Welcome
Getting Started
Introducing CICS® VR
CICS® VSAM Recovery Version 6 Release 3 (CICS VR) recovers your lost or damaged VSAM data.
Understanding CICS® VR functions
CICS® VR offers many different functions. Some functions are specific to a particular environment such as: VSAM batch logging, or CICS TS.
CICS® VR functions for CICS® TS
The CICS® VR functions that are specifically available in the CICS TS environment.
What is CICS® VR automated recovery for CICS® TS?
CICS® VR Automated Recovery helps you to repair or reorganize a VSAM sphere after a backout failure has occurred in CICS TS, while attempting to back out changes to the sphere.

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.
  - How CICS® VR can help you
    CICS® VR helps you recover your VSAM data sets in CICS VR VSAM batch logging, when the VSAM data sets are not accessed in record level sharing–mode following, and CICS TS environments.
  - Understanding CICS® VR functions
    CICS® VR offers many different functions. Some functions are specific to a particular environment such as: VSAM batch logging, or CICS TS.
    - General CICS® VR functions
      The functions that can be used with CICS® TS, or without CICS.
    - CICS® VR functions for CICS® TS
      The CICS® VR functions that are specifically available in the CICS TS environment.
      - What is CICS® VR forward recovery for CICS® TS?
        CICS® VR forward recovery helps you to recreate a VSAM sphere from a backup copy of the sphere.
      - What is the CICS® VR log of logs scan utility for CICS® TS?
        You can use the log of logs scan utility, also referred to as scan, in your CICS® TS environment. The utility scans all the log of logs that are registered in the RCDS, then updates and stores the details needed for recovery in the RCDS.
      - What is the CICS® VR log stream copy utility for CICS® TS?
        You can use the log stream copy utility to copy an MVS™ log stream to up to nine sequential access method (SAM) data sets.
      - What is CICS® VR automated recovery for CICS® TS?
        CICS® VR Automated Recovery helps you to repair or reorganize a VSAM sphere after a backout failure has occurred in CICS TS, while attempting to back out changes to the sphere.
      - What is reorganization?
        Reorganization is required when CICS® notifies CICS VR that an error occurred during a backout attempt, where the error was because the system is running out of space.
    - Batch functions
      The batch functions that can be used with CICS® VR.
  - CICS® VR capabilities and limitations
    Descriptions of the capabilities and limitations of CICS® VR.
- 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.
- 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

What is CICS® VR automated recovery for CICS® TS?

CICS® VR Automated Recovery helps you to repair or reorganize a VSAM sphere after a backout failure has occurred in CICS® TS, while attempting to back out changes to the sphere.

Automated recovery involves several events:

CICS® automatically alerts CICS® VR that a backout failure has occurred. This alert is received through the NOTIFY interface.
The backout failure is automatically registered in the CICS® VR RCDS.
Optional: A job stream for forward recovery or reorganization of the affected VSAM sphere is automatically built and submitted.
Note:
A job to perform forward recovery or reorganization can be also created and submitted manually using the CICS® VR ISPF dialog.
Within the same job stream, the affected data set is taken offline from CICS® before recovery or reorganization. After recovery or reorganization, the data set is brought back online to CICS®, and CICS® instructed to retry its backout.