Hello Everyone,

I've recently inherited an ADSM 3.1.2.50 system running on AIX, with a
Magstar L12 library attached.  Due to vendor problems and a real
comedy (?) of errors it only recently became usable, after 5+ months
of sitting idle.  No one here knows anything about ADSM, but
management insists that we attempt to make use of it because such a
large investment was made in it (how we got in this situation isn't a
cheeful story).  I've been tasked with figuring out what it can/can't
do and recommending a course of action.  To that end, I've read most
of the manuals we have and attended the TSM intro class.  I've also
been playing around on our system for the past week or so.

My primary concern right now is this:

Our IT department is a bit lean.  It's all I can do to just maintain
the other backups we have, much less babysit ADSM.  I recognize the
power of the system, but if I'm to use it, I'll need to configure it
to be as labor-free as possible.

From what I can figure, in order to make the process of creating a
full off-site backup as simple as possible, less than half of my tape
library should be filled.  That allows the other half of the library
to be filled with scratch tapes, so I only have to load & unload tapes
once.  Is this right, or am I missing something?

To make things even easier (and cheaper), could I attach a DLT library
and use it to make the tapes that are sent off-site?  Assuming the DLT
library can handle it, I'd be able to use the entire Magstar library
for client data - thus making better use of that fast (and expensive!)
medium and never having to touch the Mastar tapes (except to replace
worn out ones).  Am I on the right track here?

I'm basing all this on the belief that the most labor-intensive task
in maintaining *SM is creating tapes for off-site storage.  There seem
to be plenty of other things to keep a(n) *SM admin busy, but what
they are is still a bit vague to me.  What should my next area of
concern be?

Thanks!
Eric Lindbeck
SCT