HP OpenVMS System Manager's Manual, Volume 1:...

Using BACKUP

Formulating a Backup Strategy

Understanding Save Sets

Understanding the Backup Interfaces  

• The BACKUP command, which is a command in the DCL command line interface



• The Backup Manager, which is an interactive screen-oriented interface

The BACKUP Command Line  

To back up files, you must specify what you want to back up (the input) and where you want BACKUP to place the resultant save set or file (the output). You can also use BACKUP qualifiers to perform different functions depending upon their position on the command line:BACKUP/qualifiers input-specifier/qualifiers output-specifier/qualifiers

BACKUP Command Qualifier Types lists the types of BACKUP command qualifiers.

Table 2   BACKUP Command Qualifier Types

Type	Position	Effect
Command qualifier	Anywhere on the command line	Affects both input and output specifiers.
Input specifier qualifier	Directly after the input specifier	Affects only the input specifier.
Output specifier qualifier	Directly after the output specifier	Affects only the output specifiers.

When you use BACKUP, make sure you place BACKUP qualifiers in their correct positions on the command line. For more information about the BACKUP command line, refer to the HP OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual.

Using Extended Character Sets  

Beginning with OpenVMS Version 7.2, which introduces Extended File Specifications, BACKUP can process file names that have extended character sets. Included are the following formats:

• ODS-2 standard file name



• ISO Latin-1



• Unicode (UCS-2)

For additional information about extended character sets, refer to the OpenVMS User's Manual .

Specifying Input Files  

For file-based BACKUP operations, you can specify relative input file versions, for example:

$ BACKUP FILE.DAT;-2 SAVED_FILE.DAT

This example shows that you can choose the second-from-the-most-recent version of the input file and assign it a different file name.

With BACKUP, you cannot use -0 as a relative file version to specify the earliest version of the file. BACKUP processes -0 as if it were 0, saving the most recent version of the file for processing.

The Backup Manager  

Backup Manager is a screen-oriented interface to the OpenVMS Backup utility (BACKUP) that presents BACKUP's capabilities in an intuitive, task-oriented, self-documenting manner. Backup Manager can ease backup tasks by guiding you through the backup process. No real performance differences exist between using the Backup Manager and using the BACKUP command line.

Backup Manager runs on:

• Any HP VTxxx-series video display terminal or equivalent terminal emulator



• VMS VAX Version 5.4 or higher systems, and OpenVMS Alpha Version 1.5 or higher systems

The Backup Manager interface is based on the OpenVMS Screen Management Run-Time Library (RTL) routines.

Backup Manager Features  

Backup Manager can perform the following backup operations:

• Save an entire volume to a save set



• Save selected files from a volume to a save set



• Restore an entire volume from a save set



• Restore selected files from a save set



• List a save set

Three types of online assistance are available with Backup Manager:

• Context-sensitive help
  
  Press PF2 or the Help key to get help about the object at which the display cursor is currently located.



• Context-sensitive hints
  
  You are prompted for input by a one-line "hint" about the field where the display cursor is currently located.



• Pull-down help
  
  Choose the pull-down Help menu bar item for more extensive help on a variety of Backup Manager topics.

Getting Started with Backup Manager  

To start Backup Manager, enter the following command at the DCL prompt:

$ SYS$SYSTEM:BACKUP$MANAGER

Formulating a Backup Strategy

Understanding Save Sets