RE: Using SAVSTG to get a quick system backup

Hi Chuck

Given Richards comments since I agree wholeheartedly. I took it that the
original suggestion was a SAVSTG in lieu of an additional 21.

My comments regarding usage weren't so much about testing the process as
rehearsing it (and also measuring the time differences).

Regards
Evan Harris

-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of CRPence
Sent: Friday, 15 January 2010 8:02 a.m.
To: midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Using SAVSTG to get a quick system backup

Evan Harris wrote:

I spent a bit of time doing some research to see if it <SAVSTG>
would save me any time instead of doing an additional backup for
an upgrade I was working on. The consensus seemed to be that it
needed some rehearsing and that there were problems on some of
the larger disks (I was trying to do it back when 70's were the
largest available disk)

In the end the additional work to prove it was viable outweighed
the time savings I would have gained so I just stuck with a 21.
I'd still like to go back and try this at some stage but there's
no way I'd be prepared to use it for anything without recovering
a box that way at least once.

Aside from any alluded defects with the supported process [which
presumably are since corrected], what is to rehearse? The scratch
back to the effective original system image via restore-21 is still
available if the scratch restore back to the original system image
via the SAVSTG does not go according to plan.

Also consider that the OP scenario is not simply an upgrade, but
an upgrade test, with a planned reset-to-original. Thus in that
scenario, the activity to reset-to-original is going to occur
irrespective of outcome for their upgrade test because they will not
remain on the newly installed release. Opting for the SAVSTG in
that case is probably a better option, and they will get the noted
experience of attempting to recover the system using the restore
storage method in order to decide its efficacy while still having
the save-21 available as the just-in-case restore from save storage
is a failure.

Regards, Chuck