Welcome
Getting Started
Setting up CICS® VR VSAM batch logging
CICS® VR VSAM batch logging, referred to as batch logging, provides logging of updates made to VSAM data sets by batch jobs. Two types of batch logging are available, forward recovery logging and undo logging.
Detecting batch logging error conditions
If CICS® VR detects a problem with the MVS™ system logger, CICS VR attempts to trap the error and issue a 3999 condition code. The 3999 condition code indicates that no batch logging occurred for that sphere.
Diagnosing logging problems
If you encounter a wait which you believe to be logging related, look at the MVS™ console for messages prefixed with “IXG”.
Collecting diagnosis information
If you suspect that there is a problem within the MVS™ system logger that is not a result of some other resolvable problem, you might need to collect additional diagnostic information.

What's new in CICS VR 6.3
CICS® VR 6.3 contains these changes.
Operating environment
CICS® VR uses logs to recover your VSAM data.
CICS VR Overview
Getting Started
- Introducing CICS® VR
  CICS® VSAM Recovery Version 6 Release 3 (CICS VR) recovers your lost or damaged VSAM data.
- Overview of CICS VR installation
  This information describes all the necessary steps to successfully set up CICS VR 6.3. It includes a detailed description of the various CICS VR components and how to set them up. The CICS VR server address space is required for batch logging, backup notification, and backout failure notification.
- Migration considerations
  Consider these general migration considerations when you migrate to CICS® VR 6.3 from an earlier release.
- Activating the CICS® VR server address space
  The CICS® VR server address space provides a communication vehicle for CICS VR and other applications. It must be active if you want to use any of these CICS VR functions.
- Setting up CICS® VR VSAM batch logging
  CICS® VR VSAM batch logging, referred to as batch logging, provides logging of updates made to VSAM data sets by batch jobs. Two types of batch logging are available, forward recovery logging and undo logging.
  - Activating CICS® VR batch logging overview
    The steps required to activate three types of batch logging for VSAM data sets, forward recovery logging, undo logging, and forward recovery and undo logging.
  - Using CICS® VR VSAM batch logging
    You can use batch logging to log changes to VSAM data sets that are not accessed in record level sharing mode (RLS mode) when the VSAM data set is not being used by CICS®.
  - Enabling CICS® VR VSAM batch logging
    To enable CICS® VR VSAM batch logging for a VSAM sphere, you must update the FRLOG parameter in the ICF catalog definition of the base cluster to an appropriate value.
  - Setting up the environment for CICS® VR VSAM batch logging
    After enabling your VSAM spheres for CICS® VR VSAM batch logging, some additional steps need to be performed to set up the CICS VR VSAM batch logging environment.
  - VSAM batch logging units of work
    CICS® VR ensures that a batch, non-transactional, job step is consistent, that is, it ensures that recoverable VSAM data sets are in a consistent state when a job step starts and when it successfully ends.
  - Detecting batch logging error conditions
    If CICS® VR detects a problem with the MVS™ system logger, CICS VR attempts to trap the error and issue a 3999 condition code. The 3999 condition code indicates that no batch logging occurred for that sphere.
    - Diagnosing logging problems
      If you encounter a wait which you believe to be logging related, look at the MVS™ console for messages prefixed with “IXG”.
      - Logging problem categories
        Categories of problem, in order of ascending impact on the user, that can be encountered by CICS® VR.
      - MVS™ system logger availability
        CICS® VR checks for the availability of the MVS™ system logger.
      - Diagnosis of MVS™ System Logger Problems
        Extended waits by CICS® VR for logging can be caused by problems within the MVS™ system logger or other areas of MVS.
      - Collecting diagnosis information
        If you suspect that there is a problem within the MVS™ system logger that is not a result of some other resolvable problem, you might need to collect additional diagnostic information.
      - Restarting the MVS™ system logger address space
        If the MVS™ system logger address space has failed, it can be restarted using the S IXGLOGRS command. Note the 'S' at the end--IXGLOGRS restarts IXGLOGR as a system address space.
  - Understanding CICS® VR forward recovery logging
    CICS® VR forward recovery logging writes an after-image log record to a forward recovery log stream for every update made to a VSAM data set by a batch job. Therefore, if a VSAM data set become corrupt, you can use CICS VR forward recovery processing to recreate the batch updates.
  - CICS® VR undo logging
    CICS® VR undo logging writes a before-image log record to a log stream for every update made to a VSAM data set by a batch job. If the batch job encounters an abend, CICS VR batch backout processing can use these records to remove the updates made by the failed batch job or batch job step.
  - CICS® VR replication logging
    CICS® VR replication logging writes before-image and after-image log records to the replication log stream for every update made to a VSAM data set by a batch job. CICS VR batch logger shares forward recovery and replication logs if both forward recovery logging and replication logging are requested.
- CICS® VR security
  Security has been enhanced to protect the RCDS from being updated by any user. It is possible to specify that the users security profile must be checked before allowing certain information in the RCDS to be added, changed, or deleted.
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.
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 6.3, 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 6.3

Collecting diagnosis information

If you suspect that there is a problem within the MVS™ system logger that is not a result of some other resolvable problem, you might need to collect additional diagnostic information.

The dumps generated by CICS® VR generally do not contain sufficient information about the MVS™ system logger.

A dump of XCF and MVS™ system logger address spaces from all systems are useful in the diagnosis of such problems. Issue the following series of MVS™ commands:

      DUMP COMM=(meaningful dump title)
      R ww,JOBNAME=(IXGLOGR,XCFAS,CICSVR_jobname),DSPNAME=('XCFAS'.*),CONT
      R xx,STRLIST=(STRNAME=structure,(LISTNUM=ALL),ACC=NOLIM),CONT
      R yy,REMOTE=(SYSLIST=*('XCFAS','IXGLOGR'),DSPNAME,SDATA),CONT
      R zz,SDATA=(COUPLE,ALLNUC,LPA,LSQA,PSA,RGN,SQA,TRT,CSA,GRSQ,XESDATA),END

Use the R xx,STRLIST=(STRNAME=structure,(LISTNUM=ALL),ACC=NOLIM),CONT instruction only where you suspect a problem with the coupling facility structure.

Error records written to the MVS™ LOGREC data set might also be useful