ACS Debugging – SMS/Debug is a powerful testing, tracing, and debugging tool for z/OS installations. With SMS/Debug, storage administrators can more effectively understand and manage their installation’s DFSMS environment. SMS/Debug includes the following components:

• Extensive tracing facilities for Automatic Class Selection (ACS) routines. Tracing is available for both real-time production ACS routines as well as test (unactivated) routines. Up to 99 different sets of ACS routines may be tested.
• Trace and display of the DFSMS volume selection process, including the display of the primary, secondary, and tertiary volume selection lists.
• Display of the results of the Direct Access Device Space Manager (DADSM) pre, and post, processing exit return codes, showing each volume considered for allocation.
• Automatic display of the DFSMS volume selection lists when an allocation error occurs.

ACS Quality Assurance – SMSDEBUG also contains an ISPF-based ACS test facility called ACS/QA. This facility can be useful in testing ACS routine execution and in performing regression testing when changes are made to the ACS routines. ACS/QA can be used to determine what the output of the ACS routines will be (including messages and exit codes), and can provide a side-by-side comparison of different pairs of ACS routines residing in different SMS control data sets.

ACS/QA provides a number of advantages over the native ISMF test facilities, making ACS routine testing much faster, more accurate, and more practical. These include:

• Side-by-side comparison of the results of testcase execution. This allows the user to see exactly which constructs, exitcodes, and messages will change as a result of changes to the ACS routines. It is not necessary to save output from prior tests – ACS/QA shows the results of the testcase execution for each SMS control dataset specified and flags exceptions.
• Optional ACS routine logic tracing as each test case executes.
• Optional updating of the ACS read-only variables from the data class definition after the data class ACS routine executes. This allows much more accurate testing of the following routines, which unlike ISMF or Naviquest testing, will ‘see’ the correct values for the ACS read-only variables.
• Optional one-line-per-testcase summary report
• List of all ACS read-only variables that were input to each testcase
• ACS routine exits (IGDACSxx) can be called, either the live system exits or ones loaded from a test load library. This allows testing of ACS routine exit code without the danger of affecting systemwide allocation and without the need for APF-authorized execution.
• Control statement overrides for SMS construct names, job names, and other read-only variables input to each testcase, allowing the test administrator more detailed control over the tests.
• Testcase execution can be limited to tests for particular jobs, datasets, or other criteria

Simple User Interface – When SMS/Debug is started, the product dynamically adds a JCL and TSO command extension to the system. The SMSDEBUG keyword parameter can then be used to activate the debug facilities on both batch and TSO data set allocations. For example, the following batch job uses the SMSDEBUG keyword to activate tracing.

//JOBNAME JOB… // EXEC PGM=IEFBR14 //DD1 DD DSN=TEST.DATASET,SPACE=(TRK,1), // STORCLAS=STC1,SMSDEBUG=YES

Trace Output Returned to User – The trace output is returned directly to the user. For batch jobs, the trace messages are included in the JES output message log. If a TSO trace is requested, the messages are returned directly to the TSO user. For VSAM IDCAMS defines, output is returned to the SYSPRINT DD statement.

No Rules Language – Unlike most of the other DTS Software products, SMS/Debug does not require any installation setup or product configuration.

ACS/QA ISPF Interface – ACS/QA test cases can be created, updated, and executed from an ISPF interface. The ISPF interface allows the user to define new test cases in a testcase library, select desired test cases to view or alter, or interactively execute one or more test cases.

 

Maximizes utilization of the SMS environment

Provides Tracing facility for:

• ACS Routines
• SMS Volumes
• DADSM Exits

Ease-of-Use

• Installs from CD or web download
• Trace facilities initiated using JCL extensions

The marketing literature is available to all visitors. The product manuals are only available to registered customers and companies trialing DTS products – login is required. To request authorized access, please complete the Registration form. DTS customer support will review your request. Upon approval, you will receive access notification by E-mail within one business day.

WEBINARS
Understanding Your ACS Routines	Jan 24 2023	130 MB	66 Minutes
SYS1.PARMLIB: What is it? What’s important? Why?	Sep 27 2022	110 MB	59 Minutes
How to Back Up and Restore a Dataset in z/OS®	Aug 30 2022	107 MB	57 Minutes
Introduction to z/OS® Tape Management Systems	Apr 26 2022	96.5 MB	65 Minutes
Understanding IDCAMS	Mar 15 2022	115 MB	67 Minutes
An Introduction to z/OS® Sort	Feb 15 2022	95 MB	63 Minutes
An Introduction to z/OS® Utilities	Jan 25 2022	113 MB	66 Minutes
We’ve Got a Problem: An Introduction to z/OS® Dumps and Debugging Tools	Nov 30 2021	151 MB	62 Minutes
Secure Data for Everyone – Pervasive Encryption and z/OS® Storage Management	Sep 21 2021	89.3 MB	60 Minutes
PDS, PDSE, GDG, HFS, USS and Other Strange z/OS® Animals	Aug 24 2021	111.50 MB	63 Minutes
Mysteries of the Storage Group – (part 4 of our series on “The Mysteries of SMS”)	Jun 29 2021	108.00 MB	61 Minutes
Mysteries of the Management Class and the Data Set Life Cycle – (part 3 of our series on “The Mysteries of SMS”)	May 25 2021	114.00 MB	61 Minutes
Mysteries of the Storage Class – (part 2 of our series on “The Mysteries of SMS”)	Apr 20 2021	117 MB	66 Minutes
Mysteries of the Data Class (and more) – (part 1 of our series on “The Mysteries of SMS”)	Mar 23 2021	101 MB	60 Minutes
Introduction to ISMF Test	Feb 23 2021	104.59 MB	61 Minutes
What’s a Manual Robot? Understanding System-Managed Tape	Dec 08 2020	101.00 MB	62 Minutes
Using REXX with DFSMSrmm	Oct 06 2020	85.96 MB	51 Minutes
An Introduction to Traditional DASD Backup and Recovery with DFSMShsm and FDRABR	Sep 15 2020	123.27 MB	60 Minutes
Take Control of Your SMS Environment – with SMS/Debug and Audit	Jun 20 2020	59.00 MB	40 Minutes
How Accurate Is Your DFSMS Environment? Introducing SMSAUDIT New Function for SMS/Debug	May 7 2019	64.31 MB	51 Minutes
ISMF Functions for Non-Storage-Administrators	Jun 15 2017	123.59 MB	57 Minutes
Tis the Season to have some fun with DFSMS – Testing and Tracing ACS	Dec 03 2015	80.21 MB	49 Minutes
DFSMS-ACS coding can still be confusing to say the least!!	Apr 23 2015	142.69 MB	63 Minutes
Everybody needs a little help sometimes with DFSMS and ACS!	Jul 29 2014	88.40 MB	52 Minutes
Owning and Understanding Your ACS Routines	Dec 17 2013	86.74 MB	60 Minutes
Quality Assurance and Debugging DFSMS ACS Routines – Simplified	Mar 28 2013	95.40 MB	52 Minutes
Managing Your z_OS Storage Environment More Efficiently	Oct 25 2011	99.80 MB	56 Minutes
MARKETING LITERATURE
SMS/Debug Datasheet	May 12 2021	631 KB
SMS/Debug Product Description	Oct 08 2013	65.87 KB
PRODUCT MANUALS
SMS/Debug User’s Guide	Mar 06 2017	364.76 KB
Product Installation Guide	Nov 01 2018	1.04 MB
Rule Language Programming Guide	May 24 2018	1.55 MB
SCC Messages Manual	Nov 25 2018	1.02 MB

 

SMS/Debug is actually a feature that’s been available in ACC for many years. Not all companies need the power and sophistication of ACC, but many SMS installations are still struggling to debug ACS rules and figure out “Why did SMS pick THAT volume?”

In early 2003, DTS cloned the SMS debugging features from ACC and wrote a very short manual for a very simple product – SMS/Debug.