One of the ways in which DFSMShsm ensures data availability is by automatically copying new and changed user data sets to a backup volume. The copy of your data set is called a backup version. The backup version ensures that your data is still available if your original data set is damaged or accidentally deleted.

Another way in which DFSMShsm ensures data availability is by automatically dumping volumes to tape.

Availability management also includes the process of retrieving data from a backup or dump version if you need to recover your data set. DFSMShsm can recover your data set only if you issue the HRECOVER command.