Creating a FlashCopy image copy with LOAD

As part of LOAD processing, you can use FlashCopy® technology to take image copies. This method is potentially faster than the traditional DB2® utility methods for creating inline copies and thus reduces the time that data is unavailable. FlashCopy image copies can also potentially reduce the time that is required for recovery operations.

About this task

LOAD can also create one to four additional inline image copies by using the traditional methods. Traditional inline image copies are output to a non-VSAM sequential format data set. For more information about creating traditional inline copies, see How to use inline COPY with LOAD.

Procedure

To create a FlashCopy image copy with LOAD:

Specify FLASHCOPY(YES) or FLASHCOPY(CONSISTENT) in the LOAD utility control statement.

Specify FLASHCOPY(CONSISTENT) if you specify SHRLEVEL CHANGE and want to ensure that the image copy is consistent for recovery purposes. Otherwise, specify FLASHCOPY(YES). Also, be aware that if you specify CONSISTENT rather than YES, the process of creating an image copy could take longer.

Restriction: You cannot specify CONSISTENT when copying objects that have been defined with the NOT LOGGED attribute.

As an alternative to specifying FLASHCOPY in the LOAD statement, you can set the FLASHCOPY_LOAD subsystem parameter to YES, which specifies that LOAD is to use FLASHCOPY(YES) by default. The value that you specify for the FLASHCOPY option in the LOAD statement always overrides the value for the FLASHCOPY_LOAD subsystem parameter.

Optionally, you can also specify FCCOPYDDN in the LOAD statement. Use this option to specify a template for the FlashCopy image copy. If you do not specify the FCCOPYDDN option in the LOAD statement, the utility uses the value from the FCCOPYDDN subsystem parameter.

Restriction: The data sets that you specify for the FlashCopy image copy must be on FlashCopy Version 2 disk volumes.

When you specify FLASHCOPY(YES) or FLASHCOPY(CONSISTENT), LOAD uses FlashCopy technology to create a copy of the table space after the data is loaded. If you also requested one or more inline copies in the LOAD statement (by specifying REPLACE and COPYDDN or RECOVERYDDN), the utility also creates those copies. LOAD does not use the FlashCopy image copy to create those traditional inline copies.

Any indexes that are defined with the COPY YES attribute are also copied with FlashCopy technology.

The FlashCopy image copy fails if the FlashCopy Version 2 disk volumes are not available or if any of the other FlashCopy operational restrictions exist. For a list of those operational restrictions, see FlashCopy image copies.

If the FlashCopy copy fails for the target object or auxiliary object and the LOAD statement includes LOG NO but not NOCOPYPEND, the table space is set to COPY-pending status.