> Does TSM do anything about managing the database backup volumes?  Or do I
> need to do that manually? (ie delete old versions before it runs out of
> space).  As far as I can tell, the database doesn't see them as volumes,
> because they don't show up when I do Q VOL (although Q VOLHIST describes
> them as volumes.
        [Prather, Wanda]  In your case (i.e. you are not using DRM), you
will need to delete the backup volumes from TSM's inventory using a DELETE
VOLHIST.  A lot of people do that by creating an  admin schedule like:
DELETE VOLHIST TYPE=DBB TODATE=TODAY-n.  That will automatically clean up
any DB backup "volumes" over "n" days old.

        You are right, only storage pool volumes are included in a Q
VOLHIST.  DB backup volumes, EXPORT volumes, and BACKUPSET volumes show up
in Q VOLHIST.

> When I have to restore the database at a later date, will I actually need
> the volumehistory file? I figure I will be able to tell by the timestamps
> on
> the file, and the size, which one to use.
        [Prather, Wanda]  Yes and no.  If you just run a DSMSERV RESTORE DB,
TSM looks in the volume history file to find the last good backup and use
it.  But you can run DSMSERV RESTORE DB with parms that point to the correct
volume yourself.  Or, for that matter, you can construct a volumehistory
file manually if you need to.

> And some more general questions:
>
> How likely is it that we'll need to restore the database anyhow - how
> often
> does a TSM database become corrupted, and under what circumstances?
>
> I'm assuming the media is 99.999% safe because it's in the Symmetrix
> array,
> in a mirrored configuration.  The active database is in the same EMC, on a
> different LUN, also mirrored.  So I'm betting that 2 x 2 mirrors are not
> going to fail all once.  Barring the natural disaster scenario, is this
> adequate, or should I get more paranoid?  I know these things are a
> trade-off between likelihood and impact - what I'm after is the size of
> the
> likelihood.  Anyone have any experience they'd be willing to share?
>
        [Prather, Wanda]  I agree with you that in an EMC Symmetrix, the
liklihood of physical failure is very very small.  I've personally never had
to restore a TSM DB due to software corruption (and I'm not particularly
gentle with mine), but other people on this list have. AND there is the
possibility of human error to be paranoid about.  Overall likelihood very
small, but impact huge....

************************************************************************
Wanda Prather
The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab
443-778-8769
wanda_prather AT jhuapl DOT edu

"Intelligence has much less practical application than you'd think" -
Scott Adams/Dilbert
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