Backup Performance

We have always done a full system save (like opt 21) on the weekends using BRMS. For sometime now we have been encrypting our tapes via our LTO4 tape library. These were always done in Restricted State. Well we talked with our auditors and got the OK to not encrypt the OS and other IBM ("Q...") libraries. This greatly helps simplify the restore of the system (we do practice D/R). We only need to encrypt our company's data. So we have modifyed our BRMS control groups again so now we save (encrypted) all of the *ALLUSR and IFS 1st. What I did differently is code (API) a step that ends all active subsystems EXCEPT QCTL for the encrypted save. Then we go restricted and get the remainder of the system.

OK, if you followed me so far here is the question. We have a number of LPARs on several systems. All at v5r4 and using fiber to the tape library. Our backups are running faster and we're not sure why. The most dramatic change has been on our smaller partitions, ones with little CPU and memory allocated. I'm talking ½ the outage window, 12 hours down to 6 hours. My 1st thought was maybe the difference in not going down to an actual Restricted State was the *SHRPOOL memory was being better allocated to the backup job. But this doesn't seem to be the case. Remember that only QCTL is running and BRMS is still doing the save.

I talked with Support Line work management and didn't get much. They suggested using the Flight Recorder to monitor the backups. They looked at this differently, saying that maybe the old procedure was slower than it should have been and we just corrected some long standing issue in our shop. We have double checked the backups and we are getting everything, it's not like we are only saving half of or systems.

So, anyone out there want to offer a suggestion as to why our outage window is so much improved?








Douglas Hart - Principal Consultant





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