There are many sites that run VTS with Multi Image Allocation. MIA should have nothing to do with performance of the Data transfer. If a device allocates slowly, that could be an opportunity for MIA. If you are in MODE=GROUP, you can adjust the cycle time to be more responsive. I do recommend MODE=DEMAND, unless you have a very large n-way Sysplex.
You absolutely can use device Preferencing for MIA managed devices. It works very well. You could use different Esoteric names for the devices at the Remote site. Example: UNIT=REMTAPE. It's easy to create a different EDT for each data center to reference the other one. Other sites have become very sophisticated by coding specific exits to handle remote Devices. Without knowing exactly what you are trying to do, it's hard to help you pick the correct route. I always vote for the simplest way. Could the performance challenge be related to the peer-to-peer hardware? If it worked adequately previous with STK, it should work just as good with the VTS. Again, I think more info is needed. Let me know if you need additional help with MIA. Norman Hollander CA Technology Services ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html