ADSM-L

Re: [ADSM-L] Learning resources for VMware

2012-11-14 12:32:44
Subject: Re: [ADSM-L] Learning resources for VMware
From: "Prather, Wanda" <Wanda.Prather AT ICFI DOT COM>
To: ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2012 17:27:57 +0000
If you find a good doc , please repost!  I haven't found any single source.

Read the TSM VE 6.4 install guide when it comes out, not the 6.3 one.  (I"ve 
seen the Beta and It is Good.)
The main thing you need to know reading the (infuriating) manual, is that the 
doc often uses these terms interchangeably:

"vstorage backup server"
"proxy server"
"data mover"

And the "data mover" is just an instance of the TSM scheduler on the machine 
you are using as a proxy server.
Once you get that straight in your head, the doc is pretty follow-able.

Most of the doc out there that talks about proxy servers and data movers and 
sizing will, I hope, become irrelevant with 6.4.
The big issues with 6.2 and 6.3 were the amount of data and amount of time 
required to do periodic fulls of all those vmdk files.
With "incremental forever" in 6.4, those problems should all go away.

Another thing you need to know,
- if the VM's were created in Vsphere 5, they will already have Changed Block 
Tracking turned on.

-if the VM's were created in Vsphere 4, they may or may not have Changed Block 
Tracking turned on.

You can tell for sure by looking at the attributes of the VM, but the VM has to 
be down to look at them (stupid VM thing) or change it directly.
If it's not on, you can turn it on by doing the first full backup with VE, but 
then you will need a second (full) backup to build the track map.  You will 
only get true CBT incrementals on the 3rd pass.  Look at the scheduler log, it 
will tell you when CBT is in use.

And other things I found painful to learn:

*       If you do a "backup now" from the VCenter console VE plug in, the logs 
are in the dsmwebcl.log on the proxy server you've chosen to use.  Not 
Intuitively Obvious (at least for me).  The scheduled backups are in the 
dsmsched.log for the data mover on the proxy server.

*       The VE server (the thing that creates and talks to the VCenter plug-in) 
is not required and not involved to actually run the scheduled backups.  The VE 
server  sits between VCenter and the TSM server and translates between the two 
of them.  You can use the VCenter plug-in to create a backup schedule, and what 
happens is that it talks to the VE server, and the VE server talks to the TSM 
server and does a DEFINE SCHEDULE.  But when the schedule fires, it's just the 
TSM server talking to the data mover (TSM scheduler service) on the proxy 
server.

*       Learn to q schedule and verify the schedules that VE creates.  (You can 
also update them through normal TSM methods as needed.)

*       VMWare will frequently get tangled in its own underwear doing its 
snapshots, or deleting its snapshots.  This is a VMware issue, not a TSM issue, 
and we are stuck with it at least through VSphere 5.


Maybe that will save you some research :>)

Wanda




-----Original Message-----
From: ADSM: Dist Stor Manager [mailto:ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU] On Behalf Of 
Steven Harris
Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2012 1:42 AM
To: ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU
Subject: [ADSM-L] Learning resources for VMware

Hi Gang

I have a customer who is bursting to get TSM for VE 6.4 up and running.
So its time to get me some book-learnin'.

What does a TSM admin need to know about VMware and especially vStorage in 
order to get a TSM for VE installation working properly?  Where is the best 
place to obtain such info?

Yes I've done some searches, but for example one document that looked promising 
turned out to be dated 2006, and in this fast-moving environment that is 
positively stone-age.

Thanks

Steve.

Steven Harris
TSM Admin
Canberra Australia

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