COPY Command for DFSMSdss

The DFSMSdss COPY command performs data set movement, volume movement, and track movement from one DASD volume to another.

You can copy data sets to another volume of either like or unlike device types. Like devices have the same track capacity (3390 Model 2 and 3390 Model 3), while unlike devices have different track capacities (3380 Model K and 3390 Model 3).

However, the DASD must be of like device type if you copy a full volume, range of tracks, or physically copy a data set. The user must specify the source volumes and the target volumes. DFSMSdss only allows one source volume and one target volume.

DFSMSdss offers two ways to process COPY commands as follows:

Logical processing is data set-oriented, which means that it operates against data sets and volumes independently of physical device format.
Physical processing can operate against data sets, volumes, and tracks, but is oriented toward moving data at the track-image level. The processing method is determined by the keywords specified on the command.

Integrated catalog facility catalogs should not have a high-level qualifier of SYSCTLG because this causes DFSMSdss to treat them as control volumes.

For more information about using the COPY command, see Backup with concurrent copy and Moving data sets with concurrent copy.