Understanding CICS VR alternate index (AIX) processing

CICS® VR AIX® processing varies according to the type of backup that the VSAM sphere was restored from.

See the appropriate backup type below for a complete description.
DFSMShsm logical backups
DFSMShsm logical backups can be made for the entire VSAM sphere; base cluster, AIXs, paths. Therefore, if through the CICS VR panel interface you select a DFSMShsm backup, the entire VSAM sphere is restored. During CICS VR forward recovery, any restored AIX that is part of the upgrade set is updated appropriately without any additional processing.

If a new sphere name was entered for restore and recovery through the CICS VR panel interface, only the base cluster is restored by DFSMShsm. Any AIXs must therefore be recreated and rebuilt manually after successful recovery processing.

Note: DFSMShsm backups created with the backup-while-open (BWO) facility require additional AIX processing, as described in Understanding the backup-while-open (BWO) facility.
Backups restored outside of CICS VR or no backups restored
If a backup is not selected for restore through the CICS VR panel interface, no additional AIX processing is performed by CICS VR. However, any AIXs in the upgrade set defined for the VSAM sphere that is being forward recovered is updated appropriately during forward recovery processing.
DFSMSdss logical copies or dumps
CICS VR can be notified of logical copies or dumps created for VSAM spheres. However, only the base cluster can be copied or dumped when CICS VR is notified because the CICSVRBACKUP and SPHERE keywords of the COPY and DUMP commands are mutually exclusive. Therefore, when a DFSMSdss logical copy or dump is selected through the CICS VR panel interface, only the base cluster is restored. Any AIXs must be manually recreated and rebuilt after forward recovery processing.
Backups registered through the file copy notification service

If a backup that was previously registered to CICS VR through the file copy notification service is selected for restore, a restore skeleton for the product identifier associated with the backup must be defined to CICS VR. The restore skeleton must run the appropriate program with the required commands and keywords to restore the selected backup type. The ability to restore the entire VSAM sphere; base cluster, AIXs, paths, depends on the restore program.

Offline and sharp online backups
CICS VR does not perform any additional AIX processing for the following types of backups registered through the file copy notification interface:
  • Backups that were taken while the data set remained offline and closed to CICS for update.
  • Backups that were taken while the data set remained online and open to CICS for update, but no updates were made to the data set during backup processing, sharp online backup.
Any AIXs in the upgrade set for the VSAM sphere that is being forward recovered is updated appropriately during forward recovery processing.
Fuzzy online backups
For all backups that were registered to CICS VR with a fuzzy online status, indicating that the backup was taken while the data set remained online and open for update, and one or more updates were made to the data set during backup processing, CICS VR performs the additional AIX processing:
  • CICS VR removes all AIXs that are reusable and part of the upgrade set prior to forward recovery processing.
  • The AIXs are rebuilt after successful completion of forward recovery processing.
Note: CICS VR does not rebuild AIXs when a new name has been specified for the restoration and forward recovery of a VSAM sphere.