Welcome
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.
Creating backups using the ISMF Data Set List panel
You can use ISMF data set lists to group VSAM spheres for recovery. You can also use the same ISMF data set lists to group VSAM spheres to create backups used by CICS® VR.

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
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.
- Creating ISMF data set lists
  With ISMF, you can create and use data set lists that are groups of data sets that match user-defined selection criteria. Depending on the selection criteria that you enter, these lists can contain hundreds of data set names or only a few.
- Saving ISMF data set lists
  After an ISMF data set list is created and the results are presented on the ISMF DATA SET LIST panel you can issue any line operators and list commands for these data sets.
- Using saved queries to regenerate ISMF data set lists
  After you create and save an ISMF data set list, additional new data sets might meet the same selection criteria used to produce a saved data set list. Once you save an ISMF data set list, you can only re-display the original contents of that list.
- Understanding VSAMREC
  VSAMREC is the name of the list command and line operator that you can enter on the ISMF DATA SET LIST panel to recover the VSAM spheres in the list.
- Using VSAMREC as a line operator
  You can enter VSAMREC as a line operator for individual data sets within an ISMF data set list.
- Using VSAMREC as a list command
  You can enter VSAMREC as a list command for all of the data sets within an ISMF data set list.
- Creating backups using the ISMF Data Set List panel
  You can use ISMF data set lists to group VSAM spheres for recovery. You can also use the same ISMF data set lists to group VSAM spheres to create backups used by CICS® VR.
  - Using the HBACKDS line operator
    Use the HBACKDS line operator on the ISMF DATA SET LIST panel to create DFSMShsm™ logical backups.
  - Using the COPY line operator and list command
    Use the COPY line operator and list command on the ISMF DATA SET LIST panel to create DFSMSdss™ logical copies. If you enter the COPY line operator for a data set, ISMF displays the COPY ENTRY PANEL.
  - Using the DUMP line operator and list command
    Use the DUMP line operator and list command on the ISMF DATA SET LIST panel to create DFSMSdss™ logical dumps. If you enter the DUMP line operator for a data set, ISMF displays the DUMP ENTRY PANEL.
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

Creating backups using the ISMF Data Set List panel

You can use ISMF data set lists to group VSAM spheres for recovery. You can also use the same ISMF data set lists to group VSAM spheres to create backups used by CICS® VR.

See, Creating ISMF data set lists for more information.

CICS® VR can create a recovery job that restores a VSAM sphere from a logical backup. ISMF supports the following commands that can be used to create a DFSMShsm™ logical backup, DFSMSdss™ logical copy, or DFSMSdss™ logical dump for VSAM data sets:

HBACKDS line operator for DFSMShsm™ logical backups
COPY line operator and list command for DFSMSdss™ logical copies
DUMP line operator and list command for DFSMSdss™ logical dumps

Each of these commands is described in the sections that follow. For more information on how to create backups for use by CICS® VR, see Backup creation through the CICS VR panel interfaceCICS® VR Implementation Guide and Reference.