Justin,
 
You may need to tell us more about your configuration and how much data and how 
long you need to keep the data before any migration with cache turned on/off. 
As you mentioned, you may not need the enterprise class stg for these 
particular diskpools unless your SLA requires certain strictness in 
performance. Because of the nature of SATA, write I/Os will be troublesome in 
any case, so make sure that the controller have enough cache and destage it 
later. Some people make mistake buying with single controller config, but 
remember that you can't afford to lose it during client backups. Look for the 
new SATA II which comes with a lot of fixes and also, 
 
TSM takes pretty much any disks that OS sees as available so consider giving 
multiple diskpools. Depending on what tape storage you have, but writing direct 
to tape device today is not a bad idea in many cases, so consider not only 
diskpool for immediate writes, but also tape devices such as FC LTO2 or LTO3. 
For the better pricing, ATA drives with proper RAID config could be considered.
 
When configured correctly, SATA drives will be performing as good as other 
types of disks. I've been running and happy with them for a while for TSM and 
other applications. Hope this helps.
 
 
Gus


>>> justin.case AT DUKE DOT EDU 07/11/05 10:01 PM >>>

How are TSM admins using SATA disks for cache pools ?

What type of SATA disks are being used and at what raid levels ?

How satisfied are you with the backup times with SATA disks for cache pools
on TSM ?

We are looking at SATA for TSM cache pools is why the questions because
we are using enterprise class storage for cache pools on TSM currently at a
high cost.

Looking for cheaper disks for TSM cache pools.
Thanks

Justin Case
TSM Administrator/Storage Administrator
IT Analyst  OIT Infrastructure Support
334 Blackwell Street
2nd floor  Suite 2108 Durham,NC 27701
Duke University
Email: justin.case AT duke DOT edu