TSM Backup Principles
TSM Capabilities:
The following passages are from the TSM server documentation and serve as an overview of only a small subset of capabilities that TSM offers. These are the most frequently used capabilities, but even still, only the “Backup and restore” option is the one which our TSM backup service utilizes. Our TSM backup service uses the progressive backup method (incremental forever).
Backup and restore
The backup process copies data from client workstations to server storage to ensure against loss of data that is regularly changed. The server retains versions of a file according to policy, and replaces older versions of the file with newer versions. Policy includes the number of versions and the retention time for versions. A client can restore the most recent version of a file, or can restore earlier versions.
Archive and retrieve
The archive process copies data from client workstations to server storage for long-term storage. The process can optionally delete the archived files from the client workstations. The server retains archive copies according to the policy for archive retention time. A client can retrieve an archived copy of a file.
File-level Backup Policies:
Policies available to you are defined with four parameters. The table below outlines the use of each parameter:
TSM marks versions of a file as inactive once a new “active” version is backed up, once the file is deleted, or when it is excluded. Once a file is deleted or excluded, TSM marks all versions inactive. If the file exists on the host and it is not excluded from backups, there will always be an active version on TSM.
Our policy information can be found in the “Data Retention Form”. Please keep in mind that these policies are for data protection only. Any need for archiving, long-term retention, or bare system restores will not be addressed by these policies.
When registering for the service, you must specify one default retention plan. You may configure your client to back up certain files or filesystems under non-default policies by creating an include-exclude list. Refer to the include-exclude list documentation.
TSM Client Installation and Configuration
Client components which are normally installed are:
• Client Native GUI
• Client Web GUI
• Client Command Line Interface
• Client Acceptor Daemon and Scheduler
Refer to client readme as some of these features are not included with some platforms (i.e. Netware does not have a native GUI).
For quick and easy installation procedures, please see the below e:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v1r1/topic/com.ibm.itsmc.doc/baclients.html
Though installation and configuration can be pretty straightforward, there are many other options available in TSM to fine-tune your backups for performance and space-saving benefits. Most clients should operate well with defaults, but if you run into bottlenecks, or your clients are eratic, consider setting some advanced configuration options.
Advanced Client Configuration
Unix/Linux/Mac OS clients rely on the dsm.opt and dsm.sys files for configuration options.
Windows/Netware clients rely solely on dsm.opt files for configuration options.
For official documentation for all available options, refer to:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v1r1/topic/com.ibm.itsmc.doc/baclients.html
Include/Exclude lists dictate what to backup, and what policies should files be placed under.
Exclude Statement Structures
exclude [file] Excludes files from backups and archives
exclude.archive [file] Excludes file from archives
exclude.fs [filesystem] Excludes filesystem from backups and archives
exclude.dir [directory] Excludes directory from backups and archives
exclude.compression [file] Excludes file from compression
Include Statement Structures
include [file] [class]
Includes file for backups and archives. If class is specified, then it binds the file to that management class. Otherwise, it uses the default.
include.archive [file] [class]
Includes file for archives only. If class is specified, then it binds the file to that management class. Otherwise, it uses the default.
include.compression [file]
Includes file for compression only if “Compression yes” is specified in options file.
A note regarding the use of wildcards for include/exclude processing (Unix syntax):
/… : matches 0 or more directories
* : matches and characters/files
? : matches any one character
[ ] : matches a character class enumeration or range
If you exclude a file with /… then all subdirectory information is backed-up. The files contained in those directories are not. For spaces in file names, use single-quotation marks.
A note regarding the order of exclude/include lists (Unix syntax):
Tivoli Storage Manager evaluates all exclude.fs and exclude.dir statements first (regardless of their position within the include-exclude list), and removes the excluded file spaces, directories, and files from the list of objects available for processing. All other include-exclude statements are processed from the bottom of the list up. Therefore, it is important to enter all your include-exclude statements in the proper order. For example, in the following include-exclude list the includefile.txt file is not backed up:
include /home/usr/includefile.txt
exclude /home/usr/.../*
However, in the following include-exclude list the includefile.txt file is backed up:
exclude /home/usr/.../*
include /home/usr/includefile.txt
For more detailed information on the usage of include-exclude lists, refer to the official documentation:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v1r1/topic/com.ibm.itsmc.doc/baclients.html:
TSM Client Operations
This section details the client operations that you may encounter after the installation. Maintenance, backups, and restores are covered.
Regular Client Maintenance:
Regular maintenance tasks include:
• Checking the backup log for files that have consistently failed backing up. Files with backup errors are good candidates for exclusion or for corrective measures. Scheduled backup logs and error logs are available on all clients:
Windows: C:\Program Files\Tivoli\TSM\baclient\
Netware: SYS:\tivoli\tsm\client\ba\
Linux: /opt/tivoli/tsm/client/ba/bin/
Solaris: /opt/tivoli/tsm/client/ba/bin/
AIX: /usr/opt/tivoli/tsm/client/ba/bin/
Mac OS X: /Library/Logs/tivoli/tsm/
TSM Scheduled vs. Manual Backups:
Scheduled backups are handled through the ManagedServices client option along with server-defined schedules. The legacy way of handling schedules was through the “dsmc sched” command. The dsmcad does the following to pick up its scheduled backup time:
1. Once the administrator runs dsmcad, it sits in the background.
2. dsmcad kicks off the scheduler after a minute, and the scheduler queries the server for its next scheduled action (either another query or incremental backup). It logs to the dsmsched.log and exits.
3. dsmcad remains idle until its next scheduled activity.
Manual backups are handled either through the GUI or commandline.
Command line sample:
# dsmc incremental “/usr/*”
The incremental backup performs versioning-based backups. A selective backup forces all files to be backed up:
# dsmc selective “/usr/*”
TSM Client Restores - Techniques and Best Practices:
TSM classifies restores into two categories: no-query restore, and traditional restores.
Traditional Restores
Traditional restores involve the specification of a particular file or files to be restored. The GUI offers the easiest method to identify precise versions of files that you need restored. However, the command line also offers traditional restores.
Example:
#dsmc restore “/home/*/foo.*” –pick -inactive
No-Query Restores
A no-query restore (also known as a restartable restore) offers disaster recovery for directories and filesystems. A single wild-card specification identifies the restore as a no-query restore.
Example:
#dsmc restore “/var/tsm/*” –subdir=yes
Best Practices
Below are recommendations for improved restore times:
• For large restores, familiarize yourself with the command line client (dsmc). It is a more powerful mechanism for file restoration than the GUI, though it is less user friendly.
• For point-in-time restores, the GUI offers the easiest method to identify which files you need precisely.
• For large restores, try running multiple restore sessions at the same time. Though restores may compete for tape resources, each session will run to completion so less intervention is necessary.
Client Commands
Query backup and arch:
>/usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc q arch –subdir=1 –fromnode=
>/usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc q arch –subdir=1 –fromnode=
-fromdate=08/20/2006 -fromtime=11:00 -todate=08/20/2006 -totime=17:00 /db/abc/oradata01/
>/usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc q back –subdir=1 –fromnode= /db/abc/oradata01/
>/usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc q back –ina –subdir=1 –fromnode= /db/abc/oradata01/
Backup and arch:
>/usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc arch –subdir=1 –desc=” OAPR_hotdb” /db/abc/oradata01/ -archmc=”OAPRHOT”
>/usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc arch –subdir=1 "” /db/abc/oradata01/ -archmc=”OAPRHOT” -desc=”OAPR_hotdb_"%%$DATE._%%TIME
>/usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc incremental –subdir=1 /db/abc/oradata01/
Restore and retrieve:
> /usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc retrieve -subdir=yes -fromnode=- desc="ABCD_COLD_20060820_11:00" /db/ABCD/oradata02/ /db/ABCD/oradata02/
>/usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc retrieve -subdir=yes -fromnode=-fromdate=08/20/2006 -fromtime=11:00 -todate=08/20/2006 -totime=17:00 /db/ABCD/oradata02/ /db/ABCD/oradata02/
> /usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc restore -subdir=yes -fromnode=- desc="ABCD_COLD_20060820_11:00" /db/ABCD/oradata02/ /db/ABCD/oradata02/
To set Access to a node
>set access arch * node
or
>set access arch * *
To delete Access
type
>q access (to see the list then type)
>delete access
then choose the list to delete. such 1,2,3.
To see what is backedup on a client.
>q files
>q backup d:\
>q node
>q mgmt (policydomain) active * f=d
>/usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc q arch –subdir=1 –fromnode=
>/usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc q arch –subdir=1 –fromnode=
-fromdate=08/20/2006 -fromtime=11:00 -todate=08/20/2006 -totime=17:00 /db/abc/oradata01/
>/usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc q back –subdir=1 –fromnode=
>/usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc q back –ina –subdir=1 –fromnode=
Backup and arch:
>/usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc arch –subdir=1 –desc=” OAPR_hotdb” /db/abc/oradata01/ -archmc=”OAPRHOT”
>/usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc arch –subdir=1 "” /db/abc/oradata01/ -archmc=”OAPRHOT” -desc=”OAPR_hotdb_"%%$DATE._%%TIME
>/usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc incremental –subdir=1 /db/abc/oradata01/
Restore and retrieve:
> /usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc retrieve -subdir=yes -fromnode=
>/usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc retrieve -subdir=yes -fromnode=
> /usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dsmc restore -subdir=yes -fromnode=
To set Access to a node
>set access arch * node
or
>set access arch * *
To delete Access
type
>q access (to see the list then type)
>delete access
then choose the list to delete. such 1,2,3.
To see what is backedup on a client.
>q files
>q backup d:\
>q node
>q mgmt (policydomain) active * f=d
Thanks for the backup guide. Really helpful.
ReplyDelete