We are using the ADSM Connect agent for Oracle.
I actually have no idea how much we paid for it, but whether you want it
I think depends entirely on the business requirements for your Oracle
data bases.

The big thing about the ADSM Connect Agent is that it works with Oracle
EBU (Enterprise Backup Utility) which can be configured in such a way
that you can back up the Oracle data bases while they are open.

We have two Oracle data bases that are never in use in the middle of the
night.  It is no problem to shut them down and back them up to flat
files, then use ADSM to copy the flat files.  If only these data bases
were involved, we might not have bought the ADSM Connect agent.

But we also have one big data base that has much higher visibility and
more users.  The department is very willing to pay the cost of the
software to get the additional up time provided by the backup-while-open
capability.

There are other considerations that may make the ADSM Connect agent
attractive to many installations.  Using the ADSM Connect agent, you run
the Oracle backups through the EBU user interface, not an ADSM
interface.  (The ADSM Connect agent just makes EBU send the data to ADSM
via the API instead of sending it to a tape drive.  You can think of the
ADSM Connect agent as just a funky tape driver from EBU's point of view.
)  Then the EBU data base controls the backup versioning, restores, etc.

I can see where it could be very attractive from a management point of
view to use the EBU interface and have the Oracle DBA's be responsible
for scheduling and managing the Oracle backups, rather than the ADSM
administrator.  (The Oracle DBA's should know a lot more about the guts
of the data base and the business requirements and the user requirements
and when backups should be scheduled etc.)  The ADSM Connect agent lets
you leave the data base management to the DBA's, but still take
advantage of your investment in ADSM-connected hardware, DRM procedures,
etc.

Just depends on your business requirements.


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Wanda Prather
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab
301-953-6000 X8769
wanda_prather AT jhuapl DOT edu

"Intelligence has much less practical application than you'd think."
              - Scott Adams/Dilbert
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> ----------
> From:         Eric van Loon[SMTP:evanloon AT klm DOT nl]
> Sent:         Thursday, September 11, 1997 7:35 AM
> To:   ADSM-L AT vm.marist DOT edu
> Subject:      ADSM Connect agent for Oracle
>
> Hi to all!
> Is there anybody out there using the 'ADSM Connect Agent for Oracle'?
> Do the advantage over normal backup procedures (with Unix scripts)
> justify the EXTREMELY high price?
> Thanks in advance for any reply!
> Kindest regards,
> Eric van Loon
>