BCV - Db2 Copy, Clone and Replication

Large corporations maintain a significant number of Db2 databases with several Db2 subsys­tems in z/OS production and test environments. Refreshing the test environments is a crucial process to assure proper application development and quality assurance lifecycle. The window of opportunity for copying Db2 data is constantly diminishing as the demands for nonstop production system increases.

Cloning Db2 databases and tablespaces is a sophisticated and error-prone process. Traditional methods like Unload/Load consume a lot of CPU time and I/Os. The copy process can take many hours and often it cannot be completed in the limited batch window.

BCV5 - F--A--S—T Database Copy

BCV5 is a fast and powerful cloning tool for Db2 on z/OS. It can reduce the time required for copy to 90% compared to DSN1COPY. This dramatic time and money saving are achieved by multiplexing the copy process and OBID translation.

 

The RUNSTATS utility is known as a long-running process that consumes a lot of CPU cycles. BCV5 eliminates the costly RUNSTATS executions by automatically copying source statistics to the target system. It is no longer necessary to wait hours while RUNSTATS finishes.

 

BCV5 copy process saves about 90% CPU time compared to Unload/Load. BCV5 efficiently works at the VSAM dataset level and copies the data directly from the source to the target Db2.

 

BCV5 is a completely automated expert system. Its integrated ISPF user interface is intuitive and easily meets the needs of both experienced and less techni­cal users. A graphical interface is also available for those who prefer using the PC environment.

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CPU Consumption

 

Manual Efforts

 

BCV5 powerful rename mask facility assures proper naming conventions across Db2 systems. JCL jobs are automatically generated so you do not have to worry about cryptic copy statements or different sources and target database structures.

BCV5 expert system automatically generates the DDL for the target Db2 environment. A comprehensive check facility ensures that the target Db2 objects matches the sour­ce objects. Structural differences are automatically detected and successful completion of the copy process is guaranteed.

BCV5 Overview

BCV5 provides fast, efficient and manageable copying of Db2 data. It automatically generates and executes jobs to:

• Extract object definitions from the source Db2 catalog
• Transfer the definitions to the target system (CREATE, or DROP and CREATE)
• Compare the source definitions with existing target objects for compatibility
• Copy pagesets from the source to the target Db2

Why is BCV5 so fast?

Using a high performance multithread engine, BCV5 copies the data at the page level instead of extracting single rows one at a time. BCV5 copies the com­plete page and replaces the Db2 internal OBIDs with respective target values. There is no need to allocate temporary storage to unload the data because the Db2 pageset data is copied directly from the source to the target system.

Another performance enhancement tech­nique consists of copying the indexspaces instead of rebuilding them. The BCV5 copy process runs ten times faster than DSN1COPY and uses only 10% of the service units compared to Unload/Load utilities.

BCV5 – In-Flight Copy - Db2 Copies 24x7

If you run a 24x7 shop, BCV5 can copy your Db2 tables and preserve data integrity without stopping your production database and without impacting data availability. Copying live Db2 systems assumes there will be changes made to ob­jects while they are being copied. To overcome this issue, BCV5 automatically uses the information in the Db2 log to bring the copied tablespaces to a consistent state.

BCV5 Masking Tool

The Masking Tool allows custom data masking using dozens of built-in masking algorithms. These functions can generate simulated data, but seemingly real data, such as names, addresses, credit card numbers, social insurance numbers, and so on. For example, credit card numbers pass validity checks, and addresses have matching street names, postal codes, cities, and provinces.

Depending on the requirements, data can be masked while making a copy of tables, or data can be masked in-place. The first option is useful when copying data from a production environment into a test or QA system. The second option allows to modify the contents of an existing set of tables without making another copy. This can be used to mask data in a pre-production environment that was created by making a 1:1 copy of a productive system.

BCV5’s Masking Tool provides a set of powerful functions enabling to implement data masking strategy in a consistent, reliable and secure way.

BCV5 Data Reduction

BCV5/DR allows copying only a subset of your data. Depending on your test plan, a full table copy may not be necessary. If a particular test scenario only requires custo­mers from a certain geographical area, then why copy an en­tire table with thousands or millions of unwanted rows? BCV5 Data Reduction allows specifying optimum copy criteria to reduce the number of rows prior to copy or replication.

BCV Icebox

This component of BCV5/IB takes snapshots and restores Db2 data to the same or other Db2 environments. The standard Db2 backup functionality only backs up data and optionally takes an image copy of tablespaces. When the structure of a table is altered, the data of the image copy is no longer compatible with the table structure. Icebox automatically generates and restores the DDL of all backed up objects and automatically rebuilds indexes during the restore process. IceBox also eliminates the lengthy and resource consuming execution of RUNSTATBCV5 IceBoxS. As soon as the objects are restored, they are ready to be used.

To avoid taking additional backup copies, IceBox can integrate with existing backup systems. It uses the available image copies, registers them in its backup repository and stores the DDL of each object. The restore function supports renaming the saved objects and permits creating a completely different environment with the same data. It fully automates the DDL manipulation, creates target environment and performs the restore process. This guarantees that every generation of a backup can be restored to any target Db2.

IceBox user-friendly interface provides an overview of all backup processes. To restore objects from a backup, users just need to select the backup version and let IceBox do the rest.

BCV4 - SAP/Db2 and PeopleSoft Subsystem Cloning

BCV4 is the fastest solution for cloning complete SAP or PeopleSoft environment that uses Db2 or a combination of IMS and Db2. New cloned systems are immediately available BCV4 System Cloningto application developers and QA group.

With BCV4, subsystems cloning does not require valuable Db2 expertise and can be executed in record time compared to traditional methods. Systems cloning for SAP, Db2 and IMS systems can be performed on nonstop 24x7 environments without impacting production systems. BCV4 is the fastest solution available.

BCV Suite - Key Features

The large amount of data that corporations need to maintain requires efficient tools. BCV suite is a fast copying and migration tool for DB2 on z/OS. Its multi-threading copy function achieves superior delivery times and reduced CPU overhead.

• Checks and generates DDL
• Automates tasks for: OBID, RBA, LRSN, Grants, etc.
• Flexible space allocation
• Intuitive ISPF and PC graphical user interface
• Batch interface for creating large numbers of copies
• Components for data reduction, data masking, and DDL structure analysis

Benefits

BCV solution cuts copy time down to one tenth compared to conventional tools. It allows important savings of about 90% in copy time, a reduction of 90% in CPU time and a decrease of 90% in manual efforts.

Because BCV is incredibly faster than other solutions, databases can be copied more frequently and at a much lower cost. The target data is always up-to-date so it is beneficial for the application developers and the quality assurance group. BCV solution minimizes the human efforts required to setup the copy process and prevents runtime errors.

Being able to copy production databases at any period of the day avoids budgeting for costly overtime. The copy process can be executed during the normal business hours, without stopping the production databases.

• Automate Db2 Cloning/Migrating/Refreshing processes
• Save 90% CPU resources and elapsed time
• Reduce overtime and manual intervention
• Integrate seamlessly into existing IT environment
• Eliminate costly RUNSTATS, Rebuild Index, etc.
• Reduce DASD space required by copying data directly

We are also offering a series of z/OS Db2 management tools that enable you to make the best possible use of your Db2 resources. These Db2 management solutions automate the process of continuously inspecting each mission critical Db2 system, looking for potential problems and issuing early alerts ensures system availability and reduce the total cost of ownership.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information and see how you could save up to 90% in: Elapsed time, CPU time and manual efforts.

Contact us

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