>>Has anyone had experience using TSM to backup desktop machines?
Did it years ago for about 200 Windows desktops. Turned on subfile backup,
worked a treat. (No experience with MACs.)
Didn't have a good way to deal with the overnight power down issues at the
time, so backed up desktops during the day, servers at night.
Really. Amount of data so small compared to email, downloads, Lolcats,
Youtube, nobody in the network group even noticed.
>>Do the end users understand how to restore files using the GUI?
Yes. I think most people find the interface pretty intuitive, except for the
"view active/inactive", which you have to explain several times, then they get
it.
>>If a desktop machine is used by multiple login accounts at different times,
>>does the TSM GUI allow a client to only view/restore their own files?
It used to on Windows. Dunno about MACs, and haven't tested on Windows 7 or 8.
Better verify. If it doesn't I think you could open a PMR, don't know what
response you'd get.
>>What issues did you have to overcome?
1. pst files. They are evil for backup and almost insurmountable.
Exterminate them.
2. Pushing out new client versions. Best done with something like Endpoint
manager, or whatever else you normally distribute desktop software with.
3. Subfile backup helps a lot. Really.
4. Up through Win2K3, we had a fairly straightforward way of doing a BMR with
the basic TSM client, even to different hardware. These days, you better take
a look at the supported Bare Metal restore procedure for Windows with the TSM
client. It is about a 17 step process with a very high learning curve and low
probability of success. If these desktops may require BMR, I'd advise to use
something else.
5. These days, before deciding I'd do a survey and see how many of your
"desktops" are really docking stations for laptops that leave the building at
night. Using the basic TSM client requires machines to be available when their
schedule fires, and not driving down the interstate. If they are actually
mobile, use a product like Fastback for Workstations (formerly known as CDP for
Files) that does continuous coverage and is designed for occasionally-connected
machines. (It backs up files to a local repository as they are closed, then
uploads the backups to the TSM server when a connection is available.)
6. Also had some experience with Fastback for Workstations (formerly known as
CDP for files). I actually don't think it's as intuitive as the basic client,
but as I said before, it's designed for continuous coverage and
occasionally-connected backups. Minor thing to think about, you'll be getting
slow, sometimes long-running backups of laptops at all hours of the day. You
won't ever have a "window" when the TSM server doesn't have backups running.
If that bothers you, plan on a separate TSM server.
7. If this is a hand full of desktops, it's a trivial thing for TSM admins to
support. But since you are looking at other products I assume it's more than a
handful. Consider then your personnel resources. When I've looked recently, a
cloud service is more economical. Not only do you not have to build out the
hardware for the support, but *they* provide the end-user support.
W
-----Original Message-----
From: ADSM: Dist Stor Manager [mailto:ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU] On Behalf Of
David Jelinek
Sent: Thursday, February 27, 2014 10:37 AM
To: ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU
Subject: [ADSM-L] TSM for desktop backups
We have used TSM for our Enterprise backups of our servers for many years.
We are now considering backing up our end-user desktop machines, but only the
user folders. Has anyone had experience using TSM to backup desktop machines?
What issues did you have to overcome? Do the end users understand how to
restore files using the GUI? If a desktop machine is used by multiple login
accounts at different times, does the TSM GUI allow a client to only
view/restore their own files?
We are concerned with both Windows and Macs.
Does anyone know of a feature matrix comparison of TSM and Crashplan?
Thanks in advance.
--
Have a wonderful day,
David Jelinek
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