Tape pool for specific node.

[fadzlirot]

Hi,

Client make a request to me that their servers to be backup by TSM and the tape to be checkout daily and sent offsite. For such backup, usually it is not done through TSM but done by respective Wintel/Unix team using the server tape drive and DDS tape, not LTO. I not sure why they cant do this for the server.

I plan to use the same strategy but with TSM

-Create a tapepool for the server
-Have 7 tape ready for daily checkin, backup, and then checkout to be sent offsite.
-The tape is rotated daily between the 7tapes for everyweek.

is this legit? is there any later consequences that i didnt foresee? is there a simpler way to do this involving TSM?

Backup size is around 7GB daily and the retention is 90days. But since we are backing up new files everyday the files are most likely to be kept forever instead of expiring.

 

[PJ]

You should look at DRM (disaster recovery manager) in TSM for that sort of functionality. Idea would be to keep primary data onsite and only cycle your copy tapes. You'll still need a separate primary pool for your server but this way you can reclaim the offsite tapes without bringing them in again. DRM is (once you've got the hang of it) simple enough to understand and in combination with offsite reclaim probably ideal for what you're planning to do. Look up DRM in the admin guide for complete scenarios.

 

[fadzlirot]

currently we are using this DRM function for daily TSM database backup. can we create another DRM for this server?

 

[booman55]

You can segregate the tapes by sending them to a different vault during move drm process. If you needed an additional TSM DB backup you would probably just need to time the move drm processes accordingly...(ie do main vault after tsm db backup, then take another and vault the customized db backup)

 

[fadzlirot]

so my team decides not to implement this at all because the client backup new files everyday and probably have to change new tape cycle a few months later. but what we really feared is everyone asking to use this method for backup and we dont think we can cater to all since we only have small library and backup more than 100 node everyday.
Help me experts

 

[marclant]

Good thing that you are not using that method, it would be a management nightmare. Sounds like the system admins are used to traditional backup methods with weekly fulls and daily incrementals. Since TSM is using incremental-forever, and send a copy offsite daily, there is no need to segregate the data for each machine in different storage pools. For speedier recovery, you can implement collocation by nodes or groups for the storage pools, so each node or group of nodes have their own set of tapes, but that requires more tapes and as you said, you have a small library.

I think a better approach would be to educate them on how TSM functions and make sure that the data retention selected meets the requirements of the business users that own the data, not the sys admins, because at the end of the day you ultimately answer to business users as they are the one using the data you are trying to protect with backups. On which tape(s) the data is stored should be of no consequences to users or sys admins, TSM is managing all that so that you do not have to.

As long as the data is properly backed up with the proper retention, and they can recover the data without problem, then your work is done.