ADSM-L

Re: Deleteing a version of a backed up file

2003-07-25 20:01:03
Subject: Re: Deleteing a version of a backed up file
From: Bill Boyer <bill.boyer AT VERIZON DOT NET>
To: ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU
Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2003 20:00:42 -0400
The problem is that this is a TDP Informix backup. The full backup objects
are always named the same so TSM versioning works just fine. This client
wants to do a daily backup and keep them for a week. Then they want to do a
weekly backup and keep them for 5-weeks. Then a monthly keeping that for a
year. Normally I would then make that 3-different nodename. The issue comes
into play with Informix. The utility is onbar and it keeps track of all the
bakcup objects in his SYSUTILS table. This has the name and object ID from
the storage manager. If this information isn't in there, then onbar can't
restore it. So, if I backup up daily to a nodename "A", then backup weekly
under "B", when I run the ONSMSYNC utility that syncronizes the storage
manager and the SYSUTILS table. If the entry isn't in the storage manager,
it is removed from the table. So, when the ONSMSYNC runs as the daily "A"
node, it doesn't see the weekly "B" backups and removes them from the table.
Thus making it impossible to restore from a weekly backup.

I made a suggestion to them that they continue with the daily backups
expiring after a week and for their weekly/monthly backups, do an IMAGE
backup of the raw LV's of the flashcopy version of the database. Haven't
heard back on that idea, yet.

I'm trying to get them to change their backup requirements, and even though
the DBA says that they'll probably never restore from a weekly/monthly
backup, it's still a requirement from the CIO. Right now there's a meeting
scheduled next week with the DBA and CIO to "explain" why TSM can't do
backups they way they want. An uphill battle. They bought a p690,
24-processor, 6-LPAR system, 2Gbit fibre attached to an IBM ESS Shark. The
production LPAR has 12-cpus, 24GB memory and dual fibre to the Shark. All
this just to run a 300GB Informix database. Talk about over-kill!

-----Original Message-----
From: ADSM: Dist Stor Manager [mailto:ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU]On Behalf Of
Richard Sims
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2003 7:28 AM
To: ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU
Subject: Re: Deleteing a version of a backed up file


>If I have 5 versions of a file and want to delete/expire the 3rd copy, how
>can I do this with the TSM client? EXPIRE doesn't give me an option for a
>specific object.

Nor should it, as the product is expected to conform to a rules/policy
regimen
to assure that data is there as everyone at the site hopes it will be when a
restoral is needed.  That is, tinkering is contrary to the philosophy of the
product, which was selected for its policy nature.

You can effect what you want - just think through the product concepts.
The Backup Copy Group specifies a certain number of Versions to keep.
That is conceptually a shift register: push an object in, the oldest one
falls out the back.  You can perform as many Selective Backups as needed on
a given file system object to achieve the bumping you need.

  Richard Sims, BU

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