Welcome
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.
Creating and running a backup job using the CICS® VR ISPF dialog interface
Perform™ the following sequence of tasks to create and run a backup job from CICS® VR ISPF dialog interface.

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
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.
- Creating and running a backup job using the CICS® VR ISPF dialog interface
  Perform™ the following sequence of tasks to create and run a backup job from CICS® VR ISPF dialog interface.
- Providing VSAM sphere backup parameters
  If you select a backup function for the VSAM spheres, the VSAM sphere backup parameters secondary window is displayed. This secondary window is displayed for each of the VSAM spheres selected for backup.
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

Creating and running a backup job using the CICS® VR ISPF dialog interface

Perform™ the following sequence of tasks to create and run a backup job from CICS® VR ISPF dialog interface.

Procedure

Open the DWWSLIB library used in CICS® VR ISPF dialog.
Modify the JCL skeletons in the library for supported backup products such as DFSMShsm™ and DFSMSdss™.
Place custom JCL skeletons into the CICS® VR DWWSLIB, with names that conform to the following convention:
```
DWWprdnm
```
where prdnm is the abbreviation of the backup product called in that skeleton.
For example, the name of the CICS® VR DWWSLIB member containing a JCL skeleton for a custom backup product might be DWWCSTPR.
This product name abbreviation is needed later in the CICS® VR VSAM sphere backup parameters secondary window.
Open the CICS® VR dialog interface.
Select option 1 from the CICS® VR main menu.
A secondary window is displayed.
Specify the search criteria for the list of VSAM spheres, or specify the name of the data set that contains a list of VSAM spheres, press Enter.
A list of CICS® VR-registered spheres is displayed. These spheres either match the search criteria or are listed in the specified data set.
Select the VSAM spheres to back up.
Select the Utilities pull-down menu. Choose option 3 and press Enter.
A secondary window is displayed.
Enter the parameters for taking a backup, as described in Providing VSAM sphere backup parameters. Repeat this step, entering the backup parameters for all of the VSAM spheres selected for backup.
Use the PrevVSAM, F7, key to return to the parameters for a previous sphere if needed.
When you have entered all the necessary information on the panels, a message is displayed asking you to wait while the backup job is being constructed.
Submit the job that has been created by CICS® VR.

What to do next

See Running CICS VR forward recovery for additional information on using the main menu, working with VSAM sphere list, and CICS® VR job submission.