The Herb Garden

If you need more space in your SMPPTS data set, then you should consider defining one or more SMPPTS spill data sets. SMPPTS spill data sets are used to contain SYSMODs when the primary SMPPTS data set is full. Specifically, when the primary SMPPTS data set is full, SYSMODs are written to the first spill data set. When the first spill data set is full, SYSMODs are then written to the second spill data set, and so on. This continues until all SYSMODs are written to one of the data sets, or until the primary SMPPTS and all of the spill data sets are full.

Note: SMPPTS spill data sets is a new function in SMP/E provided by PTF UR52517 for OS/390 Version 2 Release 5 and 6, and by PTF UR52518 for OS/390 Version 2 Release 7, 8, 9, and 10. 

 

SMPPTS spill data sets are permanent partitioned data sets which you allocate and manage just like the SMPPTS data set. You then define these permanent spill data sets to SMP/E using either DD statements or DDDEF entries. The first spill data set must be specified with a DD statement or DDDEF entry named SMPPTS1, the second must be specified with a DD statement or DDDEF entry named SMPPTS2, and so on, up to a maximum of SMPPTS99. When you specify SMPPTS spill data sets, do not skip any spill data set ddnames; if a spill data set is omitted, this indicates the end of the list, and SMP/E ignores any spill data sets which may follow the omitted data set. For example, if you specify only SMPPTS1 and SMPPTS3, then SMP/E uses only SMPPTS1 and ignores SMPPTS3.

 

If SMPPTS spill data sets are defined using DDDEF entries, then the DDDEF entries for the spill data sets must be added to all zones (global, target and distribution zones). If the DDDEF entries are added only to the global zone, the spill data sets will not be detected and used during APPLY and ACCEPT processing and you will likely get a message indicating a SYSMOD could not be located in the SMPPTS data set.

 

Whether your SMPPTS spill data sets are defined by DDDEF entries or DD statements, SMP/E will refer to each of the data sets, in sequential order, when writing to, reading from, and deleting SYSMOD members from the SMPPTS data sets. Also, after SMP/E writes a SYSMOD member to the SMPPTS or a spill data set, SMP/E does not keep track of which data set that SYSMOD member resides in. This means you are free to manage the SMPPTS and spill data sets however you want. You can merge data sets, split data sets, and move members from one data set to another, without affecting SMP/E.

As part of SMPPTS spill data set support, SMP/E will now compress an out-of-space SMPPTS data set and retry any operation which results in an out-of-space condition. The RETRYDDN subentry of an OPTIONS entry indicates if SMP/E should compress data sets and retry operations. You should specify RETRYDDN(ALL) in your active OPTIONS entry. This tells SMP/E to compress all out-of-space data sets and retry operations. The primary SMPPTS data set, and all SMPPTS spill data sets are eligible for RETRY processing.

If RETRYDDN(ALL) is not specified, then SMP/E will not compress the SMPPTS or spill data sets. Rather, an out-of-space condition will cause SMP/E to simply move on to the next data set in sequential order, without first compressing the data set and retrying the operation.