When performing a backup using standard backup tools available in your environment, a client can specify the path to the FlashCopy image instead of the path to the actual files and continue working with the files while the backup occurs. This procedure produces a consistent backup of the files in the fileset.
Although creating FlashCopy images is not a replacement for creating backups of your files to protect your data, in some cases, a user can choose to use a FlashCopy image to revert a file or a set of files to a specific point in time. For example, if a user accidentally deletes a file, restoring it by copying it from a FlashCopy image to another directory instead of restoring it from a backup copy can be faster.
When you restore files from a backup taken from a FlashCopy image, you cannot restore the files to the same location – all FlashCopy image directories are read-only directories. You must restore the files to the directory where the original files resided or to another directory.
For ease of management, create FlashCopy images of all filesets at the same point in time, and use a common naming convention to indicate that they represent a set.
Parent topic: FlashCopy images