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>>--> 02-07-03  15:11  S.SHEPPARD     (SHS)    Future of mainframe TSM

We run 2 older 9672s (R52 and R14), with a TSM 4.2.3.2 system on each
backing up 140-160GB a night from 200+ clients.  This is with an RVA
T82 and 3590B drives in a 3494.  We are somewhat constrained by the
engine speed of the R52 (18mips) and the RVA disk, but still manage this
load without too much grief, all while running a full-time traditional
mainframe load.

Due to end of support considerations for OS/390 2.10 and the high
maintenance cost of the RVA, we will upgrade to a z/800 and ESS in the
next 6 months, with a tape upgrade sometime after that.  I expect that
this will take care of our load for the foreseeable future with some
(probably significant) performance improvements.

I think the newer CPUs, ESS and FICON have allowed the mainframe to
pretty much keep up with the UNIX boxes in performance. One big plus as
far as I'm concerned is that S/390 tape management is light years ahead
of the other platforms.  With a properly configured RMM system, you
don't need to worry about the ins and outs of moving your copy pool
tapes back and forth to offsite storage and can easily do without DRM.
Plus, the migration to another platform is not exactly free.

The downside is the lack of LAN-free, server-free, and NAS backup
capability and the potential that having to upgrade an underpowered
mainframe just because of TSM could get you into some expensive third-
party software charges that you might not have expected.

Bottom-line, we're sticking with ours until we are absolutely forced
off.  We're hoping by that time to see a z-series Linux server.

Sam Sheppard
San Diego Data Processing Corp.
(858)-581-9668
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>>--> 02-07-03  13:38  ..NETMAIL     ()     Future of mainframe TSM
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2003 15:45:12 -0500
From: "Thomas Denier" <Thomas.Denier AT MAIL.TJU DOT EDU>
Subject: Future of mainframe TSM
To: ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU
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We run a 4.2.3.2 TSM server under OS/390. We have about 110 active client
systems, sending about 300,000 files and about 70 gigabytes to the server
each night. Our best estimate is that this workload will double in the
next two years. Is it reasonable to stay with an OS/390 or zOS server in
the face of the projected growth? If so, how do we prove that the
mainframe is up to the task? Most IT managers around here want to
believe that the mainframe is the wrong choice for TSM or anything else.

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