Questions from TSM

What is DRM? & why DRM? (Disaster recovery management)

Steps in DRM? Explain each state?

Tell me the process the moving the tape from mountable state to vault state?

How you will define library ? explain step by step in command line?

What is the last parameter in define path?

Tell me the device name for library in TSM on AIX?

Tell me full syntax for define device class LTO?

What us policy management cycle?Explain?

Full syntax for copy group? and explain the define copy group step by step?

Difference between backup and archive?

Default retention period for archive?

Difference between active and validate policy set?

Explain policy management class step by step in commandline?

What is include and exclude list?

Difference between clientopt and clopset?

Difference between label and checkinlibvolume?

Do I need to give label and check in commands for tape volume?

When inserting tape in tape library you need to define lable libvolume?

Where you set devclass in library?

Explain Reclamation with diagram?

Where it is important?

What is collocation?

Give me collocation syntax ?

Restrict Reclamation in commandline?

Backupset where it will be used?

Difference between client and admin scheduler?

Where you use it?

Your are taking Backup db every day at 10 pm?

What kind of scheduling?

Tell me example for admin scheduling?

Tell me important TSM server files?

Tell me important TSM client files?

What is the file for include and exclude list in client?

What is the command to take backup of your TSM database?

TSM Concepts

TSM Concepts

IBM Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) Basic Part-1

IBM Tivoli Storage Manager is enhanced Enterprise level data protection software that expedites operational and disaster recovery. TSM offers centralized, automated data protection to help reduce the risks associated with data loss. It helps you manage more data with less infrastructure and simplified administration. Tivoli Storage Manager automates data backup and restore functions and centralizes storage management operations. It offers following features. In this page you will find the basic concepts of TSM and L1 & L2 level TSM administrator daily activities and tasks.

Chapter 1: IBM Tivoli Storage Manager Basic Introduction and Overview 

IBM TSM V7 Server Components Introduction
IBM TSM V7 Backup and Archive Functions and Features Introduction
IBM TSM V7 Product Family Overview

Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) V7.1 Server Components

IBM Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) is an enterprise-wide protection solution designed to protect the organization’s data from hardware failures and other errors by managing backup and archive copies of data. For disaster recover purposes, an additional copy is stored off-site.  Designed for a heterogeneous environment, Tivoli Storage Manager connects over the local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), Internet, and storage area network (SAN). This design provides data move and store techniques, comprehensive policy based automation, and data management.

Optional modules are available for business-critical applications that must run twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. These modules use Tivoli Storage Manager’s centralized data protection with no interruption of service.

IBM Tivoli Storage Manager V7.1 consists of the following components:

TSM Administrative interfaces
Tivoli Storage Manager Operations Center
Tivoli Storage Manager Server
TSM Scheduler Services
TSM Backup-archive client
Tivoli Storage Manager database
Tivoli Storage Manager recovery log
Storage pools
Policy-based management
Media library

 Tivoli Storage Manager Interfaces

You can access TSM Server and TSM client through various interfaces as mentioned below
Operations Center accessed through web browser and default secure port 11090
Backup-archive client GUI accessed through dsm (Windows) dsmj (UNIX) commands.
Web client GUI accessed through web browser and default port 1581
Backup-archive command line accessed through command dsmc
Tivoli Storage Manager server command line accessed through dsmadmc, Operations Center, and server console.

Tivoli Storage Manager Operations Center

IBM Tivoli Storage Manager Operations Center is a new added dashboard-style management interface starting from TSM V6.4 to simplify TSM operations and monitoring. You can use the Operations Center, command-line interfaces, backup-archive graphical user interface (GUI), and a web client interface to manage your Tivoli Storage Manager environment.

Tivoli Storage Manager Server instance

Tivoli Storage Manager server refers to an instance, not a physical system. A single system can run multiple instances of the server. In a typical local area network or LAN configuration, the Tivoli Storage Manager server stores to the storage media the backup or archive data from the backup-archive clients that it supports. The server also has a database to manage data, including policy management objects, users and administrators, and client nodes.

TSM Scheduler Services

Tivoli Storage Manager includes a central scheduling component to automatically process the administrative commands and backup-archive client operations during the specific time period when the schedule is activated. An administrator is responsible to create and maintain the schedules in each policy domain. Tivoli Storage Manager scheduling is split into two categories administrative scheduling and backup-archive client scheduling.
Administrator-defined schedules allow for the automation of Tivoli Storage Manager server and backup-archive client operations. A comprehensive and integrated set of schedules can provide the basis for efficient data management with little need for intervention during normal operations.
Scheduling Tivoli Storage Manager backup-archive client operations consists of schedules on the Tivoli Storage Manager server and a scheduler component that runs on the Tivoli Storage Manager backup-archive client machine.

TSM Backup-archive client

A backup-archive client is usually a server. Application servers and file servers, and also desktop workstations and portable PCs, are backup-archive clients to the Tivoli Storage Manager server. Physical client systems are registered on the server as nodes. File servers, workstations, and database servers that are backed up, are referred to as clients.
The Tivoli Storage Manager backup-archive client is a service that sends data to and retrieves data from a Tivoli Storage Manager server. The Tivoli Storage Manager backup-archive client must be installed on every machine that transfers data to server-managed storage called storage pools. This machine might be a workstation, a file, or a database server.
The Tivoli Storage Manager server uses a unique node name for identifying each Tivoli Storage Manager backup-archive client instance. The Tivoli Storage Manager backup-archive client supports encryption, and can use a password for authenticating communications between the Tivoli Storage Manager backup-archive client and server.

Tivoli Storage Manager Database

Earlier versions of Tivoli Storage Manager used a proprietary B+-tree database. As of version 6, the Tivoli Storage Manager database is built on DB2. This database is part of Tivoli Storage Manager and you must not manage it as a DB2 database. The information that the database stores includes the file name, file size, management class, copy group, location of the files in Tivoli Storage Manager server storage, and all other information except for the data. Data is stored in a storage pool.
When the Tivoli Storage Manager server is installed, a database and recovery logs are created. Tivoli Storage Manager saves information in the Tivoli Storage Manager database about each file, logical volume, or database that it backs up, archives, or migrates.
The Tivoli Storage Manager database is the heart of Tivoli Storage Manager. You need take backup of this database in regular intervals in order to restore the database to the current state if any disaster occurs.

Tivoli Storage Manager Recovery log

The server uses the recovery log as a scratch pad for the database, recording information about client and server actions while the actions are performed. Changes to the database are recorded in the recovery log to maintain a consistent database image. The recovery log stores data that is required to back up a restored database to the most recent committed transaction. Starting TSM V6, the Recovery log consists of Active log, Archive log, Active mirror log and Archive failover log.
TSM Storage pools

Storage pools are collections of similar media that provide storage for backed up, archived, and migrated files. These pools can be chained to create a storage hierarchy. You can use any supported sequential media in all copy storage pools. There are 2 important process which moves client backups within the storage hierarchy.

Migration: Data moves from the primary disk pool directly to tape pools.
Copy data: Data moves from the primary disk pool to file pools or disk pools to tape pools

A storage pool volume is the basic unit of storage for the Tivoli Storage Manager storage pools. A volume might be a logical volume, a standard file system file, a tape cartridge, or an optical cartridge. A unique volume identifier identifies each volume.

Tivoli Storage Manager Policies

Backup-archive client data is centrally managed by business policy. The administrator creates policies and stores them in the database on the server. Policies are defined based on the business requirements for data backup and retention. These requirements, sometimes referred to as a storage service level agreement (SLA), identify when to perform backups, how long and how many copies of files to retain, and other requirements that the customer specifies. This feature makes it possible for different departments with different types of data to have their own customized storage management plan.

Tivoli Storage Manager Policy Structure

With policies, you can manage data that is based on business requirements by defining the following information
Files that are eligible for backup
Files that are eligible for archive
Data storage location
Length of time for retaining data
Number of versions of data to retain