Dumping VSAM spheres

Using the SPHERE keyword, you can dump an entire VSAM sphere (base cluster and all associated alternate index clusters and paths). To dump the base cluster and the other components, all you need to specify is the base cluster name.

An example of the DUMP command with the SPHERE keyword is:

DUMP  -
        OUTDDNAME(TAPE)  -
        DATASET(INCLUDE(PARTS.VSAM1))  -
        SPHERE  -
        PSWD(PARTS.VSAM1/MASTUPW1)  -
        COMPRESS

Note: You should be aware that you cannot restore a sphere unless it is dumped as a sphere with the SPHERE keyword.