Migrating VM:Spool data.

Products

• VM:Spool

Issue/Introduction

How do I copy SPXTAPE data to a new tape media?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Environment

Release: VMSPLL55400-1.8-VM:Spool
Component:

Resolution

This explains how one might copy SPXTAPE data to a new tape media (Note: VM:Spool backups are written in SPXTAPE format):

1. There is a catalog of data. Each catalog record is associated with 1 spool file on a tape.  You can easily edit this catalog to change tape volume serial numbers if you migrate your data to new tape volumes.  A customer could use the XEDIT CHANGE subcommand to make global changes to a volume serial number. Of course, always make a copy of the file before making ANY changes like this.

If you keep the volume serials the same, (copy old tape AAABBB to new tape AAABBB)  then you don't need to edit that data.

2. You can create catalog data from the tapes to enable you to do restores so you don t have to keep the catalog data.

You would use the SPOOLCAT TAPE and CATALOG commands to create the contents of the catalog file.  Then you would either 1) place the CATALOG on the VM:Spool BKUP disk to access using the VMSPOOL command or 2) use SPOOLCAT DISK command to create a SPOOLIST-like display of the contents of a catalog file you created with the  SPOOLCAT TAPE and CATALOG commands. 

See the VM:Spool System Administrator's Guide for more information on those commands.

3. If you are defining tapes in the VMSPOOL tapepool  to use in backup jobs, you may need to put new volumes in there and cycle out the old if you want to use new volsers vs. the old volsers.
4. If you are using VM:Tape, you will need to make sure the new volumes are defined to VM:Tape before migrating the data.   You would then likely want to expire and phase out the old tapes, of course all of this is if you go to a new volser during the data migration.  If there is a change to the data on the tape, for instance, density info now different, then even if you use the same volsers, VM:Tape's data will need to be updated to reflect the new information about that volser so the correct type of tape  drive is looked for to satisfy a mount for that tape.