POINTER CHECKER PLUS
POINTER CHECKER PLUS:
- Solves the expense and resource usage constraints of traditional pointer validation utilities
- Offers full checking and hash checking options
- Can validate pointers concurrent with image copy or recovery tasks
- Offers utilities for diagnosing and repairing structural problems with IMS databases
Overview
Traditional utilities that check pointers and collect statistics on IMS databases are expensive, resource- intensive, and require too much time to execute. Ironically, these utilities ultimately use more resources than they save by preventing and detecting problems.
The POINTER CHECKER PLUS product from BMC Software provides a solution that preserves data integrity without reducing data availability or wasting resources. It validates, analyzes and repairs IMS databases – quickly and efficiently.
POINTER CHECKER PLUS functionally replaces the following utilities offered in the IMS Data Base Tools (DBT) Space Management Utility (SMU):
- HD Pointer Checker
- HD Tuning Aid
- HDAM Physical Sequence Sort/Reload (PSSR)
- Space Monitor
- DB Historical Data Analyzer
- DB Segment Restructure
Additionally, POINTER CHECKER PLUS offers features that give you more control and flexibility with pointer validation.
Speed the process and maximize resources
When you use the Full Checking option, POINTER CHECKER PLUS executes stand-alone verification up to 10 times faster than the SMU pointer validation function. When you use the Hash Checking option under an image copy utility, it validates pointers during every image copy, adding less than a 5% increase in elapsed time.
POINTER CHECKER PLUS delivers unique features that further speed pointer validation and reduce its cost:
- Verifies pointers during recovery when used with BMC Software's RECOVERY PLUS product, providing immediate information on using the database and image copy for recovery
- Makes the database available sooner by verifying pointers during image copy or recovery
- Decreases data management expenses by using less CPU time and fewer EXCPs
- Reduces EXCPs and elapsed time by using alternative access methods and parallel processing
- Interfaces to BMC Software's IMAGE COPY PLUS product and supports the IMS Image Copy utility in both batch and online environments with minimal increase in elapsed time
- Improves the efficiency of the reload by sorting an HD Unload file using the HD Sort Program
To conserve processing resources even further, POINTER CHECKER PLUS can be automatically called by BMC Software's IMAGE COPY PLUS, CHANGE ACCUMULATION PLUS and RECOVERY PLUS utilities.
Ensure data integrity
You need total assurance that you have protected your critical data. POINTER CHECKER PLUS:
- Checks all the pointers of the IBM* Utility and additionally validates:
- All secondary index values
- HIDAM root keys
- Logical relationship data
- Optionally validates the database from an image copy tape, verifying that the image copy tape is readable and the database is free of pointer errors
- Incorporates threshold monitoring to warn of potential problem areas before they affect data availability
- Provides ability to verify pointers each time an image copy or recovery is performed
- Lessens likelihood of JCL and control statement errors
Access accurate information
The information generated during pointer validation should be accurate, complete and easy to understand– giving you flexibility in making decisions. POINTER CHECKER PLUS offers immediate online access to current and historical data generated by batch pointer checker runs, including reports, option specifications, historical data and monitors, the Database Zap utility and JCL generation. It also reports on space usage and DL/I statistics.
POINTER CHECKER PLUS provides an option for checking only physical pointers or logical pointers. It also provides tuning parameters that control various performance options such as number of buffers and buffer sizes.
To make it easier for you to use, POINTER CHECKER PLUS provides an ISPF interface for online access to reports, option specification and JCL generation. And, it dynamically allocates necessary data sets in both batch and ISPF environments. It also includes an HDAM Randomizer Analysis Program to help you fine tune the randomizer's distribution of root segments.
Analyze and repair databases
POINTER CHECKER PLUS incorporates two utilities that help you diagnose and fix database structural problems. The online ISPF Database Zap Utility allows you to repair broken databases, verify data content, or learn the internal structure of IMS DL/I databases. Since the tasks of chasing pointers and correcting errors are faster and more efficient when performed in an interactive online session, your databases are corrected faster, are available more quickly, and require less personnel time.
The DL/I Block Dump Utility of POINTER CHECKER PLUS lets you create hardcopies of database blocks in DUMP, DL/I or EXTENDED DL/I format.
The ultimate pointer validation solution
Pointer validation no longer needs to be slow and expensive. Now, you can implement it concurrently with image copy, change accumulation or recovery, and collect statistics concurrent with image copy. Additionally, you can perform the pointer validation process with:
- Simple JCL and control statements
- Concise reports
- Interactive report viewing, option setting and JCL generation
- Dynamic allocation of most data sets needed
- Interactive display and updating of database pointers and data