Copy of FDR/ABR (innovations software) with CA copycat.
Article ID: 138355
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
We are moving tape from one VTS to another and we are doing so with the the CA copycat product.
Currently we have not tried to move these tapes. Innovations gave us the following warnings:
However I can tell you that FDR backup files are of a unique format that many copy programs in the past
could not copy because they would truncated the data blocks making the backup files useless.
Most of our data blocks are 57K in size and RECFM=U. They are not large block format, so copy programs
like iebgener would truncate the data blocks at 32K. Also, because they are not in large format the
blocksize recorded in tape management is 32k (32760), but actual blocks are written as 57K bytes of data.
Any utility that depends on the blocksize from JCL or from Tape Mangement may have a problem.
CA should know if CopyCat successfully copies out tape files or not.
Do you know if CA copycat can safely move FDR/ABR tapes or should we do so with FDRTCOPY ?
Environment
Release : 14.0
Component : CA 1 Tape Management Copycat Utility
Resolution
For standard historical backups, Copycat has been modified many years ago to copy using a “maximum allowable” blksize CCW command (64k for 3490’s, 256k for 3590’s). That way, we pick up the 57k blocks that FDR writes out.
If FDR is maintaining a control file, the tapes should be copied with an FDR utility so that the control information is updated correctly.
FDR has a utility that can read one of its data sets and rebuild the control information, that would be another way to go.
Copy the tapes with CopyCat and then run them through the rebuild utility.
We do not recommend that you use CopyCat for any tape data sets that are associated with a product that maintains a control file of tape VOLSERs.
There are a number of products like CA Disk Backup and Restore, HSM, CA View, CA Dispatch, Mobius Reports, etc. that have control files and their tapes
should not be copied with CopyCat.
The FDR/ABR is best done with the FDRTCOPY utility.
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