>How does the client (eg Windows) return active file information so quickly?

You'll find many, many references to Select vs. client access to the
TSM db in the ADSM-L archives.  The gist of the matter is that
Select is a virtualized convenience for us server administrators to
look at the information in the database, whereas the client "knows
the inside scoop" and can more directly go after the data.  Select
is much more generalized, and entails more overhead.

  Richard Sims, BU