MVS™ maintains a retry count for each path in the sysplex. When an error occurs on a path, MVS retries the path. If the retry is unsuccessful, MVS adds one to the retry count; if the retry is successful, MVS subtracts one from the retry count. When the retry count matches the specified RETRY value, MVS stops the path.

You specify a path's retry limit on the RETRY keyword of the PATHIN and PATHOUT statements (or take the default specified on the RETRY keyword of the COUPLE statement). After IPL, you can specify retry limits using various SETXCF commands.

The retry limit for a signaling path defined through a list structure becomes the retry limit for every signaling path, in that direction (outbound or inbound), on the system that uses that structure for signaling.

For most installations, the default retry limit of 10 should be satisfactory. However, in a sysplex that includes MVS/ESA SP Version 4 systems (as well as SP Version 5 or OS/390® systems), IBM® recommends increasing the retry value on the SP Version 4 systems to at least 15. This increase would allow the Version 4 systems to tolerate the additional retry attempts that later systems sometimes make when attempting to establish signaling connectivity.