How the Archive process works

The Archive process uses data set selection criteria to identify inactive data and then copies that data to the archive, which can reside on tape or in a cloud storage environment. You can also use the Archive process to create an ML3-like storage tier for your SMS management classes.

You determine what the criteria are for classifying data sets as inactive.
  • You can specify the data selection criteria explicitly in the CRITERIA member of the parameter library or in the Archive job JCL. The data set selection criteria that identify inactive data sets can be based on any of the following data set attributes or any combination of these attributes:
    • Data set name or a data set name mask
    • Data set expiration date
    • Number of days since the data set was last referenced
    • Creation date or the number of days since the data set was created
    • Migration date or the number of days since the data set was migrated
    • Expiration date or the number of days that remain until the data set expires
    • Management class name
    • For inactive data that currently resides on L0 disk, storage group name and volume serial number
  • If you are using the Archive process to add an ML3-like storage tier to your existing management classes, you can have Advanced Archive for DFSMShsm generate the data set selection criteria automatically, based on the management class names and values that you specify in parameter library member AXQMCPOL.
The Archive process reads the migration control data set (or a flat file that contains the unloaded contents of the MCDS), comparing records against your inactivity criteria, and identifies the data sets that meet your criteria.
Note: If you are archiving data sets from L0 disk, rather than reading the MCDS information, the Archive process uses the output from an IDCAMS DCOLLECT to generate a list of data sets that meet your inactivity criteria.
Advanced Archive for DFSMShsm then copies the selected data sets to the archive tapes or uses to a cloud storage environment.
Note: In most cases, for the copy operation, Advanced Archive for DFSMShsm uses REST APIs to connect to cloud storage environments. If the cloud storage environment is FTP, Advanced Archive for DFSMShsm uses standard passive FTP to connect to the cloud storage environment.
For each data set that is copied to the archive, a record is written to the Archive Database. The database record for each archived data set includes the following information:
  • Data set name
  • Location of the data set on the archive tape or in the cloud storage environment
  • Creation date
  • Date on which the data set was last referenced
  • Expiration date
  • Retention information, such as management class

After the inactive data set is copied to the archive and a record for that data set is written to the Archive Database, the Archive process deletes the data set from the migration control data set (or in the case of an L0 disk data set, deletes the data set) and creates an ICF catalog entry. The ICF catalog entry has an invented volume serial number that allows the data set to be tracked.