database.

• Y (Yes) – Delete the information about the expired tape.
• N (No) – Do not delete the information. Default. The tape remains in the database as a Scratch tape.

RETENTION

When the specified retention period expires, the external volume becomes scratch and can be used for output. Mandatory. Valid values are:

• DAYS (DAY) — Number of days the external volume should be retained. A maximum of four digits can be specified.
• DATE (DAT) — The date until which the external volume should be retained. The date can be specified in 6-character or 8-character format, according to the standard used at the site (for example, mmddyy or mmddyyyy).
• PERMANENT (P) — The external volume is retained indefinitely (meaning, the volume never expires).
• CATALOG (C) or MVS (M) — The external volume is retained as long as its data sets are maintained by the MVS catalog. Valid only when at least one data set is defined in the EXTERNAL VOLUME DATASET LIST.
• RULES (R) — The external volume is retained as long as at least one of its data sets is retained. The retention and vault pattern for each data set listed in the EXTERNAL VOLUME DATASET LIST (of screen TC) is determined according to Control-M/Tape rules.
  A vaulting pattern is also assigned to the external volume when RULES type retention is specified in screen TC. The vaulting pattern for the volume is determined by the vault pattern (specified in Control-M/Tape rules) of the first data set on the volume, or the first data set with vaulting data (depending on the value specified for Control-M/Tape installation parameter VLTBYDS1).

Additional Information:

DESCRIPTION

Description of the external volume. A maximum of 20 characters can be specified. Optional.

USER FIELD

Free text.

VENDOR

Tape vendor.

OWNER

Owner of the tape. Mandatory if the KINQOWNR PROFILE parameter is set to Y.

External Volume Dataset List:

DATASET #

Data sets on the volume. A maximum of five data sets can be listed for the external volume. Optional. Each data set has a sequence number and an associated name with it.

Each data set name can be a maximum of 44 characters in length.

The last data set in the list (even if it is the only data set in the list) can be specified as a multi-volume data set.

After specifying the data sets for the volume, press Enter.

If data sets exist, the following lines appear at the bottom of the External Volume Check-In screen.

If no data sets exist, the Check-In confirmation window is displayed. For information regarding confirming the check-in, refer to Check-In Confirmation Window.

Note: If no data sets are specified or only a partial list of data sets is specified, the data sets can be dynamically defined in the Media Database, if parameter DYNDS has been set to Y in member CTTPARM (or in an equivalent rule). For more information on parameter DYNDS, refer to the INCONTROL of z/OS Installation Guide.

ADDITIONAL VOLUMES

The ADDITIONAL VOLUMES fields are displayed only when Enter is pressed after the EXTERNAL VOLUME DATASET LIST is specified. Once the ADDITIONAL VOLUMES fields are displayed, other fields on the screen cannot be modified.

If no additional volumes need to be specified:

Press Enter. The Check-In confirmation window is displayed, and the ADDITIONAL VOLUMES fields are removed from the display. For information regarding confirming the check-in, refer to Check-In Confirmation Window.

If additional volumes need to be specified:

A maximum of ten additional volumes can be specified for the last data set listed in the EXTERNAL VOLUME DATASET LIST.

The volumes are specified by entering pairs of VOLSERs and SL-NAMEs for each volume on the screen. Each VOLSER and SL-NAME can be a maximum of six characters in length. Control-M/Tape automatically checks in these sets of VOLSERs and SL-NAMEs as external volumes, using the same information specified in this external volume definition.

If an automatic volser generation is required and parameter EXTRNVOL in member CTTPARM has been set, enter ‘?’ in the VOLSER field, instead of specifying a VOLSER. After pressing Enter, a volser is generated automatically in the VOLSER field, replacing the ‘?’ sign.

After specifying additional volumes, press Enter. The Check-In confirmation window is displayed, and the ADDITIONAL VOLUMES fields are removed from the display.