A method of open system file backup by mainframe

Consolidated disk systems for storing both mainframe files and open system files have been developed in recent years, and the increasingly widespread use of these systems has led to a growing demand for using the mainframe computer with its superior capabilities to back up open system files. The authors propose a method that enables direct access to open system files from a mainframe computer by using existing general-purpose commands without changing the connection interface with the mainframe. This method not only can achieve equivalent or better performance than the conventional network-based method and the method of establishing new dedicated input/output commands for accessing open system files at the mainframe side, but also allows various types of existing mainframe backup/restore software to be used directly. This paper describes a backup method for open system files according to the proposed general-purpose command method and demonstrates that this method is superior to the conventional network-based method and dedicated command method. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 3, 86(10): 65–73, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjc.10121