Re: TSM - CPF414D

[Evan Harris <spanner@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Rob

thanks for taking the time to explain. My experience is that the TSM 
Gurus always think you have it wrong (at least the ones I have 
struck) although having said that, it does do some pretty cool stuff. 
I have never been able to quite accept the idea of only ever doing 
one full backup, and incrementals thereafter. I suspect that the 
whole difference in outlook is due to the file systems people grow up 
on, but I could be wrong.

Well the contention could have (in theory at least) been that a 
backup to copy storage pool was going while your save was going. The 
TSM activity log might tell you whether this was the case - it should 
certainly tell you what was going on at the time in question. For 
this to affect the other job it would have to mean that the TSM 
interface to your tape drives somehow locks or otherwise makes 
exclusive use of some files or drivers. I grant you that this seems 
unlikely, especially in an environment with as much redundancy as 
yours appears to have.

I have found that non-iSeries people have a very different outlook on 
backups and tapes; I guess running such cheap hardware means you can 
invest in the expense of a TSM guy (in addition to your DBA and 
unix/Windows admin guy) plus the software they are going to need, and 
in loads of media because you saved so much money up front, right ? :)

Anyway, let me know if you can how it turns out - you have made me 
curious as to what the problem was.

Regards
Evan Harris

At 01:16 a.m. 1/10/2005, you wrote:
> You're on target for most of it.
>
> I'd like to know what the save contention would have been.  They're
> different model's of tape drives, on different cards.
>
> I do not believe that we have any migration thresholds set up.
>
> We don't even have any tape storage pools set up.  The only tape pool is a
> "copy storage pool".
>
> Sequential Access Storage Pools
> No objects found
>
> TSM gurus think we have everything set up wrong.  And maybe we do.
> Can we restore PC data in a timely fashion for our users?  Yes.
> Can we restore PC data from more than two weeks ago?  Not from any offsite
> media.
> I unsubscribed from the TSM list at marist.edu.  Quite busy.  It got to
> the point that everytime I asked a question I got referred to the basic
> concepts manual.  More encouragement to do things the TSM way.  I think
> some of those people never expire a tape.  Like the guy who was switching
> tape drives and wanted to convert 6,000 tapes.  No joke.  There's people
> who could retire on the amount of money he has in tape media alone.  And I
> don't think anyone was i5/os, or Os/400, aware.
>
>
>
> Rob Berendt