These are some basic considerations regarding FlashCopy
®:
- While a FlashCopy image
is being created, all data remains online and available to users and applications.
- The FlashCopy image
operation is performed on a single fileset. You cannot create FlashCopy images
for multiple filesets in a single operation.
- FlashCopy images
are full images — you cannot create incremental FlashCopy images.
- Each fileset can have up to 32 read-only FlashCopy images.
- Once a FlashCopy image
is created, its name cannot be changed.
- You can use a FlashCopy image for backing up files, instead of
the original source data. This guarantees a consistent image of the files
because the files in a FlashCopy image are read-only.
- Clients have file-level access to FlashCopy images, to access older
versions of files or to copy individual files back to the real fileset if
required.
- FlashCopy images
for each fileset are stored in a special subdirectory, called .flashcopy,
under the fileset’s attachment point. The .flashcopy directory is a hidden
directory. So by default, it does not appear in Windows® Explorer in a SAN File System
client.