Exploring archives

Edit online

Use the Archives page to view and browse the contents of archive files that you have created by using IBM® Optim Archive for z/OS® flows.

You can browse to view specific archives, organize them into collections for better management, and start the flow builder to configure a restore flow for a chosen archive.

Important: You cannot use the IBM Optim UI to work with VSAM data sources and targets. You must use the API to work with VSAM data. For information about using the API, see Using the IBM Optim Archive for z/OS REST API.

Managing archive collections

Archive collections enhance discoverability so you can quickly locate relevant archives through collection names and descriptions rather than searching through individual files. You can create named collections, add multiple archive files to each collection, and manage these collections through the interface. Each archive file can belong to multiple collections, and deleting a collection does not affect the archive files themselves.

Adding an archive collection:

From the navigation menu, click Archives . Select the Archive Collections tab to see a table that shows the available archive files and collections.
Click New Collection to open the collection creation dialog.
Enter a name for the collection in the Name field.
Select one or more Archive File from the list to include them in the collection
Enter an optional description in the Description field to provide more context about the collection's purpose.
Click Create to select archive files to include in the collection.
The new collection appears in the table.

After you create collections, you can also perform the following actions:

To view files within a collection, click the expand icon next to the collection name in the collections table to display all archive files in an expandable row interface.
To search for collections, enter search terms in the Search collections field to filter collections by name or description.
From the action menu at the end of the collection row, click the Edit icon, modify the collection name, description, or included archive files, and click Save.
To remove archive files from a collection:
- Open the collection in edit mode, select the files to remove, click Remove, and save the collection.
  OR
- Click the expand icon next to the collection name, all files that are included in the collection appear in the table. Click the remove icon at the end of the row.
To delete a collection, from the action menu at the end of the row, click the Delete icon next to the collection name and confirm the deletion when prompted. Deleting a collection removes only the collection grouping; the archive files remain intact and accessible.
To browse individual archive files in a collection, click the file name in the expanded collection view.

Viewing archive summaries and log history

You can view a summary of an archive, including source and target information, and details about who created the archive and when.

From the summary page, you can also review the log history table to see how many times the archive job was run and view associated log files.

To view an archive summary:

From the navigation menu, click Archives . Select the Archive files tab to view all available archive files.
Click the name of an archive to see a summary of its contents, including source and target information, and details about who created the archive and when.
In the log history table, review the list of archive job runs for this archive.
To export the IBM Optim Archive for z/OS logs associated with creating this archive, click Export.

Browsing archived data

You can browse and view data from within your archives. The Archive Query Builder enables you to filter and explore archived table data through a visual interface, allowing you to build complex queries without writing SQL.

Note: Queries are restricted to a single table at a time. Joins or queries across multiple tables are not supported.

To browse and view sample data from within your archives:

From the navigation menu, click Archives . Select the Archive files tab to view all available archive files.
Hover over the row for the archive file you want to view. Click the action menu at the end of the row and select Browse. A list of the tables that are included in this archive are displayed.
To view table details:
1. From the list of tables, select the name of the table that you want to view. The table details page opens.
  1. In the Columns tab, view details about the data columns in this table.
  2. In the Data sample tab, view details of the data rows in this table.
2. When you are done viewing the table details, close the page.
To access the query builder:
1. From the list of tables, click at the end of the row to open the query builder.
2. The query builder streamlines the process of exploring archived data by eliminating the need to write complex SQL queries manually. You can quickly locate specific records within large archived tables, validate data content, and perform ad-hoc analysis through an intuitive visual interface. The query builder supports the following functions:
  - Build filtering conditions - Create filtering conditions by selecting columns, operators, and comparison values through interactive lists. This visual method ensures consistent and accurate condition creation.
  - Track active conditions - Monitor the number of active filtering conditions as the query is constructed. The interface updates the count in real time to provide visibility into the complexity of the defined query.
  - Filter a single table - Apply filtering conditions to an individual table within an archive. This function enables targeted retrieval of specific data subsets without affecting other tables.
  - Browse filtered results - Review the filtered output in a paginated data grid. The grid displays complete column details for each record, supporting detailed inspection and analysis.
  - Clear all conditions - Reset the query builder by clearing all defined conditions. This action restores the workspace to its initial state and enables users to begin building a new query.

Restoring an archive

You can configure a new flow to restore the archived data to a selected target connection.

To restore an archive:

From the navigation menu, click Archives . Select the Archive files tab to view all available archive files.
Hover over the row for the archive file you want to restore. Click the action menu at the end of the row and select Restore.
The flow builder tool opens with the selected archive, already added to the flow builder canvas as the source connection node.
Click Nodes and then complete the flow by dragging other nodes onto the canvas. Add an access definition node and optionally, subsetting and masking nodes. Complete the flow by adding a target connection node. Click Save.
When you are ready to run the restore job, click Run flow.

For more information about using the flow builder to restore an archive, see Restoring data from an archive file.