After Expiration

When an external volume is due for expiration, it can either be physically deleted from the Media Database (and returned to its place of origin), or it can remain in the Media Database and be handled like a regular volume (meaning, it can be assigned a status of EXT-SCRATCH and can then be used as a scratch tape). Information about expired external volumes marked EXT-SCRATCH is saved in the Media Database, and can be retrieved as needed.

The DEL EXPIRED field (specified during check-in of an external volume) indicates if a volume should be physically deleted from the Media Database upon expiration. The default is not to delete the volume. Option D (Delete) of the Inquire/Update Screen can be used to delete an external volume from the Media Database after it has expired. Only volumes with a status of EXT-SCRATCH can be deleted from the Media Database with option D.

Note: Records describing external volumes checked in through the Automatic Check-In facility are automatically deleted from the Media Database when the relevant volumes are expired. The DEL EXPIRED field is irrelevant for these volumes. If you want to keep volumes with a status of EXT-SCRATCH in the Media Database, the labels of these volumes must be modified so that the volser and SL-name match. Label modification can be performed through the CTTTPI utility. Once the volumes are relabeled, they are treated as local volumes.