XCF note pads reside in list structures, and these note pad host structures must be defined in the CFRM policy before an application can start using the XCF Note Pad Services.

XCF looks at the following characteristics when choosing a suitable structure to host a note pad:

• The name of the structure.
• The amount of available storage in the structure.
• Whether there is a list header available to host the note pad. Each note pad structure can host up to 1024 note pads.
• The duplexing attribute of the structure.

Once a suitable host structure is chosen, XCF connects and allocates the structure as needed. If the particular structure is inaccessible (for example, the structure is in rebuild), XCF moves onto the next suitable structure. If there are no other suitable structures, the create note pad request is rejected.

The installation and configuration documentation of the XCF Note Pad exploiter typically provides information that can be used to determine the structure size and attributes needed to host their note pad. You need to define the suitable host structures in the CFRM policy before the exploiter can use the XCF Note Pad Services. Defining multiple host structures allows XCF to use another suitable structure when one is not accessible.

See z/OS MVS Programming: Sysplex Services Guide for more information about note pad host structure selection processing.

Managing coupling facility resources provides considerations for setting up a CFRM policy. You format the couple data set that will contain the CFRM policy with the IXCLIDSU utility program. You set up your CFRM policy using the administrative data utility (IXCMIAPU), which resides in SYS1.MIGLIB. See Administrative data utility for more information.