Welcome
CICS® VR and CICS® TS
Setting up your CICS® TS environment
This section describes the tasks you need to do to set up your CICS® TS environment for CICS VR.
Understanding nonrecoverable versus recoverable resources
With VSAM file recovery, there are two different types of resources, ones that are not recoverable and ones that are recoverable.
Understanding the backup-while-open (BWO) facility
Many CICS® applications depend on their data sets being open for update over a long period of time. Normally, you cannot make a backup of the data set while the data set is open.
BWO and systems administration
The systems administrator must decide which VSAM user data sets are eligible for BWO, and then set up the appropriate operating procedures for taking the BWO backup copies and for forward recovery.

What's new in CICS VR 6.1
CICS® VR 6.1 contains these changes.
Operating environment
CICS® VR uses logs to recover your VSAM data.
CICS VR Overview
Getting Started
CICS® VR and CICS® TS
- Setting up CICS® VR for CICS® TS
  The tasks you need to do to set up CICS® VR for CICS TS.
- Setting up your CICS® TS environment
  This section describes the tasks you need to do to set up your CICS® TS environment for CICS VR.
  - Understanding logging with CICS® TS for z/OS®
    CICS® log manager.
  - Understanding VSAM RLS
    Record level sharing (RLS) is a VSAM function provided by DFSMS/MVS™ Version 1 Release 3 that is exploited by the CICS® Transaction Server. RLS lets VSAM data sets be shared, with update capability between many applications in many CICS regions.
  - Defining recovery attributes for RLS and non RLS files
    How to define the recovery attributes for files managed by CICS® file control.
  - RLS locks
    For files opened in RLS mode, VSAM maintains a single central lock structure using the lock-assist mechanism of the MVS™ coupling facility. This central lock structure provides sysplex-wide locking at a record level.
  - Forward recovery log failure
    If a general log that is being used by CICS® as a forward recovery log (or for automatic logging) fails, CICS ensures that any files that were using that log are closed, and that appropriate messages are issued to warn operators.
  - Establishing procedures to backup and recover your VSAM spheres
    It is very important that you establish procedures to backup your VSAM spheres that you need to protect on a regular basis.
  - Understanding CICS® VR backup support
    CICS® VR supports backups created by a variety of products.
  - Understanding nonrecoverable versus recoverable resources
    With VSAM file recovery, there are two different types of resources, ones that are not recoverable and ones that are recoverable.
    - Understanding CICS® VR alternate index processing
      CICS® VR alternate index processing varies according to the type of backup that the VSAM sphere was restored from.
    - Understanding the backup-while-open (BWO) facility
      Many CICS® applications depend on their data sets being open for update over a long period of time. Normally, you cannot make a backup of the data set while the data set is open.
      - Eligible data sets for backup-while-open processing
        You can use the BWO facility for the following data sets.
      - Understanding CICS® VR alternate index processing for BWO backups
        CICS® VR performs additional alternate index processing for a DFSMShsm™ logical backup that was made using the BWO facility.
      - Operation of the BWO facility
        To use the backup-while-open facility with CICS® VR, define DFSMSdss™ as the method DFSMShsm™ uses to move data.
      - How you request BWO
        There are two ways in which files can be defined as eligible for BWO.
      - BWO and systems administration
        The systems administrator must decide which VSAM user data sets are eligible for BWO, and then set up the appropriate operating procedures for taking the BWO backup copies and for forward recovery.
      - BWO data set security
        CICS® must have RACF® ALTER authority for all data sets that are defined as BACKUPTYPE(DYNAMIC), because CICS needs to update the BWO attributes in the ICF catalog.
      - BWO and the recovery point time
        To recover a VSAM sphere, CICS® VR must have the following information.
      - Using the concurrent copy function with CICS® VR
        The concurrent copy function provides concurrent and unrestricted access to CICS® VSAM data sets during the backup process.
  - Making the CICS® system definition (CSD) data set recoverable
    The CSD VSAM data set is unique in that it is a CICS® data set that is managed by CICS file control. If you want to forward recover the CSD data set, you must specify the recovery attributes in the system initialization table (SIT).
- Using the CICS® VR file copy notification service
  This section primarily documents intended Programming Interface that allow the customer to write programs to obtain the notify service of CICS® VR.
- Using CICS® VR with CICS® TS at your disaster recovery site
  This section describes the tasks you need to perform to prepare your primary site and your remote site for disaster recovery using CICS® TS and CICS VR.
- Automated Recovery and Reorganization
  This section describes the tasks to perform when enabling automated recovery in CICS® VR V4R1.
CICS VR Exits
Running CICS® VR forward recovery
CICS® VR forward recovery consists of a restore and then forward recovery.
Running CICS® VR backup
The information in the following topics describe how to take a backup using CICS® VR. The panels and secondary windows are in the sequence that they are displayed during a backup job generation.
Running CICS® VR reorganization
You can reorganize a VSAM sphere using CICS® VR. VSAM sphere reorganization can increase the space of a sphere and its alternate indexes. It can also change the control interval sizes for a sphere's components.
Working with other VSAM sphere list pull-down menus
The CICS® VR recovery and backup functions are typically accessed using the Utilities pull-down menu after selecting VSAM spheres.
Working with CICS® Backout Failed spheres
The CICS® Backout Failed sphere list shows the CICS spheres registered for manual recovery or reorganization after CICS notification of a backout failure.
Working with logs
Using ISMF data set lists with CICS® VR
CICS® VR is integrated with ISMF so that you can create a CICS VR recovery job for the data sets in an ISMF data set list by entering the VSAMREC line operator or list command. When you enter the VSAMREC line operator or list command, the necessary CICS VR panels are called and you can create a recovery job for the VSAM sphere.
Running CICS® VR manually
IBM® recommends that you use the CICS® VR panel interface to create recovery jobs for your VSAM spheres. Using the CICS VR panel interface eliminates the need for you to manually keep track of daily update activity, logs, backups, etc. Also, the CICS VR panel interface automatically creates the recovery JCL for you.
Running CICS® VR batch backout
The CICS® VR batch backout utility allows you to remove updates that were made to KSDS, ESDS, RRDS, and VRRDS VSAM spheres by steps in a batch job. This section describes how to run the CICS VR batch backout utility.
Understanding CICS® VR reports
The CICS® VR forward recovery and batch backout utilities produce a set of reports upon successful completion. The reports are written to the data set allocated to the DWWPRINT ddname. However, the set of reports written for the forward recovery backout utilities differ from the set of reports written for the batch backout utilities.
Understanding IBM® program support
The IBM® Customer Engineering Program Support structure helps you resolve problems with IBM products, and ensures that you can make the best use of your IBM computing systems.
Problem determination procedures
If you have to contact IBM® personnel about a CICS® VR problem, you must classify and describe the problem.
Diagnosing the causes of abends
You can determine the cause of a CICS® VR abend in a number of ways.
Reference information
The reference sections of the information contain reference information that you need when you use CICS® VR.
Glossary
The terms in this glossary are defined as they pertain to the CICS VSAM Recovery documentation.
Edition notice
This is the information for CICS VSAM Recovery for z/OS. It applies to CICS VSAM Recovery for z/OS Version 6.1, and to all subsequent versions, releases, and modifications until otherwise indicated in new editions. Make sure you are using the correct edition for the level of the product.
Download PDF
Download the PDF format documentation for CICS VSAM Recovery for z/OS 6.1

BWO and systems administration

The systems administrator must decide which VSAM user data sets are eligible for BWO, and then set up the appropriate operating procedures for taking the BWO backup copies and for forward recovery.

These procedures include:

How to forward recover a data set by using the BWO backup copy, the forward recovery log, and CICS® VR to bring the data set to a point of consistency. Users must not have access to the file during the recovery process.
How to forward recover a data set that might have been damaged while allocated to CICS®. This operation might require backout of partially committed units of work during CICS® emergency restart, after forward recovery has been done.

The procedures are simpler when using BWO than when not, because:

Backups can be taken more frequently, so there are fewer forward recovery logs to manage. This also reduces the amount of processing that is required to forward recover the data set.
The point from which forward recovery start is recorded in the ICF catalog. CICS® VR uses this value to automate this part of the forward recovery process. This recovery point is saved with the backup copy and subsequently replaced in the ICF catalog when he backup copy is restored.
During data set restore and forward recovery processing, CICS® does not allow files to be opened for the same data set.