IBM Mainframe Forum

Hi all. I am new to this and have been given the task of:

Take a backup of the database
Copy the data out of the Near Archive dataset
Delete and re-define the dataset
Copy the data back in

Any help would be really appreciated.

I have been looking at REPRO. Am I going down the right avenue or am I completely off track?

Take a backup of the database

in IT jargon database has a very specific meaning... please clarify

Copy the data out of the Near Archive dataset

Your organisation jargon... please clarify

until You learn to post better structured question the chances of getting helpful replies will be pretty slim

and ...

copy something
delete redefine the something
copy back the thing

all over the world is called REORGANISATION not DATABASE BACKUP as per topic title

The process that is required to REORGANISE the database / file structure depends entirely on the database / file structure being REORGANISED

DB2 differs from DL1 differs from SAS differs from ADABAS differs from ................... ad infinitum
Your shop may well have these procedures already in place, so pass one is to ask the relevant DBA / responsible about this

Sorry for the vague post.

We have near archive datasets held in VSAM's that over time have grown but will have empty space in them.

The near archive is meaning that it is has been taken from the main storage and placed onto 'tape'.

I have been tasked with writing JCL to do as I previously posted.

Is this enough information for you?

VSAM datasets can hold DB2, DL1 and a variety of of other database structures

The most important thing that you can do is to find out the database structure before you even consider touching anything.
One wrong step and you could ruin a whole lot of stuff.

I had to recover umpteen DL1 databases because someone thought that an IDCAMS REPRO would work fine.
It did from a VSAM point of view, but the DL1 database was well and truly stuffed afterwards

These users thanked the author expat for the post:

danielmartyn (Wed Feb 21, 2018 1:18 pm)

I have been informed that IDCAMS REPRO is fine to use.