The following reasons could be why ur tape pool is running too long:

1.) Tape or drive errors so the timeout is being reached, you may want to
lower your tape timeout paramter and check to actlog for media read errors.
2.) Check the actlog for: "volume XXX needed for backup storage pool
process and check the library for those tapes to make sure there in the
library with the AIX command:

      # mtlib -l/dev/lmcp0 -qI | grep -i tape_number

3.) If the backup storagepool process hasn't ran in a while then it could
be trying to catch up, if that's the case just LET IT RUN. Becareful do not
let MIGRATION RUN during it never.
4.) Are backups running during the backup storage pool process?
5.) Ha something changed in your client environment, maybe there just alot
more data to backup in your client environment now. Maybe an entire EMC
symmetrix, was added, or another database instance was created or something
of that nature.
6.) Are you archiving now when you were just backing up before.
7.) Have the backups been running selective rather then incrementally, this
causes it to run an unecessary amount of time, since it's a FULL dump
essentially.
8.) Is space reclamation running at the same time, maybe the tape drives
are simply not available at that time. View your admin schedule if you have
them setup that way with the following command and see if any admin
schedule could interfere with the backup storage pool process. Ideally only
the backup storage pool process should be running at any one given time:

tsm> q schedule t=a

As far as your scratch tape problem goes, are you collocating offsite tape
copy pools (NO NO) or just primary tape primary pools?

1.) Reclaimation is a good way to get tapes back.
2.) Also you can use the move media command to move data around as well.
3.) Also look at tapes which are offsite like with a "select" statement to
find which tapes have less then like 10% utilization if you get like 40
tapes back which are offsite and which match that query simply delete those
tapes and recall them. Then the next time backup storage pool runs it will
recreate them.

These are just some ideas...

--Justin Richard Bleistein
Unix Systems Administrator (Sungard eSourcing)
Desk: (856) 866 - 4017
Cell:    (856) 912 - 0861
Email: justin.bleistein AT sungard DOT com



                      Theresa Sarver
                      <tsarver.IFMC@SDP        To:       ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST 
DOT EDU
                      S.ORG>                   cc:
                      Sent by: "ADSM:          Subject:  To Collate or Not to 
Collate?
                      Dist Stor
                      Manager"
                      <[email protected]
                      .EDU>


                      01/13/2003 04:05
                      PM
                      Please respond to
                      "ADSM: Dist Stor
                      Manager"






Hi All;

Environment:
SP Complex (7 wide nodes) running AIX 433 ML10
TSM 415
IBM 3494 (2-3590E drives)

When this was setup a couple years ago, they chose to enable collation, I
understand why - however, scratch tapes are now at a premium.  I would like
to know if I disabled collation if that would help to free up some
tapes...and can it be disabled on the fly?  Or is my only solution to start
trimming backups?

Also, our "tapepool to copypool" backup is now running over 24 hours.  Has
anyone else out there run into this problem before?  And if so - how did
you get around it?  Oh, and I'll save you the time...Management refuses to
buy another drive.  - Time to get creative!

Thank you for your assistance;
Theresa