Loop

In an interactive command line session, it is unnecessary to precede each command name with dsmc and your password, if one is required.

In interactive mode, options that you enter on the initial command line override the value that you specified in your client options file (dsm.opt). This value remains in effect for the entire interactive session unless overridden by a different value on a given interactive command. For example, if you set the subdir option to yes in your client options file (dsm.opt), and you specify subdir=no on the initial command line, the subdir=no setting remains in effect for the entire interactive session unless overridden by the subdir=yes value on a given interactive command. However, the subdir=yes value only affects the command it is entered on. When that command completes, the value reverts back to subdir=no, the value at the beginning of the interactive session.

In interactive mode, options that you enter on the initial command line override the value that you specified in your client user-options file (dsm.opt) or dsm.sys file. This value remains in effect for the entire interactive session unless overridden by a different value on a given interactive command. For example, if you set the subdir option to yes in your client user-options file (dsm.opt), and you specify subdir=no on the initial command line, the subdir=no setting remains in effect for the entire interactive session unless overridden by the subdir=yes value on a given interactive command. However, the subdir=yes value only affects the command it is entered on. When that command completes, the value reverts back to subdir=no, the value at the beginning of the interactive session.

You can enter all valid commands in interactive mode except the schedule and loop commands.

There are some options that you cannot use in the interactive session created by the loop command and are identified in the option description by this statement: This option is valid only on the initial command line. It is not valid in interactive mode.

Note:

1. In loop mode, following a restore operation directly from tape, the mount point is not released in case additional restore requests are made to that volume. If you request a backup operation in the same session and that mount point is the only one available, the backup operation stops with the following message:

     Waiting for mount of offline media

   In this case, the mount point is not released until one of the following conditions is met:
   • The device class MOUNTRETENTION limit is satisfied.
   • The client idletimeout period is satisfied.
   • The dsmc loop session is closed after the restore operation completes, allowing you to start a subsequent loop mode session to perform the backup operation.
2. In interactive mode, you cannot enter a file specification that contains national language characters. If a command contains national characters, process the command in batch mode by preceding the command with the executable program name, dsmc.