...
>I have a client with close to 100 million small files that rarely
>change.  Incremental backups can take days and the client manager has
>suggested LAN free as a solution.  We're running gigabit ethernet
>between the TSM server and the client and transfer rates are usually
>quite low during the backups, so I don't see that LAN free would help
>significantly.  I'm suggesting processor upgrades to the TSM server and
>client to handle the database queries of the 100 million files faster.
>
>Is there anything in LAN/serverfree that might help in this scenario?

Rather than concentrating on a single product feature, I'd recommend considering
the variety of TSM features which may help this situation.
This is the "Many small files" problem, which is summarized in
http://people.bu.edu/rbs/ADSM.QuickFacts from past discussions.
Review the factors involved in *-free backup AND restore to evaluate the
relative cost of the approaches.

Never, ever choose an approach based solely on Backup!
Remember that the purpose of Backup is to facilitate timely Restore.

   Richard Sims