How object locking affects save operations

The system locks an object to prevent an update operation while the system saves it.

If the system cannot obtain a lock on an object within the specified time, the system does not save that object and the system sends a message to the job log. The save-while-active function shortens the time during which the system locks an object while saving.

Save-while-active object locking rules shows the type of lock the system must obtain successfully to save an object or to establish a checkpoint for the object for save-while-active processing.

When you specify multiple libraries for a save procedure, the system locks the libraries that you specified and the libraries are unavailable for use during the save operation. Some or all of the libraries might be unavailable for use at any given moment.