How to Set Up a Parallel Backup

To use parallel support to process an existing control group, take the following steps:

1. At the Work with Backup Control Groups display, type option 8 (Change attributes) in front of the control group you want to work with, and press Enter. This takes you to the Change Backup Control Group Attributes display.

                         Change Backup Control Group Attributes                    
                                                                                   
    Group  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : SAMPLE                                
                                                                                   
    Type information, press Enter.                                                 
                                                                                   
    Media policy for:                                                              
      Full backups . . . . . . . . . . . . . *BKUPCY     Name, F4 for list         
      Incremental backups  . . . . . . . . . *BKUPCY     Name, F4 for list         
    Backup devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . *BKUPCY     Name, F4 for list         
                                                                                   
                                                                                   
                                                                                   
    Parallel device resources:                                                     
      Minimum resources  . . . . . . . . . . 2           1-32, *NONE, *AVAIL       
      Maximum resources  . . . . . . . . . . 4           1-32, *AVAIL, *MIN        
    Sign off interactive users . . . . . . . *BKUPCY     *YES, *NO, *BKUPCY        
    Sign off limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . *BKUPCY     0-999 minutes, *BKUPCY    
    Default weekly activity  . . . . . . . . *BKUPCY     SMTWTFS(F/I), *BKUPCY     
    Incremental type . . . . . . . . . . . . *BKUPCY     *CUML, *INCR, *BKUPCY     
    Force full backup days . . . . . . . . . *BKUPCY     0-365, *NOMAX, *BKUPCY    
                                                                                   
    F3=Exit   F4=Prompt   F12=Cancel                                               

2. At the Parallel device resources parameter, indicate the minimum and maximum number of device resources you want to allocate to the processing of this control group. In this example, we instructed BRMS to save the contents of the SAMPLE control group to a minimum of 2 devices and a maximum of 4 devices.
3. Press Enter to save and return to the Work with Backup Control Groups display.
4. Then type option 2 (Edit entries) next to the control group you are editing and press Enter.
5. Press F11 twice to bring you to the Advanced backup controls panel.

                        Edit Backup Control Group Entries               RCHAS400   
                                                                                   
    Group . . . . . . . . . . : SAMPLE                                             
    Default activity  . . . . . *BKUPCY                                            
    Text  . . . . . . . . . . . *NONE                                              
                                                                                   
    Type information, press Enter.                                                 
                                                                                   
                                                                                   
         Backup     List Parallel    Private                                       
    Seq  Items      Type Type        Authorities   Encrypt                         
                                                                                   
      10 *EXIT                                                                     
      20 LIBA            *DEFAULT    *NO           *MEDPCY                         
      30 LIBB            *PARALLEL   *NO           *MEDPCY                         
      40 LIBC            *NONE       *NO           *NO                             
      50 GEN*            *SERIAL     *NO           *NO                             
      60 *EXIT                                                                     
                                                                                   
                                                                                   
                                                                            Bottom 
                                                                                   
    F3=Exit   F5=Refresh   F11=Display main   F12=Cancel                           

6. In the Parallel Type column, enter in the type of parallel you would like to be used for the backup item. The following are definitions of each type:
   • The value *DEFAULT is the default value. BRMS will decide the best Parallel Type to use on the backup item. If the backup item doesn't support parallel, then a non-parallel backup will be performed.
   • The value *PARALLEL specifies a parallel save format backup. This format spreads each object across multiple resources.

     A *PARALLEL type cannot be specified for the following backup items:

     1. *ALLUSR
     2. *ALLPROD
     3. *ALLTEST
     4. *ASPnn
   • The value *SERIAL specifies a multiple-library parallel format. This format spreads libraries across multiple resources. Each library is backed up to a single resource.

     A *SERIAL type cannot be specified for the following backup items:

     1. *LNK lists
     2. *EXIT containing a SAVDOMBRM command.
     3. *LINK
     4. *LNKOMTONL
     5. *LNKOMTLTS
     6. *LTSOMTONL
   • The value *NONE specifies a parallel backup is not being requested. This will force BRMS to use a single resource.

You can find a more complex example involving the use of parallel and concurrent saves in Sample Backup Scenarios: Working with Multiple Control Groups and Shared Devices.

Use a job scheduler to assist you in scheduling parallel saves. You can find more information about job scheduling in Scheduling Backup and Recovery Jobs.