I'm running TSM on Solaris 9, version 5.3.1.2 and have experienced an
extreme slowdown in performance when writing data to any collocate
sequential storage pool. FILE or tape.

Server setings:
movebatchsize=1000, txngroupmax=2048, movesizethresh=2048

This happens both with client backups, pool migrations and move data's
within the same pool.
However, if a very large file is being written, it streams well for the
duration of that large file.
The slowdown has something to do with a pause between each batch of small
files.

Here's some stat's around this.

random disk pool -> Collocate=filespace pool performance
3:20pm  up 9 day(s),  1:43,  3 users,  load average: 1.47, 1.32, 0.99
   r/s    w/s   kr/s   kw/s wait actv wsvc_t asvc_t  %w  %b device
    6.2    0.0 1587.2    0.0  0.0  0.6    0.0   97.9   0   6 sd144

I just updated tape pool collocate=no and waited a minute and we have fast
write speed again.
3:23pm  up 9 day(s),  1:46,  3 users,  load average: 0.65, 1.03, 1.24
  r/s    w/s   kr/s   kw/s wait actv wsvc_t asvc_t  %w  %b device
 171.8    0.0 41541.9    0.0  0.0  0.7    0.0    4.0   0  67 sd144

Notice the higher cpu load as well.
no other processes were running in TSM or on host during this.

Has anyone else seen this?  Is it a 5.3 issue or maybe 5.3.1.2?

I placed a call in, seems they are swamped today with other calls at IBM
Tivoli HQ.

Thanks
  Matt G.