TSM 3.7.3 on Solaris 7, new implementation.
command: backup db devclass=seqdisk

Until my organisation gets its act together to give me access to the ACSLS
server (it's a long story), I have no tape storage available.  But I have a
nice large chunk of EMC Symmetrix array to play in.

So I have created a devclass with devtype=file, and I have used that as the
destination for BACKUP DB, and it works just fine, and I'll go ahead and set
up a schedule for it. But I do have some questions.

Does TSM do anything about managing the database backup volumes?  Or do I
need to do that manually? (ie delete old versions before it runs out of
space).  As far as I can tell, the database doesn't see them as volumes,
because they don't show up when I do Q VOL (although Q VOLHIST describes
them as volumes.

When I have to restore the database at a later date, will I actually need
the volumehistory file? I figure I will be able to tell by the timestamps on
the file, and the size, which one to use.

And some more general questions:

How likely is it that we'll need to restore the database anyhow - how often
does a TSM database become corrupted, and under what circumstances?

I'm assuming the media is 99.999% safe because it's in the Symmetrix array,
in a mirrored configuration.  The active database is in the same EMC, on a
different LUN, also mirrored.  So I'm betting that 2 x 2 mirrors are not
going to fail all once.  Barring the natural disaster scenario, is this
adequate, or should I get more paranoid?  I know these things are a
trade-off between likelihood and impact - what I'm after is the size of the
likelihood.  Anyone have any experience they'd be willing to share?

(Apologies for these newbie questions - I admit I'm a newbie at this, and
there will be more.  Feel free to point me at relevant docs - I have looked
but there is SO much of it.)

--
Lesley Walker
Lesley Walker
Distributed Systems Services, EDS New Zealand
Lesley.Walker AT nz.eds DOT com
"Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with
18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons,
computers in the future by the year 2000, may have
only 1,000 vacuum tubes and weigh only 1.5 tons"
    Popular Mechanics, March 1949