TDAM - Tape Device Allocation Manager

"I want to automatically allocate my z/OS tape media!"

TDAM is a tool for the automated, unattended assignment of cartridge drives in the z/OS environment.

TDAM avoids delays in running batch jobs as well as tape unit upgrades for peak periods.

With TDAM you can realize an automatic and dynamic allocation of tape units amongst multiple z/OS images. So you can avoid delays while waiting for a manual search for tape units and minimize the total number of tape units required.

TDAM has been used successfully in medium and large data centers for years. Minimum installation times allow test installations without significant expenditure of time and money.

Advantages

  • Optimum utilization of existing tape resources
  • Fully automated mapping of drives
  • Reduction of drives by 20-40%
  • No operator intervention necessary
  • Constant configuration support in the form of statistics
  • Communication via LU 6.2 and TCP/IP
  • MVS operator commands
    • no influence on the EDL (Eligible Device List)
  • No interventions in the MVS operating system through undocumented functions
  • Can be used in several Parallelsysplex networks, as well as Parallelsysplex with independent MVS images
  • Can be used in JES2 and JES3 environments
  • Useful addition to the automatic use of the functionality of VTS

TDAM is a tool that ensures optimal utilization of cassette drives in the z/OS environment. The solution allows the automatic and dynamic allocation of cartridge units between multiple MVS images, thus avoiding delays in running batch jobs, as well as drive unit upgrades for peak times. TDAM only becomes active when there are bottlenecks in the drive mapping It is based on defined standard interfaces of the operating system. No undocumented changes are made to the operating system.

Highlights

  • No operator intervention required
  • Unlimited drives
    • Up to 32 z/OS Images per TDAM Complex
  • Low system load
  • Its based on standard interfaces of the operating system
  • Inter-TDAM communication via LU6.2 or TCP/IP
  • No use of undocumented functions
    • No Hooks
  • Support from OS/390 version 1
  • SWAP situations are resolved automatically
  • Reservation mechanism for applications with frequent tape processing
  • Analytics of the utilization of the drives
  • VTS support