Control groups

BRMS uses control groups for cloud resources to determine which data to process

Just as BRMS creates default control groups for conventional backup and recovery operations, a number of cloud resource control groups are created for each cloud resource. BRMS creates control groups with a QCLDB prefix for each cloud resource on the system. If using BRMS turnkey cloud functions for backups, BRMS automatically creates and transfers media to the cloud for control groups with the QCLDB prefix.

BRMS creates the following control groups for cloud transfers:

QCLDBIPLxx: This control group performs the SAVSYS and the full backups of the system and user objects to media and transfers the media to the cloud. This data must be written to optical media before use during a recovery. BRMS does not create this group for cloud connectors using compression or encryption.
QCLDBGRPxx: Control group used to perform cumulative incremental backups of system and user objects to media and transfer the media to the cloud. Like the data in the QCLDBIPLxx control group the data from the QCLDBGRPxx group must be written to optical media before use during a recovery. BRMS does not create this group for cloud connectors using compression or encryption.
QCLDBSYSxx: Control group used to perform full backups of system and user objects and transfers to the cloud. Saved objects in this group can be restored directly from the cloud media without writing to physical optical media.
QCLDBUSRxx: Control group used to do cumulative incremental backups of system and user objects to media and transfer the media to the cloud. Saved objects in this group can be restored directly from the cloud media without writing to physical optical media.

In these control groups, xx is a unique number assigned to each cloud resource. The control groups using the QCLDB prefix cannot be deleted and should not be changed by users.

Using encryption or compression with cloud connector control groups

QCLDBIPLxx and QCLDBGRPxx BRMS control groups only work for basic cloud connectors and cannot be used with cloud connectors created using IBM Cloud Storage Solutions for i V1.2.0 with compression or encryption. The control groups QCLDBSYSxx and QCLDBUSRxx can be backed up with a cloud connector resource using any configuration.

When using IBM Cloud Storage Solutions for i V1.2.0, a full system backup requires that the data from QCLDBIPLnn and QCLDBGRPnn control groups are backed up using a cloud connector resource that does not use encryption and/or compression. To use cloud connector resources with encryption and/or compression for a full system save scenario, you must create two different sets of cloud connectors to the same resource. One control group pair using compression and/or encryption and another pair using neither compression nor encryption to back up all the system data needed for a Disaster Recovery.

Do not copy the QCLDBIPLxx and QCLDBGRPxx control groups and modify the copies to use encryption or compression connectors. They will not work in a Disaster Recovery scenario.

User-created control groups for automatic transfers to the cloud

As stated, the QCLDBxxxxxx control groups should not be changed by users. Instead, a QCLDBxxxxx control group can be copied to a QCLDUuuuuu control group, where uuuuu is a user specified suffix, which the user can then change. Since the QCLDUuuuuu control group has a QCLD prefix, it will also cause BRMS to automatically create and transfer media to the cloud when it is used to do a backup.

After a QCLDBxxxxx control group has been copied to QCLDUuuuuu, QCLDUuuuuu will be associated with the move policy that was created by BRMS for the cloud resource.

Note: The move policy associated with the control group can be changed but the move policy that is used must contain a cloud location at sequence 10 otherwise automatic cloud transfers will not occur as part of the backup operation. The move sequence