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DYNAMIC OPTIONS

This section contains an alphabetic list of the Dynamic Options attributes. The list includes a description of each attribute, its valid values, and the CA Vtape features it supports.

While active, the CA Vtape subsystem can dynamically reload the Dynamic Options attributes by using the following operator command:

SVTn REFRESH=OPTION

The following is an alphabetic list of the Dynamic Options attributes:

AllowBTEencryptionForVVE=

Determines when Virtual Volumes are eligible for encryption by CA Tape Encryption. CA Tape Encryption is a separately licensed product.

Valid Values:

Default: Y

Feature: Virtual Device Engine

CachePrimary=

Specifies the Primary space allocation, in MB, used for dynamically allocated Virtual Volume data sets.

The recommended value for this attribute is 1/10th of the Virtual Volume size, for example: 40, 80, or 200.

Valid Values: 24 to 2000

Default: 200

Feature: Miscellaneous

CacheSecondary=

Specifies the Secondary space allocation, in MB, used for dynamically allocated Virtual Volume data sets.

The recommended value for this attribute is 1/10th of the Virtual Volume size, for example: 40, 80, or 200.

Valid Values: 24 to 2000

Default: 200

Feature: Miscellaneous

ConsoleCommandTimeout=

Controls the number of seconds before console commands timeout and WTOR SVTnD9920I is issued.

Note: We recommend a setting of 60, which will allow 60 seconds for a CA Vtape console command to be executed before the WTOR is issued.

Valid Values: 30 to 600

Default: 300

Feature: Miscellaneous

DefaultGroup=

Controls the group number assigned to a Virtual Volume when the data set cannot be identified based on data class or data set name filter. One example of this is when a Virtual Volume is mounted on Virtual Device by a specific unit allocation, that is:

    //DD1 DD UNIT=/3455,DISP=(NEW,KEEP),..

Valid Values: GROUP01, GROUP02, GROUP03,… to GROUP74

Default: GROUP01

Feature: Miscellaneous

ForeignTapesExpdt=

Determines the expiration date value that will cause CA Vtape to bypass a mount request for a VOLSER that matches a Virtual Volume. For example, assume your Virtual Volume range is V00000-V99999 and a vendor ships you a tape with a VOLSER of V15000. If a job is run to read the tape using an esoteric that includes the CA Vtape virtual devices, CA Vtape will try to intercept the mount. Adding LABEL=EXPDT=value, where value is that of the ForeignTapesExpdt attribute, to the DD statement in the JCL will cause CA Vtape to bypass or ignore the mount request.

Note: Changing the DD statement UNIT parameter to an esoteric or generic that does not include the CA Vtape virtual devices will also cause CA Vtape to bypass or ignore the mount request.

Valid Values:

Default: 00000 or '1900/000'

Feature: Miscellaneous

GlobalReserve=

Determines whether the Global VCAT reserve is issued with a QNAME.RNAME of “SVTS.GLOBAL” or “SVTS.Global VCAT data set name”.

Valid Values:

Default: Enhanced

Feature: Miscellaneous

HardwareCompressionMethod=

Determines which compression methods can be employed when compression is active and compression is to be used for data written to a Virtual Volume.

Valid Values:

Note: More than one compression method can be specified for HardwareCompressionMethod by separating each method using a comma.

For example:

HardwareCompressionMethod= CMPSC,RLL
HardwareCompressionMethod= LZ78,RLL

When more than one compression method is employed, CA Vtape automatically monitors each method and chooses the method achieving the highest compression rate for a given Virtual Volume.

Default: ALL

Feature: Virtual Volume Compression

HardwareCompressionOption=

Determines if compression should be performed on data written to Virtual Volumes. If the network storage being used already performs compression, this option should be set to N.

Valid Values:

Note: For more information about Virtual Volume Compression, see the chapter “Virtual Device Engine.”

Default: N

Feature: Virtual Volume Compression

IOCpuTimeout=

Determines the number of CPU seconds allowed for each I/O before it is terminated by the operating system with ABEND code S05B. This prevents the Virtual Device Engine from looping.

Valid Values: 5 to 300

Default: 15

Feature: Virtual Device Engine

LogDetailLevel=

Determines the level of detail of internal processes that is recorded by the Logger.

Valid Values:

LogDetailLevel=2 and 3 may generate a large volume of records on an LPAR with a very active Subsystem.

HLQ.CCUUJCL(LOGEVENT) contains complete descriptions of what events are logged and the detail level they are logged at.

Default: 1

Feature: Logger

LogStream=

Determines whether the data generated by the Logger is copied from the CA Vtape log dataspace to an IBM system Log Stream data set. This is referred to as the External Logger.

Valid Values:

Note: The only valid Log Stream name is one that was created using the IBM IXCMIAPU utility. You can use the SVTn Display Log console command to determine the status of the logger.

Default: NONE

Feature: Logger

MaximumCompressionCPU=

Determines the maximum amount of data that will be compressed in each 50 MB segment of data written to a Virtual Volume. This percentage is directly related to the amount of CPU used by compression. If, for example, this percentage is set to 75, only 75% of the data written will be compressed and only 75% of the CPU that would have been used by compression is actually used.

Valid Values:

Note: For more information about Virtual Volume Compression, see the chapter “Virtual Device Engine.”

Default: 100

Feature: Virtual Volume Compression

MinimumCompressionRate=

Determines the minimum compression percentage that must be achieved to continue compressing a 50 MB segment of a Virtual Volume being written. Compression is tested every 50 MBs of each Virtual Volume to determine the best compression method to use.

Valid Values:

Note: For more information about Virtual Volume Compression, see the chapter “Virtual Device Engine.”

Feature: Virtual Volume Compression

MountRejectThreshold=

Determines the action taken when the tape management system rejects a scratch mount.

Valid Values:

Note: Cancel,10 is the recommended setting.

Default: IGNORE

Feature: Virtual Device Engine

PercentRunOnZIIP=

Specifies the percentage of work to be made eligible for the zIIP processor. In the Startup Options Section, attribute zIIPExploitation= must be set to Y to cause PercentRunOnZIIP to take effect. If PercentRunOnZIIP= is nonzero but zIIPExploitation=N is specified an error message will be issued and CA Vtape will run without zIIP processing activated.

Valid Values:

Default: 100

Feature: Virtual Device Engine

RealStorageSafetyThreshold=

Specifies the percentage which the z/OS available central storage satisfactory threshold should be multiplied by to determine the point at which CA Vtape should defer mount processing to help z/OS maintain a healthy central storage environment.

z/OS maintains two fields which are used to determine the health of its central or real storage. The fields are RCEAFCLO and RCEAFCOK in the RCE control block. RCEAFCLO is the available central storage low threshold. Reaching this point indicates to z/OS that aggressive actions must be automatically taken to prevent a real storage constraint from impacting the system. RCEAFCOK is the available central storage satisfactory threshold or safety point. Reaching this point indicates to z/OS that aggressive actions are no longer required because the real storage constraint has been relieved.

CA Vtape dynamically acquires real storage for its active virtual devices. As this activity increases, especially in a larger installation with lots of virtual devices being used concurrently, the amount of real storage usage could cause the available real storage to drop below the safety point. The RealStorageSafetyThreshold allows you to tell CA Vtape when to stop acquiring real storage to ensure that the CA Vtape does not cause real storage usage to go lower than the safety point.

For instance, the default of 400% implies that CA Vtape will keep a mount in pending status if the storage that needs to be acquired will reduce the available real storage to within 400% of the safety point. As other tasks that do not control themselves might be requesting real storage at the same time, the default of 400% is a conservative value to delay CA Vtape real storage requests well before z/OS experiences real storage stress. The default value should be lowered if you see CA Vtape delaying mounts on a system where a storage constraint is not occurring.

If the attribute value is set too high, CA Vtape will issue the SVTnV5008I message delaying new Virtual Mount requests and appear to hang. Previous mounts will continue to be processed. Only new requests will be delayed. When previous requests complete and free their storage, a new Virtual Mount request will be started unless the freed storage is consumed by some other task. Lowering the attribute value and issuing the SVTn REFRESH=OPTIONS console command for each CA Vtape subsystem which needs to pick up the change will eliminate the delays.

To disable this feature, specify a value of 0.

Valid Values: 0 to 900

Default: 400

Feature: Miscellaneous

ScratchReuseDelay=

This attribute Influences the number of days to delay the reuse of a scratched virtual volume. For example, a virtual volume scratched today should not be considered to satisfy a new scratch mount request until (n) days have elapsed.

If the attribute value cannot be honored because there are no n day old scratches available the subsystem will take the following actions:

Valid Values: 0 to 128

Default:5

Feature: Virtual Device Engine

ScratchVolumesThreshold=

Determines whether an SVTnD0928W message is issued every 30 minutes when the number of available scratch Virtual Volumes drops below the specified value.

Valid Values:

Default: 0

Feature: Virtual Device Engine