You can describe removable media by their shape. For example, you can identify all round media, all square media, all small size media, or all cartridge media. You can use the VLPOOL parmlib command to define pools of media that are based on shape and to set the default media name. You can use media shape to identify the type of media that is allowed in a storage location. For example, you can keep tape reels, cartridges, and optical disks in different ranges of shelf space, where each type of media requires a differently shaped slot for storage.

When you decide which media names to use, consider the different media you have or might have in the future. You should use the same media names for storage locations that you use for pools. Use the LOCDEF command MEDIANAME operand to define each media name for each location to allow or restrict storage using media name. You can also aggregate similar media to use the same range of shelf space by using a media name of *.

There are four different types of media that fall into three basic media shapes: mini reels, reels, and cartridges. The number of reels in use in the installation is declining. Table 1 shows how the VLPOOL MEDIANAME and the LOCDEF MEDIANAME values can be defined. A different VLPOOL MEDIANAME has been defined for each different type of media. The media names describe the shape of the volumes or a physical characteristic like TWOTONE for enhanced capacity CST. In Table 1 (Case 1), the same LOCDEF media names are used to describe the media that can reside in the storage location. All volumes are segregated by their media name. In (Case 2), the cartridge system tape and enhanced capacity cartridge system tape are defined with the same media name and can be stored together because they are the same shape.

In Table 2, the media names REELS and CARTRDGE are used in the VLPOOL command to describe media shape. Each basic type of media has been allocated a different media name that gives information about the volumes. When the volumes are moved to a storage location, as shown in Table 2 (Case 3), all volumes are segregated by their media name. In (Case 4), all volumes are segregated by their media name but use is made of the * media name.

By careful selection of media names you can segregate shelf space in your removable media library using the VLPOOL parmlib command and in your storage locations using LOCDEF. See Organizing the library by pools for information about the use of VLPOOL.

You can also use media name to control movement of volumes to non-shelf-managed storage locations. For example, you might have a customer that can only accept cartridge system tape. You can control the type of media sent to that customer by defining the LOCDEF command with a specific media name. In Figure 1, only volumes with a media name of CART can be moved to the CUST1 location.

 LOCDEF LOCATION(CUST1) TYPE(STORAGE) MANAGEMENTTYPE(NOBINS) -
    MEDIANAME(CART)

During inventory management DFSMSrmm checks the media name for the location and prevents volume movement when the media name does not match. DFSMSrmm issues message EDG2412E for each volume that cannot be moved because its media name is not supported at the location.