Welcome
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.
Keeping manual records
If you have to use CICS® VR without the automation provided with the recovery control data set and the ISPF dialog interface, you need access to accurate records relating to logs and VSAM spheres.
Gathering the required information
Starting with this information, your record keeping system must give all the information needed to create the recovery job. It can be useful to have a form detailing the information required for the 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
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.
- Keeping manual records
  If you have to use CICS® VR without the automation provided with the recovery control data set and the ISPF dialog interface, you need access to accurate records relating to logs and VSAM spheres.
  - What information is required?
    To manually recover VSAM data sets, you must prepare several jobs. All the information you require must be quickly and easily available.
  - Gathering the required information
    Starting with this information, your record keeping system must give all the information needed to create the recovery job. It can be useful to have a form detailing the information required for the recovery.
  - Producing a CICS® VR work sheet
    At the time a problem occurs, information about the problem must be communicated to the personnel who will perform the recovery or backout run. One way to ensure the information is available is to use a work sheet.
  - Data set naming conventions
    Give unique names to the logs and backup data sets so that you can easily distinguish them from the operational data sets.
- Starting CICS® VR forward recovery
  To start the forward recovery functions, run the required JCL and provide the CICS® VR commands you require as parameters on the DWWIN DD statement.
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

Gathering the required information

Starting with this information, your record keeping system must give all the information needed to create the recovery job. It can be useful to have a form detailing the information required for the recovery.

When a problem has occurred, you can perform recovery if you know this information:

Name of the base cluster
Date and time the problem occurred

You require at least the information shown here, the data recorded in the table is sample data only.

Table 1. Information Required for Recovery
This table has two columns. The first row contains a header and spans both columns, the seventh row also contains a header and spans both columns
General information
Is the CICS® VR recovery function required?	NO
Data set name of damaged base cluster.	PAYROLL.BASE
Data set name of paths.	PAYROLL.PATH1
Base cluster file names.	PAYROLL
Path file names.	PAYP1
*Forward recovery*
Data set name of backup to be restored.	PAYROLL.BASE.BACKUP
Date and time the backup was made.	01159.2000
Is the backup an online backup?	NO
Data set names of logs.	MVSLOG1.PROD.SYS1
Date and time the earliest log was opened.	01159/0800
Record format.	N/A

Once you have decided which function you have to run and have the required information available, you can start the recovery process.