Reliant
Reliant is a family of product components that when used together, provide dataset protection for your shops VSAM datasets. Reliant is comprised of three components:
RECOV - Provides VSAM dataset recovery
JOURNAL - Provides VSAM journaling for batch programs.
JMASTER - Provides automatic journal switching and backup of your CICS and CICS/TS journals
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RECOV
RECOV is a system designed to recover VSAM files updated by CICS or batch applications, if VSAM changes are journaled. Journal files created by CICS (SMF or standard format) or JOURNAL, the VSAM Batch Journaling system from CSI, can be used as input to RECOV. This system can be used to recreate a file's condition prior to a disk failure, or file deletion, using a file backup and the appropriate journals.
RECOV/VSE can also be used to manage DL/I journal records. DL/I journal records from your CICS System Journal and batch DL/I journal logs from batch DL/I programs can be combined with VSAM journal records and maintained on a single journal backup file until such time as a DL/I recovery or "change-accum" process is required. RECOV/VSE can then generate a single DL/I log dataset that can be input to your standard DL/I utilities.
• You do not have to code custom recovery routines. RECOV will recreate any VSAM file, provided that a current backup and journal are available.
• Users will not have to re-enter data after a failure.
• The application programmers need not include specialized "change-log" logic in their CICS programs if the IBM-supplied automatic journaling feature of CICS is used. This feature, along with RECOV, is all that is needed to provide VSAM file recovery.
In summary, RECOV can save your company time and money when a VSAM dataset is lost or damaged. Recovery can be a manageable process--when it is planned for--and RECOV makes the process easy.
Recovery is a process that restores a damaged file to the state it was in prior to the point of damage.
Damage may be caused by hardware or software failure, or by human error, and the extent of the file damage can vary from a single record in one file to many files in several systems. Accordingly, the recovery process could be different each time a failure occurs.
CICS provides the facility to record file change data in separate datasets called journals.
JMASTER can be used to provide automatic backup, and overwrite protection for your CICS journals.
JOURNAL provides a batch journaling facility that is analogous to CICS journaling. It allows you to recover the VSAM updates made in a batch environment without re-running the batch jobs.
CICS will not use its own journal records to re-apply changes when a file has been destroyed. This is where RECOV comes in. After you have restored the VSAM file (or files) from the latest backup tape, RECOV will re-apply changes made since the latest backup.
RECOV/VSE can be used to backup and manage journal records generated by DL/I. However, RECOV/VSE does not perform the actual recovery of your DL/I datasets. You still use the standard DL/I recovery utilities. When a DL/I recovery is required, you use RECOV/VSE to extract the required DL/I journal records from your RECOV/VSE Journal Backup dataset to a separate DL/I log dataset that can be used by your DL/I recovery and/or "change-accum" utilities.
After you have installed RECOV it may be a long time before you need to use it, if ever, and you may therefore not get around to testing RECOV or the CICS journaling process. To help you verify that the entire recovery process will work, verification software and procedures are included with RECOV that will ensure the correct execution of all the steps involved in this recovery process: the CICS journaling, your backup and restore system, and the RECOV software.
• Single program execution for all RECOV functions
• Any number of CICS journals or journal backups can be input to RECOV--Sorting requirements can be specified for any combination of inputs.
• The sort is invoked from within RECOV reducing I/O to journal files
• Any or all input journal records can be printed, written to journal backup file(s) or used to recover VSAM datasets during a single execution of RECOV
• RECOV provides comprehensive journal management support, including: printing, copying, merging, and automatic aging/purging of journal records
• Multiple journal records for the same VSAM key are logically combined during recovery to reduce I/O to your VSAM datasets
• CICS journals can be in standard or SMF format; if SMF format is used, the CICS release and APPLID will automatically be extracted by RECOV
• Backward or 'BACKOUT' recovery can be specified to replace the 'before' images on your VSAM datasets
• A 'NOUPDATE' mode can be used to simulate a recovery without actually updating your VSAM datasets
• Forward, Backout and No update recovery can all be performed against different VSAM datasets during a single execution
• All types of VSAM datasets can be processed--KSDS, RRDS, ESDS--including empty files
• Complete selection control over which journal records will be processed
• Journal records generated by DL/I can be backed up and managed by RECOV/VSE--When a DL/I recovery or "change-accum" is required, a DL/I log dataset can be generated by RECOV/VSE to be used by your standard DL/I recovery utilities. Batch DL/I logs can be standard sequential, VSAM-managed-SAM, or VSAM ESDS datasets.
• RECOV provides extensive statistical and error reporting for all of its Journal Management and VSAM Recovery functions
• RECOV can generate a "reduced" Journal Backup format containing only the data changed in the "before" and "after" image journal records--This feature is intended to improve journal transmission efficiency for off-site archiving, or simply to save disk space.
• A complete verification system is supplied with RECOV to test your CICS journaling installation and VSAM file Backup/Restore processing--It will give you the confidence that recovery WILL work when it is needed.
• Step-by-step instructions are provided in the RECOV documentation to assist you in adding journaling support to your CICS systems
JMASTER provides an automated mechanism for backing up CICS Journals as they are filled by CICS, and protecting the CICS Journals from being reused before the backups have been completed.
JMASTER manages and protects your CICS Journals by using the CICS Journal open/close exits that became available with CICS release 1.7, and a "Journal Control File" that you create and maintain with a utility program supplied with JMASTER.
The Journal Control File defines which CICS Journals in each of your CICS Systems are to be protected by JMASTER. The file also contains the JCL that will be submitted to perform the backups.
• Your CICS Journals are protected against reuse by CICS until a backup can be made.
• JMASTER can be used on any CICS Journal, including the System Log.
• The CICS "pause" messages at journal switch are eliminated. This allows the journal switch to occur without waiting for an operator response.
• An "event history" is automatically maintained for each CICS Journal, showing when each journal has been opened, closed, and backed up.
• The size of journal files can be reduced (if two extents are being used), saving valuable DASD space. Since the journal backups are automatically submitted without CICS being held, you don't need to be concerned about having journals large enough to prevent them from filling up.
• If the journal backups are made to DASD files, the entire process can be performed without operator intervention.
• The journal backup JCL is submitted by JMASTER, but you can use any utility you desire for the actual backup.
• Automatic journal switches can be scheduled to occur whenever you need them using the JMASTER Automatic Journal Switching Facility.
JOURNAL is a system designed to provide your batch programs with the type of journaling support for VSAM datasets that is provided by CICS for your on-line programs. This is a companion system to CSI's CICS VSAM recovery system RECOV. The journals created by JOURNAL can be input to RECOV along with CICS created journals to provide total recovery for your on-line and batch systems.
• You do not have to modify or re-compile your application programs to get batch journaling support when you use JOURNAL.
• You will not have to re-run batch jobs because an on-line VSAM dataset has to be recovered. Batch updates can be merged with on-line updates for dataset recovery, archival or reporting purposes.
• Any number of VSAM datasets can be journaled concurrently to one or more batch journals, which simplifies JCL and reduces storage requirements.
• Journal datasets can be dynamically allocated by JOURNAL/VSE, eliminating the need to change job streams.
• Journaling messages can be generated to provide visual assurance that the journaling process is working properly.
• You won't get to the end of a job before finding out that no journal has been created.
• A single Option Table controls batch journaling. You have complete control over which VSAM datasets are journaled, and when and where they are journaled.
• All types of VSAM datasets can be processed: KSDS, RRDS, ESDS
• Complete selection control over which VSAM datasets will be journaled from which programs
• No modifications required to any application programs
• Journals can be created on Disk or Tape. Disk journals can be SAM or VSAM Managed SAM.
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