Preventing backup processing when using the HOLD BACKUP command
- The DSCOMMAND option applies to the BACKDS, HBACKDS, ARCHBACK, and ARCINBAK data set backup requests and to backups that are performed as INUSE RETRY from automatic backup.
- The HOLD ALL command prevents all DFSMShsm functions (except logging) from running.
- If you are using SETSYS BACKUP parameters or a data set backup installation exit (ARCBDEXT) to direct DFSMShsm to retry backup requests that fail because data sets are in use (see Specifying how DFSMShsm should respond to a data set in use), and if DFSMShsm has scheduled any such retries during automatic backup, those backup retries will not be affected by the HOLD BACKUP(AUTO) command. You will need to use HOLD BACKUP(DSCOMMAND).
HOLD BACKUP(DSCOMMAND)
HOLD BACKUP(DSCOMMAND(DASD))
HOLD BACKUP(DSCOMMAND(TAPE))
HOLD BACKUP(AUTO DSCOMMAND(TAPE))
HOLD BACKUP(AUTO DSCOMMAND(DASD))
During automatic or volume backup, you can specify whether the holding action occurs immediately at the end of processing each data set or at the end of processing each volume currently being backed up. If you hold backup at end of volume, it can take some time for all of the volumes that are being processed by the different backup tasks to complete and the hold to take full effect. If you hold backup at the end of data sets, DFSMShsm resumes data set backup with the next queued entry when the hold is released. However, for automatic backup, the volume interrupted by the HOLD at end of data set remains eligible for processing if automatic backup is restarted.
The holding action begins when an MWE is selected for processing, not when the HOLD command is entered. If you enter a wait-type backup request and the backup function is held, DFSMShsm fails the wait-type backup request because the hold backup function gives no indication when the backup function will be available.
When a non-wait-type backup request is issued and the appropriate backup function is held, the request remains on the queue and is processed when the appropriate backup request function is released. The held backup processing function can be released with the RELEASE BACKUP command.
Related reading
For more information about other ways to prevent DFSMShsm from processing, see Preventing the processing of data sets during space management.