Processing Foreign Tapes › Foreign Tape Processing

Foreign Tape Processing

A foreign tape is a tape that is not defined to the Tape Management System. Foreign tapes fall into two categories:

• VOLSERs that were never defined to the Tape Management System
• duplicate VOLSERs.

Foreign tape processing involves coding a special value in your JCL. The value indicates that the Tape Management System does not track and validate the use of the VOLSER referenced. The special value is typically LABEL=EXPDT=98000.

CA Vtape has similar capability that the ForeignTapesExpdt attribute (in the Dynamic Options Section of Parmlib) controls. When a specific mount request for a CA Vtape VOLSER is detected and the referenced DD statement defines an expiration date that matches the ForeignTapesExpdt value, CA Vtape ignores the mount request.

If you write to a VOLSER that matches that of a CA Vtape Virtual Volume, all subsequent mount requests for this VOLSER must use a LABEL=EXPDT value equal to the ForeignTapesExpdt value. Otherwise, CA Vtape tries to intercept the mount request and mount the Virtual Volume instead of the original VOLSER written.

Define a ForeignTapesExpdt value consistent with that used by the installed tape management system. For example, when mounting a tape that CA 1 does not control, code LABEL=EXPDT=98000 on the DD statement to bypass CA 1 validation. Using the same value for CA Vtape allows a foreign tape with a VOLSER matching that of a Virtual Volume to be mounted on a non-Virtual Device.

To correct problems, you might need to mount a Virtual Volume but bypass tape management validation. Set the ForeignTapesExpdt attribute to a value that does not match that of the tape management system. To pick up the change, issue the SVTn REFRESH=OPTIONS console command. Code LABEL=EXPDT=98000 in your JCL to bypass the tape management system, but not CA Vtape.

Another way to mount a foreign tape whose VOLSER matches that of a CA Vtape Virtual Volume is to code a unit esoteric or generic that does not contain the Virtual Devices or code a device number that does not belong to CA Vtape. CA Vtape can only intercept a tape mount when its Virtual Devices are part of the eligible device list associated with the unit esoteric or generic being used or a Virtual Device number is specifically referenced. All other mounts are ignored.