Backing Up Data

You can select data sets for backup by searching catalogs and the VTOC. You can back up data selectively, using either ISMF or DFSMSdss filtering to choose only the data sets that you want. For a description of DFSMSdss filtering, see Selecting Data Sets by Name or by Characteristic.

DFSMSdss allows you to perform the following backup tasks:

Back up an entire VSAM sphere by invoking one dump.
Reset the data-set-changed flags of successfully dumped data sets in a full dump or in a data set dump. The next time you do a data set dump, you can specify that only data sets that have been updated since the last reset be dumped.
Specify whether DFSMSdss continues or cancels a dump when a permanent read error occurs.
Dump either all of the allocated space or only the used space in physical sequential and PDSs, PDSEs, or data sets with no indicated data set organization. Users typically create the latter with the EXCP macro.
Dump multivolume data sets.
Dump and delete system data sets.
Save space in the dump output data set by compressing the data. You can also optimize the data transfer rate by specifying the number of DASD tracks read at one time.
Retrieve readable data from undamaged portions of a volume that has sustained partial damage.
Filter on SMS class names. For example, you can filter on a management class to back up only data sets that are assigned to that class.