On creating a VSAM cluster

1

Please, consider a scenario where an Application Programmer has been allowed to create VSAM clusters, but, for some unspecified (odd) reason, was not explicitly told which volumes could be specified on a “DEFINE CLUSTER” command to IDCAMS. Furthermore, no DATACLASS or STORAGECLASS are known either.

My question: Would there be “generic names” (similarly to SYSDA or SYSALLDA for the UNIT of temporary datasets) defined by system administrators of an installation that could be used instead of previously known VOLSERs (volume names) beforehand of the cluster creation attempt?

If I simply omit VOLUMES I get:
0IDC3506I REQUIRED VOLUMES AND/OR DEVICETYPES HAVE BEEN OMITTED

But if I try to just specify DEVICETYPES( 3390 ) I get
0IDC3211I KEYWORD 'DEVICETYPES' IS IMPROPER
which is fair because DEVICETYPES isn’t even specified on IDCAMS Command’s manual as a valid parameter to DEFINE CLUSTER.

I know that by taking advantage of IEFBR14 while creating a simple dataset, one of the JES logs would end up revealing some volume along with its catalog and those pieces of information could work in the VSAM’s creation. But, of course, that would be kind of cheating and I would like to know if it’s known to exist a right/proper answer to my original question and what would be that answer (ask your system administrator or ask your shop wouldn’t count).

Thanks in advance.

2

If you have SMS managed DASD, the system will allocate a VOLSER for you. If no SMS, I would look at 3.4 for an existing VSAM dataset and try that volume.

There are no generic VOLSER identifiers. That would defeat the purpose of the VOLSER.

If you don’t know something, it’s not “cheating” to snoop and find it.

3

Thanks for replying.

Although the logs of a job handling a dataset could end up revealing usable VOLUMES and the CATALOG, which could work to some extent, the scenario I presented then seems “unreal” or at least “not ideal”.

Thus, I tend to believe after all that “the best” scenario/approach would be to receive guidelines from Storage Administrators, System Programmers or Operators about which DATACLASS/STORAGECLASS to use for a given task.