FDRPAS history records

You can display a history of the swaps that FDRPAS has performed, FDRPAS creates a history record for every successful swap. These history records are simple catalog entries in an ICF catalog. No special database is required. These names exist only in the catalog; no real data sets by these names are created.

The high-level index of the FDRPAS history records is the value specified for PASINDEX in the FDR option table in the FDRPAS load library. By default, the value of PASINDEX is “FDRPAS”.

To record history records, you need to define an ICF user catalog (or choose an existing catalog to use) and associate an alias to that catalog in your master catalog; the alias name must match the value of PASINDEX. This catalog can be shared among the systems swapping the volumes, or you can define a unique catalog on every system (or a mixture). FDRPAS SWAP and MONITOR tasks must have authority to create data sets starting with the PASINDEX into the aliased user catalog. If they do not, the history records are not created but the swaps run successfully.

Do not assign PASINDEX to a user catalog with a lot of activity. Because every SWAP and MONITOR task attempts to catalog into that catalog when a swap ends, there are catalog updates from multiple systems in a very short period of time. Depending on the type of catalog sharing and caching in use, this can cause other catalog requests to be delayed and may cause FDRPAS to be delayed. If desired, you can DEFINE a new user catalog for the PASINDEX.

If you choose not to record FDRPAS history records on one or more systems, then do not define an alias matching PASINDEX in the master catalog of those systems. You receive a message indicating that the alias does not exist, but the swap ends normally.

The format of the cataloged data set name is:

This documents the volume serial that was swapped, the date and time of the swap, and the name of the system it was swapped on. If multiple systems are involved, a separate history record is created for each. For example,

This indicates that volume PROD01 was swapped on 2020/003 (January 3, 2020) at 09:12:42 on system PRODSYS.

Other fields in the catalog entry record the original device address of the volume, and the device address it was swapped to. Although you can display these catalog records with IDCAMS LISTCAT and other utilities, the internal fields with the device addresses are not displayed by those utilities.

Note that system names can be any eight alpha, numeric, or national characters; they do not have to start with an alphabetic character. However, if the first character is numeric, it creates a nonstandard data set name, which would be rejected when FDRPAS attempted to catalog it. In such cases, FDRPAS sets the last index level of the cataloged dsname to “#” (number sign) followed by the first seven characters of the system name. If the system name is seven or less characters, the full system name is used after the “#” (number sign). (Customers outside the US: the # character can be displayed with whatever character generates hex value x’7B’ in the local language).

Without further action, history records are retained indefinitely, but you can discard them simply by uncataloging them. You can automate deletion of old history records by using the HISTORY TYPE=SWAP command of FDRPAS (see MONITOR WAITSWAPTERM MOUNT Statement).

You can display the history records with HISTORY command of the FDRPAS ISPF panels (see FDRPAS ISPF Interface). Here is a sample:

FDRPAS History – Panel A.E – HISTORY Command