Understanding guided system restoration

Robot/SAVE provides important documentation and procedural panels

Whether you are testing a disaster recovery plan or recovering from an actual disaster, Robot/SAVE’s Guided Restoration Procedure can assist you. A good backup plan produces a good disaster recovery (DR) test or recovery. To make a good plan, you should understand how to use Robot/SAVE and have the Robot/SAVE User Guides handy. In addition, it may be helpful to download the following Help/FACTS from the Help/Systems Web site:

• Backing up the Robot products
• What to do at a hot site
• System Restoration Checklist

The System Restoration Checklist outlines all the information you need to complete a successful recovery of your data.

You also should download the Help/FACTS that describe how to move the Robot products you have to a different system. At a minimum, you’ll need How to move Robot/SAVE to a different system.

Robot/SAVE reports
Each time you do a backup, run Robot/SAVE’s Audit and Restoration Reports. These include:

• Restoration Procedures (RBS410P – RBS413P). After each backup, print these reports and keep them in a safe location so they are accessible in the event of a disaster. Use these reports as a guide to restoring your data at the hot site. They contain detailed information about items saved, including the volume names. RBS413P, Restore Procedures to Replicate Current System Configuration, is usually the most important because it gives you the most current information. The reports RBS410P – RBS412P may include items no longer on your system and are helpful if you need to find and restore these older items.
• Audit Report (RBS405P). This report summarizes each backup session. Keep it with the volumes until they expire. It also itemizes objects not saved during the backup session.
• Saved Object List Contents Report (RBS407P). The restoration procedures reports do not include object list restoration information. If you use Robot/SAVE object lists to save individual objects or directory objects, then you will need this report to restore them using Robot/SAVE Archive menus after all of the libraries and the IFS are restored with Guided System Restoration.

To select or change the reports that are generated after a backup, call the program RBSPGMLIB/RBS900 and set the Restoration Reports Options. Do this before developing your disaster recovery plan.

Restoration overview
Robot/SAVE’s Guided System Restoration helps you restore your data after the System i operating system, licensed internal code, profiles, and configuration objects have been restored following IBM’s recommendations.

1. Restore the Robot/SAVE libraries RBTSYSLIB, RBSDTALIB, RBSPGMLIB and RBSKEYLIB. (Note: If you use Robot/SAVE encryption, you need the encryption key to restore encrypted data.)
2. Add the DR tape device to Robot/SAVE using the Save Device Maintenance panel.
3. Use the Robot/SAVE Guided System Restoration Procedures panel to restore your data. This panel lists the items, the restoration sequence, and the volume used, and indicates with a plus sign (+), a continuation volume for an item.

Some restoration options
Most system restorations are performed from the most current volumes. If you press function key 22 (Restore Existing) on the Guided System Restoration Procedures panel, Robot/SAVE builds the restoration list based on the most current volume information.

If you press function key 21 (Restore All), Robot/SAVE builds the restoration information based on all unexpired volumes. This may include items that no longer exist and volumes that you don’t have access to at the DR site. Therefore, this method isn’t a good choice.

Note: Robot/SAVE automatically restores your DLO and IFS with either the function key 21 or 22 restoration, unless you have deselected them.

If neither of these methods seems appropriate to your DR team, Robot/SAVE provides other options. Press function key 9 (Select Sort) to select a different sort type. Some options include sorting by the type of restoration, item name, sequence number, or volume ID.

Once you select a method, confirm your selection by pressing function key 8 (Print report). Review the report before starting your restoration. Robot/SAVE will print the report even at a hot site in restricted state. The report shows the order that items will be restored, along with the volumes that are needed. If the order is not what you want, change it by using function key 9, and reprint the report.

Correcting common restoration errors
If an error during the restoration process prevents an object from being restored, Robot/SAVE’s Guided System Restoration process stops and warns you so you can analyze the situation and take correction action.

For example, if the process stops and you determine that a library was being restored out of sequence, you can deselect the library (remove the ‘1’ next to it) on the Guided System Restoration Procedures panel and continue with the rest of the restoration process. You can select the library again after the initial restoration finishes. Robot/SAVE marks the items it has processed throughout the restoration process so it is easy to see what was restored.

Contributed by Dale Roers, Technical Consultant and Yvonne Schumacher, Technical Training Consultant