On Tue, Dec 9, 2008 at 7:50 AM, Alan Altmark <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Monday, 12/08/2008 at 06:03 EST, Rob van der Heij <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > >> Since these are "user volumes" there is no value in doing CPFMTXA or >> ICKDSF FORMAT on them. When you hand the mini disk to Linux it will >> have to format it anyway (unless you can flashcopy a similar device >> that was already formatted by Linux). > > Technically correct, but as a matter of security policy it is Best > Practice to format a volume when it is brought into service (whether it > has been previously used or not). This ensures there is no residual data > on the volume.
But when you carve out the volume on your modern DASD subsystem, the volume will look like there is no residual data on it that would be read from it with normal channel programs? A second hand DS8000 you purchased on eBay? I expect that when a DASD subsystem is installed it will be initialized well enough for you. Equally when a new bank of drives is installed. Knowing that Linux will want to format it anyway, I would even skip the step where DIRMAINT does a CMS FORMAT for it. Whose residual data are you protecting? Your z/OS colleagues? Would their best practice not be to wipe out their sensitive data before they give up volumes (pure theory, z/OS rarely gives up volumes unless it's an ancient model :-) Your other Linux guest? (in that case your best practice would be to run ICKDSF also before it is given to the next guy). Sorry, I think we're getting again into ancient rituals from the days where you could see a gigabyte drive through the hallway and it would barely fit through the door. Shall we just say that this layer of storage has been sufficiently virtualized that you need proper procedures on the hipervisor level and give up traditions that you had when data was stored on the bare (rusty) metal. Rob
