DB2 10.5 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows

DB2 Advanced Copy Services (ACS) scripted interface makes using customer scripts easier

Starting in Version 10.5, custom scripts that implement snapshot backups and restores interface better with DB2®, reducing user error and improving monitoring and management of snapshot operations.

If you were performing a snapshot operation you either need to use storage hardware that provides a vendor library to support the DB2 ACS API or to write and provide a custom script that runs the snapshot backup or restore. Writing a custom script has the benefit of providing you with flexibility in the storage device that you use; however, there were some drawbacks in previous DB2 versions:

Custom scripts can be difficult and error-prone to write, especially in regards to suspending and resuming database operations.
Custom scripts do not generate a history file entry, so you cannot monitor the progress and success of the snapshot operation.

In V10.5, these trade-offs have been eliminated. The DB2 ACS API is now wrapped in the library for DB2 ACS. The library invokes the customer script to perform the snapshot operation. The DB2 database manager takes over the error-prone actions like issuing the SET WRITE SUSPEND, SET WRITE RESUME, and db2inidb commands at the correct time. At the same time, because the DB2 ACS API is being used, an entry is made in the recovery history file for every snapshot operation, allowing you to monitor successful and unsuccessful backups.