How to Set Up a Parallel Backup

To use parallel support to process an existing control group, take the following steps:

1. At the Work with Backup Control Groups display, type option 8 (Change attributes) in front of the control group you want to work with, and press Enter. This takes you to the Change Backup Control Group Attributes display.

                         Change Backup Control Group Attributes
   
   Group  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : SAMPLE
   
   Type information, press Enter.
   
   Media policy for:
   Full backups . . . . . . . . . . . . . *BKUPCY     Name, F4 for list
   Incremental backups  . . . . . . . . . *BKUPCY     Name, F4 for list
   Backup devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . *BKUPCY     Name, F4 for list
   
   
   
   Parallel device resources:
   Minimum resources  . . . . . . . . . . 2           1-32, *NONE, *AVAIL
   Maximum resources  . . . . . . . . . . 4           1-32, *AVAIL, *MIN
   Sign off interactive users . . . . . . . *BKUPCY     *YES, *NO, *BKUPCY
   Sign off limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . *BKUPCY     0-999 minutes, *BKUPCY
   Default weekly activity  . . . . . . . . *BKUPCY     SMTWTFS(F/I), *BKUPCY
   Incremental type . . . . . . . . . . . . *BKUPCY     *CUML, *INCR, *BKUPCY
   Force full backup days . . . . . . . . . *BKUPCY     0-365, *NOMAX, *BKUPCY
   
   F3=Exit   F4=Prompt   F12=Cancel                                               

2. At the Parallel device resources parameter, indicate the minimum and maximum number of device resources you want to allocate to the processing of this control group. In this example, we instructed BRMS to save the contents of the SAMPLE control group to a minimum of 2 devices and a maximum of 4 devices.
3. Press Enter to save and return to the Work with Backup Control Groups display.
4. Then type option 2 (Edit entries) next to the control group you are editing and press Enter.
5. Press F11 twice to bring you to the Advanced backup controls panel.

                        Edit Backup Control Group Entries               RCHAS400
   
   Group . . . . . . . . . . : SAMPLE
   Default activity  . . . . . *BKUPCY
   Text  . . . . . . . . . . . *NONE
   
   Type information, press Enter.
   
   
   Backup     List Parallel    Private
   Seq  Items      Type Type        Authorities   Encrypt
   
   10 *EXIT
   20 LIBA            *DEFAULT    *NO           *MEDPCY
   30 LIBB            *PARALLEL   *NO           *MEDPCY
   40 LIBC            *NONE       *NO           *NO
   50 GEN*            *SERIAL     *NO           *NO
   60 *EXIT
   
   
   Bottom
   
   F3=Exit   F5=Refresh   F11=Display main   F12=Cancel                           

6. In the Parallel Type column, enter in the type of parallel you would like to be used for the backup item. The following are definitions of each type:
   • The value *DEFAULT is the default value. BRMS will decide the best Parallel Type to use on the backup item. If the backup item doesn't support parallel, then a non-parallel backup will be performed.
   • The value *PARALLEL specifies a parallel save format backup. This format spreads each object across multiple resources.

     A *PARALLEL type cannot be specified for the following backup items:

     1. *ALLUSR
     2. *ALLPROD
     3. *ALLTEST
     4. *ASPnn
   • The value *SERIAL specifies a multiple-library parallel format. This format spreads libraries across multiple resources. Each library is backed up to a single resource.

     A *SERIAL type cannot be specified for the following backup items:

     1. *LNK lists
     2. *EXIT containing a SAVDOMBRM command.
     3. *LINK
     4. *LNKOMTONL
     5. *LNKOMTLTS
     6. *LTSOMTONL
   • The value *NONE specifies a parallel backup is not being requested. This will force BRMS to use a single resource.

You can find a more complex example involving the use of parallel and concurrent saves in Sample Backup Scenarios: Working with Multiple Control Groups and Shared Devices.

Use a job scheduler to assist you in scheduling parallel saves. You can find more information about job scheduling in Scheduling Backup and Recovery Jobs.