IBM Mainframe Forum

What dos this have to do with TSO and ISPF???

For the most part you cannot access tape datasets from TSO. Most shops do not allow tape datasets to be accessed from TSO.

Well, I've actually done that without tape mount authority - using AVR, as operations support many many years ago, I have access to the data center and tape drives easily, so I had a clist that would allocate the tape dataset, first I'd pre-mount the tape, that's where AVR comes in, then I'd run my clist and viola! I was able to read/browse a tape dataset. I'm sure those holes have been since closed, but it sure was nice, expecailly when we'd archive syslog to tape.
Peter

Well, you can also use the MOUNT command. It would work more reliably since an AVR mounted tape can be dismounted at any time before it's allocated I never thought about trying Peter_Mann's trick, but it won't work for most of us since we don't have access to the data center.

Back in the 1970s or maybe the early 1980s I wrote a custom logon proc that mounted a tape I was then able to use in the TSO session.

Your absolutly right, and I guess I shouldn't have even suggested it Steve, like you say, in a busy data center, with many tape mounts, if the drive is needed, and the tape I mounted is not needed, it gets kicked down. my timing was....good, and I was lucky.
Peter

Peter, the intent of your post is not clear. It still remains that TSO access to tapes is highly unlikely:
- most of us do not have physical access to the tape drives
- only a few of us have a time machine to return to a time when such a thing was possible.

Perhaps you meant to append to REMINISC FORUM.

ps. Use HSM to archive stuff.

Pedro wrote:Peter, the intent of your post is not clear. It still remains that TSO access to tapes is highly unlikely:
- most of us do not have physical access to the tape drives
- only a few of us have a time machine to return to a time when such a thing was possible.

Perhaps you meant to append to REMINISC FORUM.

ps. Use HSM to archive stuff.

Should have been a PM to Steve....
Please excuse my ignorance...
Peter