Database archiving and access across updates to database metadata

1. A computer program product, the computer program product being tangibly embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and comprising instructions that, when executed by at least one computing device, are configured to cause the at least one computing device to:

capture an archive image copy of at least one database at a first time;

capture database metadata that includes a runtime environment of the at least one database, the runtime environment including at least one executable routine for accessing the at least one database;

store the archive image copy and the database metadata;

update an archive index with at least one memory location of the archive image copy and the database metadata;

receive a request to restore the at least one database at a second time;

retrieve, in response to the request and using the archive index, the archive image copy and the database metadata from the at least one memory location; and

restore the at least one database by re-establishing the runtime environment using the database metadata, including instantiating the at least one executable routine.

2. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the at least one computing device to:

capture the archive image copy including selecting an existing image copy from a prior time that occurred before the first time, and updating the existing image copy using changes to the at least one database that occurred between the prior time and the first time.

3. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein at least one database includes an information management systems (IMS) database.

4. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the at least one executable routine includes a partition selection routine.

5. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the at least one computing device to:

capture the runtime environment including recovery control data of the at least one database.

6. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the at least one executable routine includes a dynamic database allocation routine of the at least one database.

7. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the at least one computing device to:

generate the archive index including at least one entry for the at least one database, the at least one entry specifying a timestamp of the first time and a name of the archive image copy.

8. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the at least one computing device to:

generate the archive index including at least one entry for the at least one database, the at least one entry specifying a timestamp of the first time and a name of the archive image copy.

9. A computer-implemented method, the method comprising:

capturing an archive image copy of at least one database at a first time;

capturing database metadata that includes a runtime environment of the at least one database, the runtime environment including at least one executable routine for accessing the at least one database;

storing the archive image copy and the database metadata;

updating an archive index with at least one memory location of the archive image copy and the database metadata;

receiving a request to restore the at least one database at a second time;

retrieving, in response to the request and using the archive index, the archive image copy and the database metadata from the at least one memory location; and

restoring the at least one database including re-establishing the runtime environment using the database metadata, including instantiating the at least one executable routine.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the capturing the archive image copy includes:

selecting an existing image copy from a prior time that occurred before the first time, and updating the existing image copy using changes to the at least one database that occurred between the prior time and the first time.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one database includes an information management systems (IMS) database.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one executable routine includes a partition selection routine of the runtime environment.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein capturing the database metadata includes:

capturing runtime control data of the runtime environment.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one executable routine includes a dynamic database allocation routine.

15. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

generating the archive index including at least one entry for the at least one database, the at least one entry specifying a timestamp of the first time and a name of the archive image copy.

16. A system comprising:

at least one memory including instructions; and

at least one processor that is operably coupled to the at least one memory and that is arranged and configured to execute instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to:

capture an archive image copy of at least one database at a first time;

capture database metadata that includes a runtime environment of the at least one database, the runtime environment including at least one executable routine for accessing the at least one database;

store the archive image copy and the database metadata;

update an archive index with at least one memory location of the archive image copy and the database metadata;

receive a request to restore the at least one database at a second time;

retrieve, in response to the request and using the archive index, the archive image copy and the database metadata from the at least one memory location; and

restore the at least one database including re-establishing the runtime environment using the database metadata, including instantiating the at least one executable routine.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the instructions, when executed, are further configured to cause the at least one processor to:

capture the archive image copy including selecting an existing image copy from a prior time that occurred before the first time, and updating the existing image copy using changes to the at least one database that occurred between the prior time and the first time.

18. The system of claim 16 , wherein at least one database includes an information management systems (IMS) database.

19. The system of claim 16 , wherein the at least one executable routine includes a partition selection routine.

20. The system of claim 16 , wherein the instructions, when executed, are further configured to cause the at least one processor to:

capture the runtime environment including recovery control data of the at least one database.