If you’re using SAN in your Power Systems environment without taking advantage of FlashCopy, we have one question for you: Why not? FlashCopy takes a quick snapshot of your data at a particular point in time, then POOF! Your data is available for backup or use on another partition for high availability, disaster recovery, or even to create a test environment for your developers. Join IBM i expert Chuck Stupca, IBM emeritus, as he explains how FlashCopy works and how best to take advantage of its unique features. We’ll also discuss ways that it helps you build a better backup strategy for your IBM i environment: • Making a backup copy of production for tape-based saves • Providing test environments from your production data in seconds • Comparing FlashCopy to a save-while-active backup

1. FlashCopy for IBM i

2. FlashCopy for IBM i
Broadcasting live from Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Chuck Losinski
Director of Automation Technology
Robot
Chuck Stupca
IBM i Expert
IBM (retired)

3. Agenda
• FlashCopy Defined
• How FlashCopy Works
• FlashCopy Options
• FlashCopy Space Efficiencies
• Automation Opportunities

4. What is FlashCopy?
• A function that occurs within a SAN storage device
• Provides a point-in-time copy of the contents of disk volumes
• Can be a full system or an IASP
• Many options for the copy process available
• Differences between V7000 and DS8000

5. Save While Active
Before starting a discussion of FlashCopy, let’s review a more familiar
point-in-time copy: Save While Active
1.When a Save While Active is started, a sync point is reached before
the save operation starts (this may take some time)
2.The objects to be saved are marked for processing by the save
3.Users may begin to use the objects being saved
4.If an object is changed, before it has been saved, the original
information is moved to a shadow area
5.When the save operation reaches the changed information,
the original information is saved from the shadow area

6. FlashCopy Basics
• A FlashCopy takes place within a single storage unit—you cannot flash
from one storage device to another
• FlashCopy is a physical copy of the disk unit—the storage unit has no
concept of objects
• Logical saves (SAVOBJ, SAVLIB, etc.) can be taken from the FlashCopy units
• There are many different options when you take a DS8000 FlashCopy
• A system or IASP may be quiesced in order to reach a sync point
(usually a matter of seconds)—highly recommended
• Two basic forms of FlashCopy
– FlashCopy with copy
– FlashCopy no copy

7. FlashCopy with Copy
The contents of all disk units in the FlashCopy operation are copied
from source volumes to target volumes.
Source Volumes
Target Volumes

8. FlashCopy with Copy
Force all changes from main storage to the source volumes and issue the
FlashCopy command. A bitmap with all zeroes is generated by the DS.
Source Volumes
Bitmap
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
Target Volumes

9. FlashCopy with Copy
Each track is copied from the source volumes to the target volumes. As the
tracks are copied, the corresponding bit in the mask is changed from 0 to 1.
Source Volumes
Bitmap
1111111111
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
Target Volumes

10. FlashCopy with Copy
Since both the source and target volumes are available for use, the bitmap directs
users of the target volumes to the location of the information being used:
•
•
1 = use the target volume
0 = use the source volume
Source Volumes
Bitmap
1111111111
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
Target Volumes

11. FlashCopy with Copy
Since the source volumes are in use, what happens when a track that
hasn’t been copied is changed in the source volumes?
Source Volumes
Bitmap
1111111111
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
Target Volumes

12. FlashCopy with Copy
Before the change is written to the source volume, the original track
is copied to the target volume and the corresponding bit is set to 1.
Source Volumes
Bitmap
1111111111
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000100000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
Target Volumes

13. FlashCopy with Copy
Since the bit of the changed track is set to 1, the users of the target volumes
know that the correct data is in the target—kind of like Save While Active
knowing to use the shadow area.
Source Volumes
Bitmap
1111111111
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000100000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
Target Volumes

14. FlashCopy with Copy
Eventually, all tracks are copied from the source to the target. At this point, the
default FlashCopy operation is complete and the bitmap is removed. There is
no longer a relationship between the source and target volumes.
Source Volumes
Bitmap
1111111111
1111111111
1111111111
1111111111
1111111111
1111111111
1111111111
1111111111
Target Volumes

15. FlashCopy with Copy
Now you have a full copy of the original source volumes to use!
Source Volumes
Target Volumes

16. FlashCopy with Copy
What happens when a track that hasn’t been copied is changed in the
target? The change is written to the target volume and the bit is set to 1.
The track will not be copied from the source to the target.
Source Volumes
Bitmap
1111111111
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000100000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
Target Volumes

17. FlashCopy no Copy
Only the contents of changed tracks on disk units in the FlashCopy
operation are copied from source volumes to target volumes.
Source Volumes
Target Volumes

18. FlashCopy no Copy
Force all changes from main storage to the source volumes and issue the
FlashCopy command. A bitmap with all zeroes is generated by the DS.
Source Volumes
Bitmap
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
Target Volumes

19. FlashCopy no Copy
No background copy of source tracks to target tracks is performed.
Source Volumes
Bitmap
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
Target Volumes

20. FlashCopy no Copy
When a track in the source volumes is being changed, the track is copied
to the source, and the corresponding bit is set to 1.
Source Volumes
Bitmap
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0001000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000000000
Target Volumes

21. FlashCopy no Copy
Only the original contents of changed tracks are moved to the targets.
Source Volumes
Bitmap
0000000000
0010000000
0000000010
0000000000
0001000000
0000000000
0000000000
0000100000
0000000000
Target Volumes

22. FlashCopy no Copy
Changes to the target system cause the copy bit to be set to 1. This will
prevent a change to the source from overwriting the target change with
original data.
Source Volumes
Bitmap
0000000000
0010000000
0000000010
0000000000
0001000000
0000000000
0000000001
0000100000
0000000000
Target Volumes

23. FlashCopy no Copy
• The relationship between the source and target remains in place until
all source tracks have been changed (highly unlikely).
• Usually the flash copy relationship is explicitly removed when the user
has finished using the targets.
• This form of FlashCopy is typically used to save objects on a partition
that is different from the production partition.
• Since few of the tracks are likely to change during the save operation,
there may be contention for access to the source volumes—usually the
interference is not noticeable.

24. FlashCopy V7000
• Source and target volumes are specified using a mapping operation
• Target volumes must be identical in size to the source volumes
• Multiple volumes may be placed in a consistency group
– Similar to a DS FlashCopy of multiple volumes
– Provides a point-in-time copy for all volumes in the consistency group
• Rather than copying tracks, V7000 copies “grains”
– User specifies the size of a grain
– May be 64K – 256K
– Default is 256K
• FlashCopy on V7000 is with copy

25. Other DS8000 FlashCopy Options
• Persist: keep a FlashCopy relationship in place
• Record: keep track of changes made since the last point in time copy
– Often used in conjunction with the persist option
• Target inhibit: prevent writing to the target volumes
– Do not use with IBM i

26. Using Persist and Record
• Most often used to update target volumes copied using
FlashCopy with copy
• At the completion of the full copy from source to target,
the bitmap between source and target is retained
• Because record is also specified, a second bitmap is used to
record the changes on the source volumes and target volumes
• At the next instance for FlashCopy, a variation called
Resync flash is used

27. Resync Flash
• Changes to tracks in both sets of volumes are recorded in the bitmap
• Remember that our original flash was a point-in-time flash of the
source volumes
Source Volumes
Bitmap
0010000000
0010000000
0000000010
0000000100
0001000000
0000000001
0000000000
0000100000
1000000000
Target Volumes

28. Resync Flash
In order to restore the changed tracks in the target to the values in the original
FlashCopy, the changes will be “backed out” using the unchanged pages in
the source.
Source Volumes
Bitmap
0010000000
0010000000
0000000010
0000000100
0001000000
0000000001
0000000000
0000100000
1000000000
Target Volumes

29. Resync Flash
• Full copy of source volumes must be completed
• When a resync flash is issued, a second bitmap of all zeroes
is created
• Changes that occur while the resync flash is taking place are
recorded in the second bitmap
– Changes to a track in a source volume will cause the original track
to be written to the target
– Changes to a track in a target volume are more complicated

30. Resync Flash—Changes to Target Volumes
Condition 1 – the track is not scheduled to be copied during the resync flash
•The change is made to the target volume and the corresponding bit in the change recording
bitmap for the next resync is set to 1.
•The track will not be copied from the source volume to the target volume.
Condition 2 – the track is scheduled for resync and has already been copied from the source
•The track on the target is changed.
•The corresponding bit in the change recording bitmap for the next resync is set to 1.
Condition 3 – the track is scheduled for resync but has not yet been copied from the source
•The track on the target is changed and the corresponding bit in the change recording bitmap
for the next resync is set to 1.
•The track will not be copied from the source volume to the target volume.

31. Why Use FlashCopy
• Clone an IASP or system using FlashCopy with copy
• Use the target volumes for save operations
– IPL the full system flash with special handling
• System name
• IP addresses
– Vary on a FlashCopy IASP
• In the event that the source volumes become mucked,
the target volumes provide a quick recovery to the point
in time of the FlashCopy

32. Saving Objects from a FlashCopy
• The save is taking place on a different system
• An IBM i has an operating system option for saving from a full system
– The production system will not have the date of last save changed
– IBM i will adjust the catalog to “spoof” a save from the production system
• Saving from an IASP attached to a different partition is much easier
– The save is still done on a different system/partition
– IBM i has an option to update the last saved information in the source IASP
• Lab Services Toolkit provides an automated process for both full
system and IASP FlashCopy

33. Space Efficient FlashCopy
• To this point, the target volumes in either a DS8000 or a V7000 have
been the same size as the source volumes (fully provisioned).
• Do we need fully provisioned targets?
– FlashCopy no copy will not copy everything
– Often times, target volumes have a short life span, e.g., they exist only until a
save operation is complete
• In a DS8000, we can use targets that are smaller than the source
volumes (thin provisioning).

34. Space Efficient FlashCopy
The DS8000 targets are configured differently.
Source Volumes
Space is allocated for the target volumes.
Allocated space is a percentage of the space for the source volumes.
Choose a percentage that will not overflow during the save operation.

35. Space Efficient FlashCopy
The DS8000 targets are configured differently.
Source Volumes
Target Volumes
“Virtual” target volumes are defined
to be the same size as the source
volumes.
There is a mapping between the
tracks of the target volumes and the
actual disk space used for the
FlashCopy.

36. Space Efficient FlashCopy
The DS8000 targets are configured differently.
Source Volumes
Target Volumes
A change to a track in the source
causes the original track to be
written to the allocated area.
The bitmap between source and
target indicates that the original
page is in the “virtual” target disk.

37. Space Efficient FlashCopy
The DS8000 targets are configured differently.
Source Volumes
Target Volumes
When a user of the target volumes
accesses the changed page, the
bitmap directs the read to the target
volume.
The changed track in the target
volume is mapped to original
information in the allocated area.

38. FlashCopy Summary
• Contained within a single storage unit
• A fast way to establish a point-in-time image of volumes
(disk units) in IBM i
• Copies are physical, not logical i.e., there is no way to restore
individual objects from a FlashCopy
• Can make full system or IASP copies
• Save operations can be performed on the target units
• Space efficient FlashCopy reduces storage requirements

39. Resources
• Redbooks
–
–
–
–
–
SG24-7938 Overview of the IBM Storwize V7000
SG24-8886 IBM System Storage DS8000: Architecture and Implementation
SG24-7120 IBM i and IBM System Storage
SG24-7103 IBM System Storage Copy Services and IBM i
SG24-6788 IBM System Storage DS8000 Copy Services for Open Systems
• IBM Education
– AS541 IBM PowerHA for IBM i, Clustering, and IASP Implementation (4 days)
– OS830 System Storage DS6000 and DS8000 on I (3 days)
• STG Lab Services
– IASP Copy Services Toolkit (2 versions)
– Full System FlashCopy Toolkit

40. Automation Opportunities
• Many of the Robot products can exploit this technology
–
–
–
–
–
Robot/SCHEDULE to automate the FlashCopy execution
Robot/SAVE to execute and track your backup to media
Robot/CONSOLE to monitor for FlashCopy messages
Robot/ALERT to notify you of any issues
Robot/SPACE to track disk usage statistics, notify of growth thresholds and
automate cleanup tasks

41. Automation Opportunities
Automated Job Scheduling
Message Management
- Improve uptime
- Eliminate errors
- Avoid overtime
- Save time with automated documentation
- Event-based scheduling more effective
- View only important messages
- Acknowledge important messages
- Single pane of glass view
- Maximize uptime
- Easy to locate cause of errors
Performance Management
Disaster Recovery
- Dynamic expert tuning
- Proactive disk saving
- Capture runaway jobs fast
- Managed impact of change
- Easy to show that SLAs have been met
- Automate save and restore
- Flexible tape management
- Reliable, unattended backups
- Powerful data security and audit
- Simplified disaster recovery planning
Robot systems management solutions save money
and help improve competitiveness.

42. Robot/SCHEDULE, Enterprise, and Replay
Event-Driven Job Scheduling for IBM i and Windows, Unix, Linux and Interactive Tasks
Event-driven scheduling | Flexibility to react to changing events
Schedule Activity Monitor | Powerful scheduling dashboard
Replay | Automates interactive green-screen tasks
Cross Partition Dependencies | Add Robot/NETWORK
Cross Platform Dependencies | Add Robot/SCHEDULE Enterprise
Sophisticated calendars | Adapt to any schedule or fiscal year
Dynamic parameters | Support unattended job submission
Good Morning Report | Keeps you posted on nightly activity
Job blueprints | Generate graphical views of job flow
Job Blueprint shows you job dependencies
between jobs, partitions and platforms!
Database | All data and schedules are stored on the IBM i
ROBOT/SCHEDULE
ROBOT/SCHEDULE
The world’s most advanced job scheduler for IBM i.
Robot Plug-In Modules:
Robot/SCHEDULE SAP Interface • Robot/SCHEDULE Oracle E1 Interface • Robot/REPLAY • Robot/NETWORK

43. Robot/CONSOLE and Robot/ALERT
System Message and Resource Management
Message management | Handle messages automatically
Message notification | Escalate only important messages
OPAL | Defines complex message processing
SNMP SMS SMTP 2-way | Add Robot/ALERT
Consolidated monitoring | Add Robot/NETWORK
Resource monitoring | Keep resources healthy
System log monitoring | Maintain security and compliance
Message history | Detailed historical message analysis
Good Morning Report | Keeps you posted on nightly activity
ROBOT/CONSOLE
ROBOT/CONSOLE
Powerful interface | Easy to use
Message set creation wizard | Easy to install
Automate message responses and resource monitoring
such as: CPU, subsystem, line, job queue, and output
queue. Escalate only the exceptions and reply
remotely.
Automated system monitoring. Don’t be tied to your screen.
Related Robot products: Robot/ALERT and Robot/NETWORK

44. Robot/SAVE
Disaster Recovery
Automated backup | Eliminate save errors
IFS groups | Easily manage IFS backups and restores
Data encryption | Secure mission critical data
Save media management | Error-free media handling
Data centre management | Multi-system/data centre support
Centralized scratch pool | Reuse media across multiple systems
Guided restoration | Improves Recovery Time Objective (RTO)
Object archive | Easy to restore prior versions of data/objects
Restricted State Utility | Safe, unattended system-level saves
Ad hoc operations | Management of media outside of DR
Move Sets help manage the location of save
media at all times.
Reports | Comprehensive DR documentation suitable for audit
ROBOT/SAVE
ROBOT/SAVE
It’s more than save and restore, it’s a whole DR solution.
Related Robot products: Robot/SCHEDULE • Robot/ALERT • Robot/NETWORK

45. Robot/SPACE
Proactive Storage Management
Critical Storage Investigator | Identify storage problem causes
Collection explorer | Graphical storage statistics and trends
Storage audits | Automated disk cleanup
ASP monitors | Monitor ASPs individually
Active job storage monitoring | Identify out of control jobs fast
Storage collections | Flexible, user-defined statistical groupings
Robot/QUERY | Flexible, user-defined storage analysis
Reports | Assist in monitoring storage space
ROBOT/SPACE
ROBOT/SPACE
Critical Storage Investigator (CSI) allows easy
identification of storage problems.
Save disk space. Predict future space requirements. Avoid critical storage conditions.
Related Robot products: Robot/SCHEDULE • Robot/ALERT • Robot/NETWORK

46. Questions?
PRESENTATION RECAP:
•
FlashCopy Defined
•
How FlashCopy Works
•
FlashCopy Options
–
With and without copy
–
Resync flash
–
Persist and record
–
Running saves
•
FlashCopy Space Efficiencies
•
Robot automation opportunities

47. Thank you for joining us today!
Contact Information
Telephone: 800-328-1000 sales
952-933-0609 support
Website:
www.helpsystems.com
Chuck Losinski
Director of Automation
Technology, Robot
Presenters: chuck.losinski@helpsystems.com | 952-563-2790
jcstupca@msn.com
Chuck Stupca
IBM i Expert
IBM (retired)