BCV5: Fast, consistentDb2 for z/OS Data Copyand Refresh
BCV5 copies and refreshes Db2 for z/OS data between environments in a single automated process, including the structures and statistics around the data. Work that previously required days of manual effort completes in minutes, on request or on a defined schedule.
At one automotive manufacturer, a full environment refresh that previously required hundreds of manual jobs over approximately two weeks now completes in six jobs and 91 minutes of elapsed time.
Relative to conventional UNLOAD/LOAD processing, with no temporary storage requirement and no follow-up maintenance steps.
Complete environments
BCV5 provisions the data together with all structures and statistics required to use it, so target environments are ready for work on completion.
Data protection
With the Masking Tool configured, data in selected columns is replaced with realistic but fictitious values during the copy, so those production values do not reach test or development environments.
BCV5 at a glance
What the product does, where organizations apply it, and the efficiency gains reported in client environments.
1
What is BCV5?
BCV5 is enterprise software for copying and refreshing Db2 for z/OS data between environments, for example from production into test. It provisions the data and its surrounding structures in a single automated process, converting an environment refresh from a manual project into a repeatable, scheduled operation.
2
What is BCV5 used for?
Typical applications include refreshing test and development environments, data migration during upgrades and system consolidations, and on-demand provisioning of current data to project teams. Because each copy task is defined once and reused, refresh cycles can be scheduled for automatic execution and do not require specialist availability.
3
How much faster is BCV5 than UNLOAD/LOAD?
More than 90% faster, with a comparable reduction in CPU consumption. In one client benchmark, a workload requiring 2.8 hours of elapsed time and 2.8 hours of CPU across 672 jobs was reduced to 15 minutes and 48 jobs. Reduced CPU consumption translates directly into lower mainframe operating cost, and shorter cycles allow project teams to receive data when it is required.
How BCV5 Works
A BCV5 copy task is defined once, as a single preparation step. Every execution then follows the same three steps, with no manual job preparation required.
Preparation
Define the copy task once
A database administrator specifies the data to be copied and the options to apply, including target naming conventions. Definition takes minutes and requires no scripting, and the resulting task is reused for all subsequent executions.
Step 1
Reconcile the target environment
BCV5 reads the source structures, compares them with the target, and creates or adjusts whatever differs. Keeping two environments aligned is handled by the product rather than by manual effort.
Step 2
Copy the data in parallel
Data is transferred directly and in parallel, typically at 2 to 3 TB per hour, with no staging area and no intermediate unload and reload. Where the Masking Tool is configured, the selected columns are masked as the affected tables are copied, so those values never reach the target environment.
Step 3
Release the environment and repeat
BCV5 makes the data available for use, with no follow-up maintenance steps required. Each execution uses the same fixed set of jobs, so the task integrates with an existing scheduler and continues to operate as the underlying data changes.
BCV5 in Action
Two short product videos: a complete BCV5 copy from start to finish, and the optional Masking Tool applied during that copy.
1 min 59 sec
A complete Db2 copy, start to finish
A walkthrough of a single copy task: how it is defined, how BCV5 reconciles differences between source and target, and how data is transferred in parallel with nothing staged in between. The same task is then reused whenever the environment requires refreshing.
2 min 10 sec
Masking applied during the copy
Why production data cannot be provided directly to test and development teams, and how masking replaces sensitive values during the copy so they never reach the target. Predefined functions cover names, addresses, Social Security numbers and payment details, and can be adapted to organizational rules.
Key BCV5 Capabilities
Data movement is only part of the requirement. The BCV5 outcomes below address the work that typically consumes administrator time, introduces risk or delays projects. Each is delivered by one or more BCV5 components, described in the following section. Installation completes in under an hour on a standard configuration, with no special system setup required.
Test data delivered at release pace
Refresh cycles that occupied days complete within hours, so data availability no longer determines when a release proceeds. Teams work against current information rather than whichever copy was last available.
A refreshed environment arrives ready for work, object definitions included, so no preparation is needed before testing begins. Where a target differs from its source, BCV5 reconciles the difference during the run instead of returning the issue to an administrator.
Copies are taken while source systems continue to serve the business, so refresh work neither competes for the maintenance calendar nor depends on negotiated downtime. Requests are met when the business raises them, not when the next window permits.
Systems held apart for security, regulatory or organizational reasons are refreshed as readily as local ones, including environments that share no storage with their source. Physical and organizational separation no longer delays delivery.
Every run leaves a durable record of what was copied, who requested it and how long it took, so questions about the provenance of non-production data are answered from history rather than recollection. Copy activity stays under the scheduling and change processes already in place.
When an audit, investigation or incident review asks what the data contained at a given moment, BCV5 assembles that view from backups already held, including those on tape, even where related objects were backed up at different times. The result is transactionally consistent as of that moment and requires no activity on the production system.
Db2 systems accumulate structures that in-house copy procedures cannot process, including data created under much earlier Db2 versions, uncommon object types and mismatched definitions. BCV5 resolves these cases as part of the run, so they do not become exceptions handled by hand. The FAQ section lists the specifics.
Where the Masking Tool is configured, sensitive values are substituted as the data moves, so identifiable production information never reaches development, test or training systems. GDPR, HIPAA and internal privacy obligations are addressed within the refresh itself, without a separate masking pass.
Db2 utilities move data. The surrounding work stays manual: parallelizing, reconciling environment differences, renaming objects, keeping related objects consistent and restarting after a failure. BCV5 automates that work, which is the difference between two weeks of effort and 91 minutes of execution.
BCV5
One definition copies in parallel, reconciles source against target, applies naming conventions, keeps related objects consistent and leaves the result ready for use. It is reused every cycle.
DSN1COPY
Efficient for individual objects, which is why many organizations built procedures around it. It does not scale to thousands: no parallelism, no structure verification, manual recovery after every failure. BCV5 matches its throughput and adds the automation.
UNLOAD/LOAD
Reliable and the common default, but it rewrites every row: roughly ten times the elapsed time and CPU of a BCV5 copy, plus temporary storage and follow-up maintenance. BCV5 applies it only where an object requires it.
BCV5 Components, One Copy Process
Each BCV5 component is licensed separately, so organizations invest only in the capabilities they require: data protection, availability, point-in-time history, distance, automation and audit evidence.
PROTECTION
Masking Tool
Replaces personal data with realistic but fictitious values as the copy runs, or cleans up data already sitting in a table. Dozens of ready-made masking functions cover names, addresses, Social Security numbers and credit card numbers, applied by rule to whole tables, single columns or entire schemas.
AVAILABILITY
Inflight
Creates a consistent copy as of a single point in time while the source system stays fully available to the business, including for updates. Inflight can now also work from existing image copies that were taken at different times, reconstructing a transactionally consistent copy as of one chosen moment.
HISTORY
Icebox
Takes a snapshot of data on demand and restores it later into any environment, under the original names or new ones. Any number of generations can be retained, and a restore targets either current structures or the structures in place when the snapshot was taken.
DISTANCE
Remote Copy (RC)
Moves data and structures between systems that share no storage, over a network connection, with the whole process automated and as simple to run as a local copy.
AUTOMATION
Batch Interface
Creates, changes, compares and moves copy tasks between installations through automation rather than by hand, so BCV5 operates within existing tooling and change control processes.
EVIDENCE
Usage Tracker
Keeps a durable record of every run: what was copied, who ran it, how long it took. Individual refreshes become reportable history rather than institutional memory.
Modernize your mainframe data
A single XDM task supplies matching test data to Db2 for z/OS and to the distributed and cloud platforms alongside it.
Modernization programs put the same application data on more platforms: new applications, cloud test environments, analytics pipelines and AI projects, each requiring production-grade information in compliant form.
When an application needs the same test data on Db2 for z/OS and on a distributed or cloud platform, a single XDM task supplies both, so tests on each platform run against matching data. BCV5 performs the Db2 for z/OS part of that task, and z/OS remains the system of record.
Every platform receives the same data as of the same point in time, with referential integrity preserved across platforms.
Test data on request
Teams order the data they need through the XDM self-service data shop. Every delivery, including the Db2 for z/OS portion handled by BCV5, is automated, logged and traceable.
One vendor, both halves
Db2 for z/OS, Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Snowflake and Kafka under one process, instead of a distributed tool plus in-house mainframe procedures.
Compliance controls in every target
Consistent masking, subsetting and synthetic data wherever the data lands, with the logging GDPR and HIPAA reviews require.
Measured BCV5 Results
BCV5 results recorded in client environments, compared with the conventional copy methods previously in use.
2.8h → 15min
Elapsed time in a client benchmark, with CPU time reduced by the same margin. On the mainframe, reduced CPU consumption is a direct cost reduction.
672 → 48
Jobs required for the same workload. Fewer components in the process mean fewer failure points and less operational intervention.
2 weeks → 91min
An automotive manufacturer refreshing a complete Db2 environment of more than 11,000 tables: from hundreds of manual jobs over approximately two weeks to six jobs completing in 91 minutes.
Customer Perspectives on BCV5
UBS Hainer has specialized in Db2 for z/OS data management, test data provisioning and mainframe automation since 1997.
Before getting the product, we didn't refresh the entire environment or did a so-called boutique refresh for a few tables. It was all a manual process. We basically used UNLOAD/LOAD to refresh tables and always had to deal with RI issues and do repairs.
Wakefern
BCV5 is the best mainframe tool I've ever used.
Public sector DBA
BCV5 copies Db2 for z/OS table spaces and indexes within the same Db2 subsystem or even between different Db2 subsystems much faster than unloading and reloading the data.
Craig Mullins, IBM Champion
Organizations Running UBS Hainer Software
Insurers, banks, retailers, telecommunications providers and public administrations across Europe and North America.
Additional Information about BCV5
Recorded webinars, conference presentations, customer success stories and independent analyst commentary.
Case study
BCV5 success stories: Customer results and savings
Replace extended UNLOAD/LOAD windows and manually built jobs with automated, consistent and repeatable copies of Db2 for z/OS data. To arrange a demonstration or a trial, contact sales@ubs-hainer.com in Germany, sales@ubs-hainersoftware.com in the US.
BCV5 is a Db2 for z/OS copy tool that copies, refreshes, and replicates Db2 tablespaces and indexes between subsystems or within the same subsystem. Its built-in copy tool works directly at the VSAM level, and it handles object structures and DDL features alongside the physical data.
BCV5 is used to move Db2 for z/OS data across environments. Common use cases include Db2 data migrations, test environment refreshes, partition-level refreshes, targeted refreshes of individual tables, and scheduled recurring copies.
BCV5 saves approximately 90% on elapsed copy time and resource consumption compared with conventional copying methods. One customer reduced a ten-hour copy process to 45 minutes after switching from UNLOAD/LOAD.
BCV5 generates and executes the jobs required for the entire copy. It extracts definitions from the source Db2 catalog, applies them on the target, renames objects by rule, checks existing target objects for compatibility, copies the page sets, and starts the objects for end-user access.
The BCV5 Masking Tool masks personally identifiable information during the copy process, or in place within an existing table. Predefined functions cover names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and other common data types, and functions can be customized or added.
Yes. The Inflight component uses information from the Db2 log to create consistent copies of tablespaces and indexes while the source objects remain available for queries and updates. Stopping production objects is not required.
Optional components of BCV5 are the Masking Tool, Inflight, Icebox, RC, Batch Interface, and Usage Tracker. Together they add data masking, consistent online copies, on-demand snapshots and restores, TCP/IP transfer between isolated systems, batch task definition, and reporting on Db2 data movement.
Speed is comparable for a single VSAM cluster, but DSN1COPY offers almost no automation and no built-in parallelism. BCV5 compares structures, generates DDL, creates missing objects, and copies with a user-definable number of parallel threads.
No. BCV5 copies directly from source to target without staging data. It also eliminates the need to run RUNSTATS and REBUILD INDEX afterward.
BCV5 is part of the UBS Hainer test data management portfolio. BCV5 handles fast Db2 object copying, with optional masking, BCV4 clones entire Db2 subsystems, and XDM provides broader test data provisioning, subsetting, and synthetic data generation across platforms.
Masking Tool5 questions
The Masking Tool is the BCV5 component that masks personally identifiable information in Db2 for z/OS data. It can mask during the copy process so sensitive values never land in the target, or mask data already sitting in a table without making a copy.
The Masking Tool ships with ready-to-use predefined functions for common sensitive data types, including names, addresses, and Social Security numbers. You can also customize the predefined functions or add your own to match specific masking requirements.
No. The Masking Tool applies masking as part of the BCV5 copy process, so the target objects are protected the moment they are available. This removes the post-copy scripts and cleanup passes that separate masking steps usually require.
Yes. The Masking Tool can mask data that already exists in a Db2 table without creating a copy. This is useful when an unprotected environment needs to be brought into compliance without a full refresh.
By masking personally identifiable information before it reaches non-production environments, the Masking Tool limits how far sensitive production data travels. Development and test teams get realistic data to work with while the organization reduces its exposure in lower environments.
Inflight Option7 questions
Inflight is the BCV5 component that creates consistent copies of Db2 objects while the source stays online. It uses information from the Db2 log to reconcile changes made during the copy, so the result is a consistent point-in-time image.
Some Db2 tables require 24x7 enterprise availability, and stopping the source objects is not an option. Testers still need a consistent copy of that data. Inflight resolves this conflict by allowing users to query and update the source throughout the copy.
Inflight makes consistent copies of regular tablespaces, LOB tablespaces, XML tablespaces, and indexes. That coverage means highly available tables with complex structures do not have to be excluded from a refresh.
No interruption is required. The source objects remain available for queries and updates for the duration of the copy, so there is no outage window to negotiate with application owners or business users.
Yes. Related Db2 objects are often backed up at different times, so their image copies do not represent the same moment and cannot simply be combined. The Inflight component applies Db2 log records to those mismatched image copies to roll the data forward to one common point in time and back out uncommitted transactions, producing a transactionally consistent set of objects as of that point.
Typical situations are audit requests, forensic analysis, post-mortem debugging, corruption investigations and production incident reviews, where an auditor, investigator or application team asks what the data looked like at a specific moment. BCV5 produces that historical view without disturbing the production environment the data came from.
Building the equivalent manually means pairing every participating object and constructing a one-off recovery workflow, which is complex and resource-intensive for a request that may arrive again next quarter. BCV5 automates object identification, naming and mapping, workflow preparation, log-based Inflight processing and creation of the target environment, so producing a historical copy is a repeatable procedure rather than a single manual exercise.
Icebox5 questions
Icebox is the BCV5 component that takes snapshots of Db2 objects on demand and restores them later into any environment. It captures both the data and the structural information, so a point in time can be recreated rather than just recovered.
Icebox is used when teams need Db2 data as it existed at an earlier point, such as last week, last month, or last year. Typical cases include reproducing reported defects, satisfying audit or research requests, and rebuilding a known-good baseline for testing.
Icebox compares the structural information stored in the backup against the current structures. It can either restore the older data into the current tables, or drop and recreate the tables so they look exactly as they did when the snapshot was taken.
Yes. Objects can be restored using their original names or renamed during the restore. That allows a historical snapshot to be brought back alongside current data instead of overwriting it.
Icebox restores objects into any environment you choose, not only the one they came from. Combined with renaming, this makes it practical to place historical data into a test or analysis environment on demand.
Remote Copy4 questions
Remote Copy, the RC component of BCV5, transfers Db2 structures and data between systems using TCP/IP. It is built for environments where the source and target cannot exchange data through shared storage.
Some production systems are physically isolated to the point where efficient data migration is difficult. They may sit on a separate LPAR or a separate CEC, and shared DASD may not be available at all. Remote Copy makes those transfers straightforward.
No. The entire Remote Copy process is automated and is just as easy to define and execute as a local BCV5 copy. Teams use the same task definition approach rather than learning a separate transfer procedure.
No. Remote Copy moves both structures and data over TCP/IP, which is what allows it to serve systems with no shared storage between them.
Batch Interface4 questions
The Batch Interface is the BCV5 component that provides a definition language for creating, modifying, and deleting copy tasks entirely through batch jobs. It gives teams a scripted alternative to defining tasks interactively in the ISPF interface.
You can supply the processing options and rule sets for a copy task in a job rather than entering them interactively. This makes it straightforward to integrate BCV5 with schedulers, change processes, and other automation already in place.
Yes. When BCV5 is installed on multiple systems, the Batch Interface is a convenient way to transfer complete task definitions between installations. Definitions can be promoted rather than rebuilt by hand on each system.
It suits DBAs and automation engineers who prefer to manage BCV5 tasks as code. Because task definitions live in jobs, they can be reviewed, version controlled, and reused the same way as other batch processes.
Usage Tracker4 questions
Usage Tracker is the BCV5 component that stores persistent information about task executions. It turns individual copy runs into a durable record that can be tracked and reported on over time.
Usage Tracker captures details of Db2 data movement, including which Db2 objects were copied, who ran the process, how long it took, and other execution details. That record supports both operational review and reporting.
Usage Tracker provides valuable insight for DBAs, storage administrators, and data governance stewards. Each group gets visibility into how Db2 data is moving between environments and how much activity is involved.
Because it retains a persistent history of who copied which Db2 objects and when, Usage Tracker gives governance teams evidence of how non-production data is being sourced. That history is difficult to reconstruct when copies are made with manual utilities or one-off jobs.
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