Profile setup

Profile setup is a validation process performed by IMS Recovery Expert before a backup of a system can be taken.

This process authenticates the volumes for the system, checks the locations of the user data, logs, and user catalogs, and performs other validations to ensure the backup can proceed and that the resulting backup will be usable.

A backup profile must successfully complete profile setup before a backup can be generated. When a backup profile has been set up, it does not need to be set up again unless changes are made to the source or target volume configuration, or unless IMS Recovery Expert detects certain errors while building a backup job. If this happens, the profile is flagged as “Setup Needed” on the Update Backup Profile panel. When building a backup job, if profile setup is needed, it is included as the first job step in the JCL. If you request, IMS Recovery Expert can build only the profile setup syntax in the JCL; in this case, no backup is taken.

Profile setup includes the following validations:

  • Ensures all volumes in use by the IMS system are included in the backup.
  • If the backup is a full backup, ensures all IMS log volumes are also included in the backup.
  • Ensures that the user catalogs in use by the IMS system are included in the backup.
  • Ensures the log data sets and user data sets are on separate volumes. This includes the user catalogs for log data sets and for database data sets. If log and database data are not separated, the backup can continue, but only a full restore will be allowed.
  • Ensures that all source volumes are valid, online, and available for backup.
  • Ensures all target volumes are valid and available for backup.
  • For IBM® FlashCopy® backup profiles, verifies that the source and target volume are both FlashCopy capable, and reside within the same logical subsystem.
  • Verifies that target units of a backup are not in use by any other backup profile; if so, a warning message is issued. Otherwise, the backup might destroy the data sets for another subsystem.
  • Ensures that IMS control information does not reside on any volume that is being backed up.
  • Checks that all source and target volumes are at a minimum microcode and patch level for backup.
  • For EMC TimeFinder/Clone BCV backup profiles:
    • Verifies that the source volumes do not have established BCVs that are not part of the backup profile.
    • Verifies the target BCVs are not established to any volumes that are not listed as source volumes in the profile.
    • Establishes the first generation of BCVs to the source volumes and puts all other generations on hold. When those BCVs are synchronized with the source volumes, the profile is ready to be built.

After profile setup has been successfully completed, the IMS SSID and backup type are made read-only in the profile and cannot be changed.

Profile setup must be re-run under the following circumstances:

  • If the number of backup generations changes
  • If you add, change, or delete the source or target units
  • If the backup type is changed from Full to Data or from Data to Full
  • If you specify a one-generation BCV backup, when the backup job is executed, the BCVs are split. IMS Recovery Expert does not establish another generation because only one generation can exist. To use this profile to create another backup, you must rerun profile setup. This will reestablish the one and only generation and start the mirroring process so the BCVs can be split to create the next backup.
  • If IMS Recovery Expert detects certain errors while running a backup, the profile will be flagged as Setup Needed. These errors include but are not limited to:
    • Errors that occur during the split phase of a BCV backup. If these errors are detected, the backup process will end.
    • Errors that occur while establishing the next generation of BCVs. If these errors are detected, the backup is still valid because the split processing completed successfully. However, profile setup is needed because the next generation has not been established and therefore is not mirroring the volumes.