Introduction › Preparing the Tape Library › Qualifying Data Set Names

Qualifying Data Set Names

This figure illustrates how qualified data set names can relate directly to the organization chart:

When you use levels of qualifiers to define data set names, you create three different methods to indicate to CA TLMS which data sets are to be included in the action being requested:

1. You can give a fully qualified data set name. This action applies only to the data set that has that exact name.
2. You can give a partially qualified data set name. This is a generic data set name, terminated by a dash(-). This action applies to all data sets that begin with the generic characters (not including the dash).
3. You can give an IBM-qualified data set name. This is a generic data set name, terminated by a period and dash(.-). This action applies to all data sets that start with the generic characters, including the period.

When CA TLMS searches for data set names that match the data set definition, it matches as many characters as it can. Therefore, a fully qualified DSN takes precedence over a partially qualified DSN. A partially qualified DSN with more qualifiers takes precedence over a partially qualified DSN with fewer qualifiers.

The following chart illustrates examples of those data sets that would be included in each type of definition. (The order of the examples corresponds to the numbered list in Qualifying Data Set Names.)

At this point, it is only important to understand that you can use data set naming standards to group data sets that have the same retention criteria. This can later reduce the number of definitions you have to code.

More Information:

Understanding Tape Retention