This is about the ADSM Macintosh client.

We have been using ADSM for awhile now, and overall we are fairly happy
with it.  However, there is one issue with the ADSM Macintosh Scheduler
that I would like to raise.  Our Macintosh users have been getting
increasingly vocal on this issue, and this single issue has caused us
the most number of consulting questions and support effort.

The issue is the high memory requirements for the ADSM Scheduler program.

1. Many of our users simply cannot afford the high memory requirements
   that the ADSM Scheduler requires (greater than 1 Meg, and for larger
   disk machines, even more).

2. Competitive backup solutions for the Macintosh do not require anywhere
   near the amount of memory that the ADSM Scheduler requires during daytime
   hours when they are using their machine.  Increasingly, we are asked
   why we chose ADSM as a solution, when other products are available that
   do not have such high memory requirements.

3. To "get around" this limitation, we have been experimenting heavily
   with a public domain utility called "Cron".  This is similar in function
   to the Unix "cron" command, if you are familiar with that.  We were very
   hopeful that this little utility would address our users concerns
   regarding the ADSM Scheduler's high memory requirements.  The idea is
   that cron would run all the time (sitting on only 26K of memory) and
   launch the ADSM Scheduler in the evening, after the user has left for
   the day.  In concept, it is a great idea.  It even works most of the
   time.  However, with mounting numbers of Macintosh users, we have found
   Cron to be problematic.  It has its share of problems, and is adding to
   our consulting load.  I have had so many cron questions in the last two
   weeks, that it has motivated me to write this mailfile, hoping that IBM
   will see the light and decide to re-write the ADSM Scheduler the way it
   should have been written; small memory footprint, and no (or optional)
   GUI interface.  Most people aren't around to see the GUI when it runs
   anyway!

4. If IBM wants a business case for spending the staff effort on this, I
   would like to tell them that it is severely affecting ADSM's marketability
   here, and we may eventually lose existing users because they are getting
   disenchanted with this problem.

If others reading this mailfile feel the same way about this as I do, please
express your feelings, so that IBM can get a better idea of the relative
importance of this issue.  Naturally, if you feel that this is not important
to your Macintosh users, you should express that opinion also.

Thanks for listening.
..Paul

Paul Zarnowski                     Phone:   607/255-4757
Cornell Information Technologies   Fax:     607/255-6523
Cornell University                 US Mail: 315 CCC, Ithaca, NY 14853-2601