It was described in the IBM/Tivoli announcement letter for TSM V4.  The
announcement letter was #200-245,  but it's not that helpful - doesn't
contain actual point counts for anything but TSM servers and B/A clients.

On the Tivoli support website, there is now a "point calculator", although
it's not easy to find.  Go here:

http://www.tivoli.com/support/documents

There is a link to "Tivoli Management Point Calculator", but you have to be
registered with an ID and password for the site to get it.

The point was (a pun! a pun!) to let you buy "points" instead of specific
licenses for TSM (and other Tivoli) stuff.  That way if you want to move
your TSM server from one platform to another, you don't need a new server
license as long as you have enough points to cover the resulting
configuration.  Or if you deside to stop using the DRM feature, you can use
those "points" for more clients.  Whatever.  (And DRM points ARE the same as
TSM points...)

The plan is well-intentioned, but has caused MASSIVE confusion because it is
not well documented.  Using the point calculator customers can figure out
how many points you need to put together a new TSM configuration, but now
they can't figure costs for budget planning!  (It was about 31$ per point
for TSM 4.1, but I don't know what it is for TSM 4.2).  You pretty much have
to work through a Tivoli rep to get a quote (if you can find one who will
return your phone call....).

And I don't think everyone is necessarily working on the "point" system yet
depends on how you got your contract in the first place.  People who were
on the "old" system with V3 and a maintenance contract that entitled them to
an automatic upgrade to V4 are in an even MORE confusing situation - you
have to work with a Tivoli rep to decide how many "points" you are already
entitled to based on your existing maintenance contract....

Don't know if that helps or not, but there you are!
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Wanda Prather
The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab
443-778-8769
wanda_prather AT jhuapl DOT edu

"Intelligence has much less practical application than you'd think" -
Scott Adams/Dilbert
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