Backing up your data properly is crucial to recovering from a system failure or in a disaster situation. However, too often companies run backups created by an operator or programmer years ago, when the speed and capacity of the tape backup media was limited. Backup routines were customized to reduce backup windows and work with the limited capacity of tape media. This situation ends up being problematic for a variety of reasons.
Often times backup routines are outdated or ineffective — It is very common for some parts of your IBM’s operating system, security profiles, new programs or data libraries to be missing from a custom daily backup program — which means not all your data is being backed up. This can result in loss data and limited ability to restore the data and applications properly.
Luckily, there is a solution that ensures all your data is backed up on your iSeries.
A Full System Save Solution for you iSeries.
Using a scheduled/routine full system save commonly known as “Option 21” will ensure that you are backing up all data, including your operating systems, PTFs and other iSeries system configurations.
Option 21 puts your system into a restricted state, meaning that when the save begins, no users can access your system and the backup is the only thing that is running on your system. If you’re business runs a small system, you should consider running this option overnight. If you’re a large system, you can run this option during the weekend.
If you schedule an unattended save, you will not be able to use the workstation where the backup is initiated until the save is complete.
These considerations are critical for your business to restore your system to its previous state after a disaster. And to add an extra layer of protection, you should consider scheduling a test restoration of all your backups to ensure you’ll be able to recover from a system failure or disaster. North Shore Data Services can work with you to analyze and customize your backup procedures, provide a managed backup solution as well as provide a test environment for system restoration. Contact us today by calling 978-988-0201 or by opening a ticket with our help desk at www.ns-data.com.
