>>I have been asked to evaluate the possibility to take a backup from AS/400
>>(Power720 - v6.1) to TSM (I don't know anything about AS/400). I looked on
>>the info and I understand we need something called "Backup Recovery and Media
>>Services for iSeries", I have a few questions:
Been there done that.
- Yes, you need BRMS, which is a pay-for AS/400 backup application. BRMS will
normally write to a local tape drive attached to the AS/400/Iseries/Power box.
When you add the TSM API, it isn't really a client, it's more like a driver -
it just adds another destination for BRMS. The BRMS person sets up and runs
jobs just like before, except now in addition to writing to a local drive, if
he specifies "TSM" as the destination, data can go over the network to TSM.
Restores are done through BRMS, and retention is also controlled by BRMS. (If
you've ever set up the TSM TDP agent for Oracle, this works much the same way.)
Instructions are in the redbook SG24-7031 from www.redbooks.ibm.com.
I've never installed BRMS, so I can't help you there, I don't know how good the
instructions in the redbook are. But if the AS/400 guy has BRMS working on the
AS/400/Iseries/Power already, all you need is Chap. 9 in the redbook to get the
TSM connection working.
However, a couple of things you need to know:
- BRMS uses the TSM API very inefficiently. If you have more than about 500GB
per day you need to back up from the AS/400, you are unlikely to be happy with
the results. If the AS/400/Iseries/Power is currently writing to fast local
tape drives, say LTO5, you probably will be unhappy with performance of the
API. If it is currently writing to slower drives, say LTO3, then it may be
suitable for you to switch to the API. I've also had success with one customer
by having them change their scheduling to run jobs in parallel instead of
sequentially so as to get done even with the slower throughput. (If you don't
have BRMS already, I suggest you ask your IBM rep for a trial before you buy.)
-The TSM API doesn't provide a complete solution. You can use BRMS to back up
what I think they call "data libraries" from the AS/400/Iseries. But you still
have to use a local device to create your "system" backup. (It's sort of like
a mksysb to AIX, in that it's your bootable OS recovery method in case you have
to go to a DR site and recover on another box.)
>> 1. Is it supported for all current TSM servers, v7.1 for example ?
I'm not sure to what degree it's "supported". It works, because it's just the
client API. ("Supported" in IBM terms means not only that it works but that
they will take problem reports for it. I don't know it they are still doing
that.) But I have 1 customer using it on a 6.3.4 server and another on 7.1
server with no issues (but they back up less than 500 GB per day each).
>> 2. I understand I need " Tivoli Storage Manager Application Programming
>> Interface for IBM i" - TSM API for iSeries - but I couldn't find it ?
It's on the FTP site, but you have to know where to look - it hasn't changed
since V5 and is listed under OS400. Here's the link to the latest one I know
of:
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/storage/tivoli-storage-management/maintenance/client/v5r5/OS400/v554/5.5.4.0-TIV-TSMBAC-OS400.README_api_enu.htm
>> 3. It says " BRMS officially supports and tests ONLY IBM Tape Media
>> Libraries, IBM tape drives , IBM Virtual Tape Libraries (VTL), IBM optical
>> drives and Tivoli Storage manager(TSM)." Is this for backup direct from the
>> BRMS to the IBM libraries and tapes, or it also includes LAN-free to TSM's
>> libraries and tapes ?
That is for BRMS going direct to a locally attached tape.
When you use the TSM API, the data goes from BRMS across the network via TCP/IP
to TSM just like any ordinary backup client (windows, linux, etc.), then the
TSM server provides the device support for the back end. So you can use any
storage device that is attached to your TSM server, and the data can migrate
through the TSM hierarchy from disk to tape, etc.
There is no LAN_free support from BRMS to TSM.
>> 4. And to connect to the previous question (if yes), do you think EMC
>> DataDomain posing as a IBM library (IBM 3584) can fool it ?
Yes, see previous answer.
BRMS doesn't know what device the data lands on, it knows only that the TSM
server has it.
Wanda
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