Inline backup

Inline backup allows you to request a back up of a data set in a batch environment. Inline backup is a way of overcoming the problems of executing the terminal monitor program (TMP) in the background in order to issue HBACKDS commands.

When using inline backup, you can use the JCL data set reference capabilities. This allows you to specify a relative generation number for a GDG. Also, in executing a batch job with TMP, if a data set is created (DISP=NEW), an exclusive enqueue is done on the data set name, and the enqueue is not released until the last job step referring to that data set has ended. If a job step after the TMP job step backward-references a newly created data set, the HBACKDS command fails.

Inline backup allows you to back up data sets in the middle of a job. You add a new step to a job by specifying the inline backup module as the program to execute. You specify the data sets being backed up on specially named DD statements. Inline backup extracts the data set names associated with these DDnames and then performs the back up.

You can use the ARCINBAK program to make a quick backup that can be used in a later step (of the same job). This quick backup enables a restart in the middle of a job stream. Because it is mandatory that the target backup volume is available to perform a recovery even if a continuous backup load exists, DFSMShsm has a backup tape takeaway capability from data set backup.

The results of each attempted data set backup can be written to a specially named output data set. SNAP dumps of storage relating to inline backup can be written to a specially named output data set for certain error conditions.