Backup types

With Backup and Restore Manager, you can generate, full (baseline), incremental, or disaster recovery backups.

Full backups

A full backup creates a copy of all of the files or data on the specified minidisks, file spaces, or DASD volumes. A full backup provides a complete baseline copy of the data.

Incremental backups

An incremental backup creates a copy of a file that was modified since the last full backup. (If a file was not modified since the last full backup, then it is not included in the backup.)

Although an incremental backup typically requires less processing time and less storage space to contain the results, it generates additional catalog content. As incremental backup information is added to the backup catalog, the volume of information that must be reviewed to accomplish a restore operation increases. Therefore, when you establish a schedule of full and incremental backups, consider the implications of a large number of incremental backups that reference a relatively old baseline full backup.

Full and incremental backups according to data type

Non-CMS data, which includes guest operating system volumes such as Linux® file system minidisks that reside on CKD or FBA DASD volumes, is only handled through full backups as shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Full and incremental backups according to data type
Data type	Full backup	Incremental backup
CKD	Yes	No
FBA	Yes	No
EDF	Yes	Yes
SFS	Yes	Yes
BFS	Yes	No

Note: Minidisks that were not updated since the time of the referenced baseline full backup are reported as unchanged in the worker console log and are excluded from file-level incremental change detection.

Disaster recovery backups

Disaster recovery backups help you recover your system in the event of a disaster. This type of backup is different than a full or incremental backup because it includes the objects you need to restore your entire system. For example, you might create CKD backups of the base set of system volumes that are necessary to perform a basic disaster recovery for your system.

The Backup and Restore Manager DDRTAPE output handler generates backup tapes that can be restored by the z/VM® DASD Dump Restore (DDR) utility. This feature can ease disaster recovery operations by enabling system recovery using the DDR stand-alone mode of operation. For more information, see DDRTAPE output handler usage guidelines in this guide, and the "DDR" section of the z/VM CP Commands and Utilities Reference.