Defining Substitutable Parameters

Because you can define the local file name with wildcards, it is not always possible to predefine some fields. To solve this issue, DNI supports substitutable parameters.

Based on the properties of the file transfer request, you can use substitutable parameters to override the contents in the following three fields:

REMOTE_FILE, RFILE, or RF

FAIL_NEWDSN

GOOD_NEWDSN

When a substitution is performed, the rules and regulations of the target system must be adhered to. The FAIL_NEWDSN and GOOD_NEWDSN parameters contain the names that the local file is renamed to when a request is completed. Therefore, these files must conform to the following z/OS file conventions:

  • Each qualifier in a z/OS file must contain 1 - 8 characters. The qualifiers must not start with a number.
  • The names of z/OS data sets cannot exceed 44 characters. If the data set name exceeds 44 characters, the platform server DNI displays an error message and the request is not queued to DNI.
  • When a platform server is communicating with another version of platform server for z/OS, the remote data set must be 44 digits or less. Because the platform server does not know the platform of the target system, a request with a long data set name will be rejected only when the transfer is initiated.
Note: When defining the GOOD_NEWDSN and FAIL_NEWDSN parameters, the file names defined for these parameters must not start with the Local File Name. Otherwise, the renamed file may be transferred again. See the example below.

Example of an Invalid Definition

The following example is an invalid definition: 

DSN=PRODDNI.ACCT.TAX*.**
GOOD_ACTION=RENAME
GOOD_NEWDSN=%LFILE.GOOD

Assume that the PRODDNI.ACCT.TAX2008.NYBRANCH data set is created. When the transfer is completed successfully, the file is renamed to PRODDNI.ACCT.TAX2008.NYBRANCH.GOOD. The file is then retrieved from the catalog by the platform server, and I renamed to PRODDNI.ACCT.TAX2008.NYBRANCH.GOOD.GOOD when the transfer is completed successfully. The platform server repeats this operation until the file name exceeds 44 bytes and DNI recognizes the error.

The correct way to define the files is as follows: 

DSN=PRODDNI.ACCT.TAX*.**
GOOD_ACTION-RENAME
GOOD_NEWDSN=%Q01.GOOD.%NOHLQ

When the transfer is completed successfully, the file is renamed to PRODDNI.GOOD.ACCT.TAX2008.NYBRANCH.

Another way to rename the data set is to use a new high-level qualifier: 

DSN=PRODDNI.ACCT.TAX*.**
GOOD_ACTION=RENAME
GOOD_NEWDSN=GOODDNI.%NOHLQ
FAIL_ACTION=RENAME
FAIL_NEWDSN=FAILDNI.%NOHLQ

If the transfer is successful, the file is renamed to GOODDNI.ACCT.TAX2008.NYBRANCH. If the transfer is unsuccessful, the file is renamed to FAILDNI.ACCT.TAX2008.NYBRANCH.