Caveat: insert the delay for daily digestion here... Lizette: As I understand it ABARS (FDR's equivalent is Type=Appl) is intended to give you a separate, application-determined, point-in-time snapshot (via backup) of datasets. [1] The typical examples are between Payroll cycles, after month-end close. Timings of these backups would be highly application specific. You are right that, in the current paradigms where batch stop points are mostly non-existent & most processing is live 24x7, these application-specific snapshots may have lost their purpose or relevance. [2] Unfortunately, such a decision will not submit to any sort of rule-of-thumb (ROT) since even 2 payroll applications can/will be different in that respect.
Given that, I think you'd be right to question their utility and request justification from the application development/support group(s) for their continued use. [3] Anecdote: I actually use FDR's equivalent to generate quarterly snapshots that are retained for 2 years. (normal backups expire in months here; weeks @offsite) While rarely used for recovery, it provides a cushion/comfort zone that only absorbs 3-4 3592 J tapes so we continue the multi-decade practise. [1] Some places may perform volume backups when all the datasets happen to be grouped together. [2] Even their feasibility when live updates continue through the processing period. If I get a DB2 quiesce point, [4] how do I determine which rows are for the new vs. old period? [3] What resources are consumed to create and retain them? How often are they generated & how long are they retained? Have they *ever* been used for recovery purposes? Could the same information be generated from other sources ie. the extant systems backups plus log apply? (DB2 example) [4] commonly used to generate a point-in-time recovery spot. --------> signature = 6 lines follows <-------- Neil Duffee, Joe Sysprog, uOttawa, Ottawa, Ont, Canada telephone:1 613 562 5800 x4585 fax:1 613 562 5161 mailto:NDuffee of uOttawa.ca http:/ /aix1.uOttawa.ca/ ~nduffee “How *do* you plan for something like that?” Guardian Bob, Reboot “For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism.” “Systems Programming: Guilty, until proven innocent” John Norgauer 2004 -----Original Message----- From: Lizette Koehler [[email protected]] Sent: April 24, 2015 19:08 I am currently working with ABARS process. As I get into it, I was wondering with today's Storage Array, Replication, Snap, Flash Copy, is it still needed? Are there any significant reasons to setup and maintain an ABARS process? The one answer - It was setup years ago and works fine - is already noted. But what about a shop today. If you are not running ABARS would you see a reason to use it? If you are running ABARS, what does it provide you in your shop for your applications? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
