>>If you used the flash-copy (hardware) image to do the restore, then did
>>a TSM restore with the "ifnewer" parm, how would that be different than
>>if you used a TSM image?
>
>This might be the answer I was looking for.  But I am concerned that we get
>optimal restore performance.  *If* TSM has to position tape, etc, prior to
>determining whether the file is newer or not, that would cost time.  Do you
>know if this is the case?  This is a filesystem with millions of files.

A -IFNewer restore might be thought of as incremental backup in reverse:
the metadata for the file system objects is retrieved from the TSM server
and sent to the client, which then does the comparison, and asks for the
actual file data from the server only for files which pass the newer test.
This metadata extraction is relatively painless for Unix systems, in that
it is usually wholly contained within the TSM database records; but for
Windows, with its more extensive metadata structure, it may be in storage
pools, and that can mean a lot of pain.
A -IFNewer restore unto itself is a No Query Restore; but if you add other
options, it can turn into a Classic Restore.
Such complexities... Why we get paid so much.

   Richard Sims