IBM Mainframe Forum

Talk to your site support group!

Most sites these days have support for extended VSAM data sets (that is, a VSAM data set that has more than 4 GB) -- but whether or not YOUR site does is not something anyone on this forum can say.

If your site does not yet support extended VSAM, then what you want to do cannot be done -- period. The 4 GB limit is an absolute limit unless extended support is available.

Thanks for your reply Robert. I read about half track blocking. How can we achieve this in the current VSAM definition? FRom what I undertand, that would help me avoid hitting 4GB limit.

WE are stuck in a situation where the storage team is not available over weekend and it is critical we resolve this issue now.

I am trying to understand what can be done to avoid hitting the limit.

//COPYVSAM EXEC PGM=IDCAMS
//SYSPRINT DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSIN DD *
DELETE (ABCDE.FGHHIJK.LMN.CLUSTER.Q42014) CLUSTER
DEFINE -
CLUSTER -
(NAME(ABCDE.FGHHIJK.LMN.CLUSTER.Q42014) -
OWNER(CA7CSF) -
KEY(29 0) -
RECSZ(126 5344) -
FREESPACE(0 0) -
RECOVERY -
NOERASE -
INDEXED -
NOWRITECHECK -
NOIMBED -
NOREPLICATE -
UNORDERED -
REUSE -
CYL(1500 1500) -
NONSPANNED -
SHR(2 3) -
VOLUME(****))

Number of records, I forgot to mention earlier is 7644848.

7285967 record got copied and the job is abending post that.

WE are stuck in a situation where the storage team is not available over weekend and it is critical we resolve this issue now.

remember ...
replying on a forum is on voluntary base
on our own time
free of charge

there is no obligation on our side to reply/help
there should be no expectation on your side to receive any

unfortunately Your urgency is Yours and only Yours ...
a help forum is not the best place to seek help for time critical problems

I completely agree with you. I am sorry if you felt like I was trying to impose any urgency. I was just trying to tell, why I posted in the forum instead of going to the storage team.

it is not a problem of imposing or wording ...
it is just that claiming urgency, or venting about (mis)organization issues, is against any good habits in posting ,
and You might get -on some forum/mailing list- much worse answers and bashing

IMHO even worse when You ask questions that should be answered by people getting paid for that inside Your organization

furthermore we know nothing about the way Your system is set up,
so any reply good for the environments we know about might not agree with Your organization standards

Half-track blocking will not help you. Half-track blocking is NOT for VSAM data sets -- VSAM data sets use controlintervals and controlareas instead of blocks.

And your basic problem will not change, no matter the number of records or anything else you say or attempt -- a VSAM data set has a limit of 4 GB UNLESS EXTENDED ADDRESSABILITY IS USED AND AVAILABLE AT YOUR SITE. You cannot get around this limit by any technique you use -- it is an absolute limit. You need to work with your site storage group -- either via callout this weekend or next week after they get back -- to use extended addressability for your VSAM data set.

As far as your question goes, the ONLY thing you can do to not hit the limit is to not load so many records into the data set -- or convert it to extended addressability so the limit no longer applies (and the technique to do so will be specific to your site).

Post a LISTCAT. In the Code tags.