Tape data set name using Tape serial number

maheshvamsi · New User Joined: 22 Mar 2008 Posts: 39 Location: bangalore

Hi,

is it possible to get tape dataset name by giving tape serial number. I am not sure how to get this.....

I searched in this forum for this but didn't get the solution.

could you please give some suggestions for achieving this.

Robert Sample · Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2009 10:54 pm

If you have a tape management system such as CA-1, the interface allows you to specify a tape volume serial and get the data set names on the tape. Or your site may have one of the tapemap utilities that can be used for this purpose.

If not, you cannot easily get the data set name from the volume serial -- part of the name is stored in the label (assuming the tape is a labeled tape) but not the whole name; if the tape data set name is cataloged you can get to it through the catalog but that requires a search.

maheshvamsi · New User Joined: 22 Mar 2008 Posts: 39 Location: bangalore

Yes, we have Tape management System.

I usually check there only.

Is it possible to get it from job, where we can give tape serial number, from that we can get Tape Dataset name.

Could you please suggest.

expat · Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 11:32 am

Look at what Robert has said

Bill Dennis · Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 6:40 pm

maheshvamsi · New User Joined: 22 Mar 2008 Posts: 39 Location: bangalore

We uses CA-1 in our project

dick scherrer · Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 10:13 pm

Hello,

If you have permission, you can look at the info by volser using the CA-1 screens, or you can write a simple query using EARL (or possibly GRW, if it is available).

Suggest you talk with your storage management people to see which might be available to you. This is restricted at many sites.

maheshvamsi · New User Joined: 22 Mar 2008 Posts: 39 Location: bangalore

Hi Dick,

I am using CA-1 Screens only, we have requirements to give Dataset names on tapes. So they will provide us with only tape serial numbers & we need to provide tape data set name.

I am hering for the first time about EARL & GRW.

Could you please tell what are these & how to use them..

As I am from support team, I may have access to use anything in our shop.

dick scherrer · Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 10:34 pm

Hello,

CA-EARL is a reporting tool that will read the TMC and produce output of selected info. You would write your code to select the volser(s) of interest and report the dsn or any other info you might want.

GRW (General Report Writer?) is another reporting tool that has been part of CA-1 for a long, long time. People who have used CA-1 "for ages" learned GRW and did not want to learn EARL

It has been almost 10 years since i helped resolve some issues with a rather large tape inventory (over 2 million cartridges) and converted some of this to V-Tape, so my memory might not be completely accurate and the product may have been changed since then.

If my memory is working, there are EARL examples in the documentation.

You might open an issue with CA support.

Bill Dennis · Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 3:10 am

CA-1 also has documented APIs so you could do lookup in a program. Check the manuals for the TMMxxxx macros.

At a prior job, I wrote an EDIT macro that invoked a utility to look up the info from TMC and insert JCL based on the VOLSER at the cursor position. Very handy when the file was multi-volume.

maheshvamsi · New User Joined: 22 Mar 2008 Posts: 39 Location: bangalore

Thanks Dick & Dennis

I will try to find out some examples how to use GRW or a Macro for this.

now its time to try something ..