I think the encryption is keyed to the hostname, not the
nodename. This is based on empirical observation. On MacOS X, the
/etc/hostconfig file is set to +automatic+ (or something close to
that). This indicates that the hostname should be set
automatically. If the IP address is set via DHCP, then the hostname
will indeed change as the IP address changes. But what makes things
even worse is that if there is no network connectivity, then the
hostname will change to what is specified in the "file sharing"
setup, which is even different. I think what may be going on is that
if you lose network connectivity, then the hostname can change to the
"file sharing" name. (No, I haven't verified this). When the
hostname changes, and TSM attempts to connect to the server, if the
hostname is different than what was used to encrypt the password then
TSM will nicely delete the TSM.PWD file for you. This leads to user
headache and confusion.
The "workaround" that IBM has documented is to add a "sleep 60"
command to the startup script that starts the scheduler
service. This simply gives MacOS a chance to complete startup
activity and set the hostname based on the IP address before TSM
scheduler starts up. If the hostname changes after this, it doesn't help.
I think a better workaround may be to change the /etc/hostconfig file
to hardcode a hostname, making it independent of DHCP. I talked to
someone at Apple about this at a conference I recently attended, and
they didn't see a problem with doing this.
If someone wants to explore this in more detail, I'd be happy to hear
your results.
BTW, I think this problem may actually exist on some other Unix
systems - it's just that MacOS is the most likely variant of Unix to
exist on a travelling Laptop, and thus most likely to run into this.
..Paul
At 08:09 AM 6/26/2006, Richard Sims wrote:
I wonder if what's happening is that these personal computers are
gaining their network access via DHCP, wherein their network identity
is dynamic and can change upon renegotiation, as when the dormant
computer is awakened after some time. As I understand TSM client
password encryption (per IBM Technote 1224568 et al), it is keyed to
the TSM client nodename; and, as the Nodename option doc says, where
no Nodename is set, the hostname determines the client identity for a
TSM session; and where the hostname changes with network position,
you have problems. Thus, I wonder if these Macs lack a definite
Nodename defined in their client options (/Library/Preferences/Tivoli
Storage Manager/TSM System Preferences)?
It may well be more complex than that, but this is one area to inspect.
Richard Sims http://people.bu.edu/rbs
--
Paul Zarnowski Ph: 607-255-4757
Manager, Storage Services Fx: 607-255-8521
719 Rhodes Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-3801 Em: psz1 AT cornell DOT edu
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