If you want to protect volumes against both read and write operations from hosts, change the access attribute to protect. To protect volumes against write operations from hosts and allow read operations, change the access attribute to read-only. In both ways, if you set the attribute to a volume using the GUI, S-VOL Disable is automatically set to prevent data in a volume from being overwritten by replication software. If you use Command Control Interface to set the attribute to a volume, you can select whether the S-VOL Disable is set or not. If you set the Protect attribute to the volume when the Dynamic Provisioning pool is full, the S-VOL Disable is not set to the volume.

After you change an access attribute to read-only or protect, the access attribute cannot be changed to read/write for a certain period of time. You can specify the length of this period (retention term) when changing the access attribute to read-only or protect. The retention term can be extended but cannot be shortened.

During the retention term

• Read-only access can be changed to protect or protect can be changed to read-only.
• If you need to change an access attribute to read/write, you must ask the maintenance personnel to do so.

After the retention term is over

• The access attribute can be changed to read/write.
• The access attribute remains read-only or protect until changed back to read/write.