For those of you in an MVS environment who find that TCP/IP on MVS has
become the limiting factor when backing up or restoring multiple file
servers consecutively, take a look at Interlink TCP/IP (now that I believe
it is supported for ADSM.  I still use a product other than ADSM to back my
distributed environment to MVS.)  On my 3090-600S Interlink TCP/IP uses 1/3
the CPU that IBM's TCP/IP uses for the same workload and still manages to
move the data slightly faster.

In the past restoring 2Gig of data from MVS to a Netware server would mean
IBM TCP/IP would use around 40% of one engine for a couple of hours.
Interlink TCP/IP uses less than 15% of an engine to do the same work, a nice
improvement.

A bigger benefit was noticed during the backup cycle.  Backing up 5 Netware
servers concurrently would drive TCP/IP on MVS to use as much of one engine
as it could use (~92%).  With Interlink's TCP/IP, I can start 15 backups
concurrently and still be comfortably under 90% of an engine.  Thus it took
IBM's TCP/IP nearly 18 hours to move some 80Gig (30+ Netware servers on four
FDDI rings through four 3172-3's on two paralell channels) from the network
to MVS. Interlink's TCP/IP can handle moving the same amount from the same
configuration easily within 6 hours.

I do not know if Interlink's TCP/IP would compete as well against IBM's
TCP/IP in a VM environment (since the IBM TCP/IP code came from VM and
bought all that VMCF and IUCV baggage to MVS with it...), but based on the
improvement I've seen in my shop I'd recommend the MVS'ers take a look...

>Now all this is going to a VM server but,
>I would find it hard to believe that I'm getting better performance from
>an old single CPU 9121 w/4.5MB channels and dasds without caching or
>dasdfw on thickwire ethernet than you would be from your RS/6000 and FDDI.
>Heck 25% of the CPU is just TCPIP trying to keep up with all the traffic
>being generated by ADSM (and I've learned from this exactly why IBM makes
>TCPIP offload solutions for VM :).
>
>---
>Keith A. Crabb         Keith AT UH DOT EDU
>University of Houston  Operating Systems Specialist +1-713-743-1530
>
>

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Jeffery V. Koeberl                          HTTP://www.execpc.com/~koeberl
Jeffery V. Koeberl                          HTTP://www.execpc.com/~koeberl
Senior Systems Analyst                      (414)299-4637
Northwestern Mutual Life Ins. Co            Live to improve.           8^)
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