Mainframe Interview Questions. Mainframe Interview Question. Mainframes Interview Questions. Mainframes Faqs.

Q Where is mainframe systems documentation?
A. QuickRef: enter QW in ROSCOE (command area) and in TSO (option area).
Q. What datasets are archived from disk and how long are they kept?
A.The archiving job runs when needed, selecting disk datasets that have not been accessed for various time periods. The selected datasets are moved to cartridges with a retention period of 2 years.
The default selection criteria is 60 days of inactivity, with the following exceptions:
• A43UF.** datasets - 120 days
• A91UF.** datasets - 120 days
• Q20*.** datasets - 180 days
• Z03%F.** datasets - 180 days
• Z21%F.** datasets - 180 days
• "TF" datasets - 21 days
• "UF" datasets - 45 days
Q. How do I know which archived data sets are about to expire?
A. Expired archived data sets are purged monthly. To see a list of expiring data sets due to be purged, browse the data set Z03AF.ARCHIVE.PURGE.FORECAST.
Q. How can an archived dataset be restored?
A. Enter AQR in the ROSCOE command area and follow the instructions. Q. How often and what retention are full volume backups done?
A. Full pack backups are taken every Saturday evening and are kept for three weeks. All but the most recent set are kept off-site
Q. What is IAM (Innovation Access Method) and why is it better than VSAM?
A. IAM is an very efficient file access method that can:
• reduce batch run times by 30-50%
• improve online response time by 30-50%
• reduce dasd usage by 30-50%

Q. Is it a Mainframe Systems problem or a Network Systems problem?
A. It depends on where the problem is occuring. If no applications on the Mainframe can be accessed, then it probably is a Network Systems problem. If some applications on the Mainframe can be accessed while others are not available, then it probably is a Mainframe Systems problem.
Q. What does CICS stand for?
A. Customer Information Control System
Q. What will the PDS utility do for me in TSO?
A. PDS offers numberous tools for working with PDS datasets. To invoke enter TSO PDS. Two of the most useful tools are displaying a load modules history and expanding the directory blocks. Limited help is available by entering HELP on the command line.