DB2 Version 9.7 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows

DB2 Advanced Copy Services (ACS) scripted interface

If you want to perform snapshot operations with a storage device that does not provide a vendor library to implement the DB2 ACS API, you have to create your own script. A script allows the DB2 ACS API to directly communicate with the storage system and create a snapshot of volumes which contain data and log files for a database. Afterward, you can use a different script to perform the complementary action of restoring the snapshot image, or even deleting the image.

By creating your own script for performing snapshots, you can use unsupported storage boxes, or boxes that are available before a vendor library is available for interfacing with DB2 ACS. A vendor library provides the necessary extensions for implementing snapshot-based backup and restore. A script serves a similar role. With the improved interfacing with scripts introduced in V9.7 fix pack 9, DB2 removes the need for the script to account for some of the more error prone actions, like suspending and resuming operations when taking a snapshot backup. Like snapshot operations with supported storage hardware, snapshot operations that use scripts generate a history file entry, meaning that you can monitor the success or failure of snapshot backups.

The DB2 ACS API is wrapped in the library for DB2 ACS, which is included with the DB2 product. The library for ACS writes the protocol files to the protocol file repository and invokes the script that you specify for your snapshot operation.