PLRSCAN results in a SMR399A PLRISCAN UNABLE TO OBTAIN 16 BYTES message and fails with a U0399 abend

Products

• SMR

Issue/Introduction

SMR399A PLRISCAN UNABLE TO OBTAIN 16 BYTES  
IEA995I SYMPTOM DUMP OUTPUT  028            
  USER COMPLETION CODE=0399                 

IEF450I PLRSCANP SMRSCAN - ABEND=S000 U0399 REASON=00000000

Using program PLRSCAN to search for a character string in a DAILY file

example statement: FUNCTION SDATE=25.255;EDATE=25.255;CONSTANT='BA0CGPP'

Environment

z/OS all levels

SMR 3.4 and above

Cause

REGION limits within the scope of the request

Resolution

Simple resolution is to always use REGION=0M on the job card when using batch retrievals. 

When using online retrievals from large DAILY files (for example 800 plus cylinders) you should use the batch methodology. Some TSO/ISPF sessions are unable to use more than REGION=4096K.

This is acceptable for most searches as PLRSCAN performs a 16K GETMAIN for every search string processed. Larger DAILY files with large search windows will eventually use up the region allowed for the session. Various abends can be generated from a TSO/ISPF session but the most often experienced is a U0399. A error message will be generated but may not be seen on the panels depending on message suppression or region limits.

Performing a retrieval from large DAILY files can be performed with a batch utility similar to this example.

//                  jobcard          
//         MSGLEVEL=(1,1),REGION=0M                                    
//*************************************************************        
//*                                                                                  *        
//*   TEST PLRSCAN JOB FOR SMR                           *        
//*                                                                                 *        
//*************************************************************        
//*******************************************************************  
//*     DELETE THE TEST OUTPUT FILE                              *            -----> optional step
//*******************************************************************  
//CLEANUP  EXEC PGM=IDCAMS                                             
//SYSPRINT DD SYSOUT=*                                                 
//SYSIN    DD *                                                        
 DEL 'your   .PLRSCAN.DATA' PURGE                                       
 DEL 'just in case you need a dump .PLRSCAN.DUMP' PURGE                                       
 SET MAXCC=0                                                           
//SMRSCAN EXEC PGM=PLRSCAN                                             
//STEPLIB  DD  DISP=SHR,DSN=your      .SMR.R34.CAILIB               
//OPTIONS  DD  DISP=SHR,DSN=your    .SMR.PPOPTION(SMROPTN)                 
//SMRPRINT DD  SYSOUT=*                                
//*******************************************************************  
//*    CREATE AN OUTPUT FILE WITH SEARCH RESULTS                    *  
//*******************************************************************  
//SMROUT01 DD  DISP=(NEW,CATLG),DSN=your   .PLRSCAN.DATA,               --->> best method to review large retrievals 
//             DCB=(LRECL=133,BLKSIZE=1330,RECFM=FB),                  
//             VOL=SER=vvvvvv,UNIT=3390,SPACE=(CYL,(15,5),RLSE)        
//*SYSUDUMP DD  DISP=(,CATLG),SPACE=(CYL,(75,15)),VOL=SER=vvvvvv,       
//*             DCB=(LRECL=133,BLKSIZE=1330,RECFM=FB),UNIT=3390,        
//*             DSN=just in case you need a dump .PLRSCAN.DUMP                                 
//SYSUDUMP DD  SYSOUT=*                      /* OPTIONAL */           
//SMRIN    DD  *                                                       
FUNCTION SDATE=25.255;EDATE=25.255;CONSTANT='example'   

REGION problems can sometimes, depending on the environment, result it S0C4 abends in various ISPF modules as well when performing online retrievals. Always be aware of the retrieval process and the data you are attempting to retrieve. Be as specific as possible.

For detailed assistance with batch retrievals see the SMR User Guide chapter 6 titled "Requesting Batch Retrievals". There are detailed instructions and additional samples that will assist in creating the required tailored retrievals for your environment.