Expanded Retention Option › The ERO Table › Retention Parameters

Retention Parameters

ERO retention is specified in either DAYS, COPIES, and/or GENS.

• DAYS (RETPD) is based on the date the report was archived.
• COPIES refers to the number of versions that you wish to keep.
• GENS is based on the generation number when the report was created. This is the number that CA View assigns to all reports archived between standard backup cycles. If you specify GENS=2 and you archived the report in GEN 100, it will be scratched after GEN 101 has completed its standard backup.

Control statements specify the retention parameters in a sequential file that is accessible by the backup task through the SARPATAB DD statement. The control statements specify the reports that will receive these retention options. The report name may be all 32 significant characters, or from 0 to 31 characters followed by the wildcard character, the asterisk (*). For example, if the payroll register should be kept on the database for 30 days and on tape for 3 years, add a control statement to the ERO table as follows:

/PAYREG ALL DRETPD=30 RETPD=1095

If all other payroll reports need be kept for only one year, add the following control statement to the ERO table:

/PAY* ALL DRETPD=30 RETPD=365

The backup cycle searches the ERO table from the top to the bottom using the report name as a search argument. The first entry that matches the most significant characters (and the wildcard character if present) is used to obtain the report's retention options.

Special considerations apply if this table is sorted, the '/PAY*' statement would appear in the file ahead of the '/PAYREG' statement, and the payroll register report would obtain the same retention options as the other payroll reports.

More importantly, if a '/* ALL …' default report retention statement was in the sorted file, it sorts as the first statement in the ERO table, and all reports would then obtain retention options from the first entry in the table.

Note: To prevent this type of sequence error from occurring, CA View validates the order of the ERO table before every backup cycle. When you change the ERO table, we recommend you run the SARVERO utility to validate the ERO table and prevent problems during the next CA View backup cycle.