Re: Question on BRMS *SYSTEM Backup Control Group....

The only caveat is if BRMS used multiple devices on the save, then BRMS must be present to run the restore, since the media definition would be needed to
drive the multiple devices on the restore. If you knew where to find the media definition then the IBM supplied restore commands can be used. It could
be done without the media definition but it would be very ugly.

I wish we had parallel tape drives, I would love to cut the backup window. Unfortunately our DR partner, who specializes in JD Edwards installations, doesn't support LTO 7 on the iSeries, or tape libraries with multiple drives. It is what it is. While I recognize it isn't good, I don't make the call. Under normal circumstances, we MImix replicate to them.

That said, instead of restoring a SAVSYS and then a NONSYS as a "21" save or restore would do, you would restore SAVSYS, followed by *IBM, then *ALLUSR, ALLDLO, and
finally the IFS. That's all the BRMS *SYSTEM control group is doing. All the standard OS commands can be used, and I do it that way frequently.

I suspect that's where things went south. Our IBM partner's tech had the steps documented and didn't know how to handle it when he couldn't use the NONSYS label expected. I still don't know how he loaded a V7R1 system on a V7R3 box, but I suspect he overwrote most of the V7R3 install with V7R1, then performed an upgrade after IPL'ing from the D source that had V7R3. If I understand it correctly, he could never have brought up a 41A system on V7R1. One way or the other, he managed to pull it off.

Which still leaves me with partners who don't know how to use a BRMS *SYSTEM save to restore an entire system. It would be easier for me if *SYSTEM created a tape that was indistinguishable from a manually created Go Save-->21. I might go through the CL for the manual process and see if I can create a Backup Control Group that replicates it exactly.