How can XTINCT save me money?
XTINCT: DSF/E Device Support Facilities/Extended
For all of the aforementioned reasons, DINO-Software Corporation has developed XTINCT; this software can help even the most demanding corporations meet their security needs.
- XTINCT has 5 primary commands: DISKINIT, DSINIT DSINITT, DSINITV and TAPEINIT.
- DISKINIT to erase full 3390 disk volumes.
- DSINIT to erase sequential and partitioned disk datasets.
- DSINITT to erase tape data sets.
- DSINITV to erase VSAM data sets.
- TAPEINIT to erase tape data sets.
- XTINCT is reentrant and fully supports subtasking. Up to 64 volumes can be processed asynchronously. Other tools, like ICKDSF run serially.
- XTINCT makes extensive use of channel programs. Many functions operate at peak efficiency by only using enough CPU time to generate the channel programs, with the rest of the operation being carried out by the channel subsystem. This makes XTINCT a miser when it comes to valuable CPU time.
- Control statements allow for PACING the number of concurrent operations against a string using the TASKMAX parameter. The user can run one task or many at the same time.
- XTINCT provides four levels of erasing data to satisfy the needs of even the most demanding customers.
- XTINCT provides a pattern write that reverses each bit (one’s compliment) to eliminate the possibility of reading residual data.
- To make sure that the data pattern is written to disk, XTINCT forces the storage controller to de-stage all modified tracks at the end of each pass and prior to starting the next one. This precludes a second pattern replacing the first pattern in cache and never being written to the disk, while still making efficient use of NVS and cache.
The following discussion describes the techniques available.
DISKINIT XTINCT(LEVEL0) – will create a 1 track VTOC on a disk at Cylinder 0 Track 1.
DISKINIT XTINCT(LEVEL1) – will perform a hardware erase of each disk track.
DISKINIT XTINCT(LEVEL2) – is the default technique. This will erase a track using full track patterns. The default pattern is binary zeroes.
DISKINIT XTINCT(LEVEL3) – is the most secure because it writes a pattern of data, then the one’s complement of the data, followed by a full track of X’FF’. Consequently each pattern will cause each track to be written and formatted multiple times. Writing a pattern of X’BC’ as an example, causes the pattern BC to be written first, followed by the one’s complement of BC or 43, followed by a pattern of X’FF’.
DISKINIT SIMULATE – is used to not only check all control statements before committing to an erase function, but will identify and display all volumes that would be included. Simply replace the SIMULATE control statement with the EXECUTE control statement to perform the actual erase after you have verified the disks that will be erased.