Moving a Catalog to a Different System

You might need to move a catalog from one system to another. In this case, you are not necessarily changing the physical location of the catalog, but you are changing how the catalog can be accessed and used.

To move a catalog from one system to another system, the catalog must reside on a volume used by the receiving system. If the volume containing the catalog is already shared by the receiving system, you do not have to change the physical location of the catalog. If the volume is not shared, move the catalog to a volume used by the receiving system.

Once the catalog is on a volume that the receiving system can access, use the IMPORT CONNECT command to connect the catalog to the system's master catalog. If you do not want the original system to use the catalog, use EXPORT DISCONNECT to break the connection between the original master catalog and the user catalog you are moving. If the catalog's share options are (3 4) and the device is defined as shared, the catalog can be shared by both systems.

It is not necessary to lock a catalog when using IMPORT CONNECT or EXPORT DISCONNECT. Jobs oriented to a catalog should end normally if the catalog is disconnected. However, if you are permanently moving a catalog to a different system, ensure that users remove references to the catalog from their jobs.

When you use IMPORT CONNECT, the aliases defined for the catalog on one system are not transferred or redefined on the receiving system, even if you specify ALIAS. If you are permanently moving a catalog to a different system, simply import an exported copy of the catalog (without specifying CONNECT), naming the receiving system's master catalog in the CATALOG parameter. Specify ALIAS, so that the aliases are redefined.

Another way to preserve aliases is to use LISTCAT to obtain a list of the aliases. Then, after you have connected the catalog to the receiving system, use DEFINE ALIAS on the receiving system to define the aliases.

The following example shows how to connect a user catalog on SYSTEMA to SYSTEMB using IMPORT CONNECT, and then how to remove the catalog from SYSTEMA. Before removing the catalog from SYSTEMA, the aliases to the catalog are listed, so they can later be defined for the catalog on SYSTEMB. The LISTCAT output is directed to a data set that can later be edited to produce a series of DEFINE ALIAS commands to define the aliases on the receiving system. The alias associations are listed in the Associations group in the LISTCAT output.

 //SYSMVCT EXEC PGM=IDCAMS
 //SYSPRINT DD SYSOUT=A
 //LISTDATA DD DSN=LISTCAT.ALIAS.LISTING,DISP=OLD
 //SYSIN    DD *
     LISTCAT ALL -
             ENTRIES(ICFCAT.USER.VSYS303) -
             OUTFILE(LISTDATA)

     IMPORT CONNECT -
            OBJECTS((ICFCAT.USER.VSYS303 -
               DEVICETYPE(3390) -
               VOLUMES(SYS303))) -
            CATALOG(SYSTEMB.MASTER.CATALOG)

     EXPORT ICFCAT.USER.VSYS303 -
            DISCONNECT -
            CATALOG(SYSTEMA.MASTER.CATALOG)
 /*