Analyzing Your Current Tape Environment

The volume mount analyzer is a tool that helps you analyze your current tape environment. It identifies data sets that can be redirected to the DASD buffer for management using SMS facilities. It also identifies data sets that are very large and can benefit from advanced cartridge hardware and media technology.

The volume mount analyzer uses your SMF data to analyze tape mounts and associate them with the job and program initiating the request for the tape data set. It can also produce reports that identify information about tape mount events, including the data set name, job, program, and data set size (bytes transferred). Using the volume mount analyzer provides the following benefits:

Quantify® the benefits of tape mount management through library and tape mount reduction
Evaluate your tape and cartridge hardware configuration
Develop ACS routine filters to select tape mount management candidates and exclude other data sets that must remain on tape
For example, one set of filters can capture 90% of tape allocations that write single data set backups. You can then use this filter in an ACS routine to identify data that should be written to DASD with a management class specifying migration directly to tape.
Determine the data class requirements
Determine the management class requirements
Determine the size of the DASD buffer and the high and low thresholds for this buffer's storage group

The volume mount analyzer features the following two programs:

GFTAXTR reads the SMF data, and summarizes data from the tape-related records in a data set that can be processed by the analysis program. This data extraction program is usually only run once, normally with a month's worth of data.
GFTAVMA does the major analysis and produces reports, helping you to understand the current tape environment. You can then design the optimized tape environment, using tape mount management techniques.

Figure 1 shows the major input to and output from the volume mount analyzer process.

Figure 1. Volume Mount Analyzer Helps You Design Your Tape Mount Management Environment