Introduction to ISMF

The Interactive Storage Management Facility (ISMF) is the interactive interface of DFSMS that allows you to access the storage management functions, helping you to analyze and manage data and storage.

ISMF is designed to use the storage management, data management, space management, and availability management (backup/recovery) functions that are provided by DFSMSdfp™, DFSMShsm™, DFSMSdss™, DFSMSrmm™.

ISMF is an Interactive System Productivity Facility (ISPF) application. ISMF works with the following products, with which you should be familiar:

Interactive System Productivity Facility/Program Development Facility (ISPF/PDF), which provides the edit, browse, Data Set, and Library utility functions
TSO/Extensions (TSO/E), TSO CLISTs and commands
Data Facility SORT (DFSORT™), which provides the record-level functions
RACF®, a component of the Security Server for z/OS®, which provides the access control function for data and services
Device Support Facilities (ICKDSF,) which provide the storage device support and analysis functions

ISMF provides access to the functions of the DFSMS family of products, as represented in Figure 1

Figure 1. Storage Management Product Relationship

What You Can Do with ISMF

ISMF is a panel-driven interface. You can use the panels in an ISMF application to perform the following tasks:

Display and print lists of information about specific data sets, DASD volumes, mountable optical volumes, and mountable tape volumes
Generate lists of data, storage, and management classes to find out how data sets are being managed
Display and manage lists saved from various ISMF applications

To determine which data sets will appear in a data set list or which volumes will appear in a volume list, you complete selection entry panels. ISMF generates a list based on your selection criteria. Once the list is built, you can use ISMF entry panels to perform space management or backup and recovery tasks against the entries in the list.

As a user performing data management tasks against individual data sets or against lists of data sets or volumes, you can use ISMF to:

Edit, browse, and sort data set records
Delete data sets and backup copies
Protect data sets by limiting their access
Recover unused space from data sets and consolidate free space on DASD volumes
Copy data sets or DASD volumes to the same device or another device
Migrate data sets to another migration level
Recall data sets that have been migrated so that they can be used
Back up data sets and copy entire volumes for availability purposes
Recover data sets and restore DASD volumes, mountable optical volumes, or mountable tape volumes

Each site can control who can use certain functions described in this book. Your organization might require you to have authorization to use certain functions. Your security administrator can explain any restrictions your site has established.

You cannot allocate data sets from ISMF. Data sets are allocated from ISPF, from TSO, or with job control language (JCL) commands. ISMF provides the DSUTIL command, which enables users to get to ISPF and toggle back to ISMF.

For more information on what you can do with ISMF, see Customizing the Interactive Storage Management Facility.

Using NaviQuest with ISMF

ISMF also works with NaviQuest, allowing more automation of storage management tasks. NaviQuest is a testing and reporting tool that speeds and simplifies the tasks that are associated with DFSMS initial implementation and ongoing ACS routine and configuration maintenance. NaviQuest provides the following functions:

Familiar ISPF panel interface to functions
Fast, easy, bulk testcase creation
ACS routine and DFSMS configuration testing automation
Storage reporting assistance
Additional tools to aid with storage administration tasks
Batch creation of data set and volume listings
Printing of ISMF LISTs
Batch ACS routine translation
Batch ACS routine validation

More information on NaviQuest can be found in z/OS DFSMSdfp Storage Administration.