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File Backup - Common Topics
Common Topics

 

 

Information about TSM backup software

ADSM, now renamed Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM), provides flexible, powerful backup protection of desktop computer hard drives to an OIT network server. The client runs on Windows, Macintosh, Linux and a variety of Unix platforms. Lost files can be recovered by restoring them from the server.

 

TSM is site licensed and provided at no additional cost to the Auburn University community. Backing up from off-campus is not recommended unless the connection is at least as fast as cable/DSL connections.

 

All employees at Auburn University have an AU user name established for them. An AU employee's TSM account is automatically activated when the AU user name is assigned. Of course, it is important to note that the employee is still responsible for downloading and running TSM on their University computer.

 

If you have any questions about installing and running TSM, please view the How-to's provided in this section or contact the OIT HelpDesk at 844-4944 or helpdesk@auburn.edu.

 

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System requirements

Windows XP/2000/98/ME

  • Use TSM version 5.2
  • Pentium-based processor
  • 32 MB of RAM
  • 50 MB available disk space
  • TCP/IP Communications capability
  • Current web browser (Internet Explorer is recommended)

Connection Speeds

If you are off-campus and wish to use TSM, it will be necessary for you to have a high bandwidth Internet connection such as DSL or Cable. Dial-up connections will not work properly.

 

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Procedure for requesting TSM backup restrictions exemption

In extenuating circumstances, it is possible for distributed IT providers or Administrative Computing Coordinators to request that a machine be exempted from the recently announced TSM backup restrictions.

 

If you identify such a system in your area, the procedure for making a request for exemption is outlined below. Keep in mind, that this should be reserved for critical needs only.

  1. Send an e-mail request for exemption from TSM backup restrictions to
    helpdesk@auburn.edu.

  2. Provide the TSM node name, user's name and campus contact information
    (address, phone, e-mail).

  3. Provide justification for the exemption requested.

  4. Provide your name and campus contact information.

Your request will be reviewed and you will receive a reply from the Office of Information Technology within two (2) business days. Feel free to follow up at helpdesk@auburn.edu anytime.

 

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TSM - Important background information

Below are some important facts that you should know about TSM and its uses on the Auburn University campus.

  • What the backups exclude

    Backups for Windows platforms exclude things like network drives and Windows system objects. This change was made December 18, 2003, in order to make more efficient use of our backup storage space. There will be no interruption of your regularly scheduled backups using TSM, and everything in My Documents and Program Files will continue to be backed up.

    Windows profiles and favorites will be included. If you have any questions or concerns about the backup routine used on your desktop computer, please consult the IT specialist for your area or the OIT HelpDesk at (334) 844-4944 or helpdesk@auburn.edu.

  • What is restored on your computer

    Files backed up with TSM can be restored to recover lost data or work files. However, TSM is not meant to be used for restoring everything on your hard drive or to restore software. Remember, TSM is for disaster recovery. It cannot be expected to always contain any version of any file that you want.

  • Getting Started

    Be sure you've read and followed the Getting Started instructions.


  • Difference between active and inactive

    How long a backed up file is kept depends on whether it is "active" or "inactive". A file is considered "active" if it is still on your hard drive. "Active" files have a current copy available indefinitely on the server. "Inactive" files (that have been deleted from your hard drive) are only kept for a few weeks. Also, older versions of "active" files are deleted after a short time. Therefore, you will not be able to pull up multiple copies of the same file. TSM is for disaster recovery.

  • Security features

    TSM has a compression option that can be set at the client end. This option can be used for security purposes. It will keep the system from sending data in clear text; however, it will probably increase the overall back up time.

  • Options for running the scheduler

    The scheduler program runs in the system tray for Windows 98 and ME. For systems running Windows NT/2000 and XP, there are two options: run the scheduler as a service, or run it as a regular program where it will run as a DOS window which can be minimized while you work on something else. When run as a service, the scheduler is invisible to you. Whenever you want to back up your files overnight you can simply leave your PC running.

  • Archive is not allowed

    Users should back up with the Backup button.

 

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Using different TSM IDs to back up multiple machines

OIT strongly advises TSM users to use a single TSM ID (node name) for each machine that is backed up. To get additional TSM IDs for backing up multiple computers, contact the OIT Account Administrator.

 

Potential Problems

 

Using a single TSM ID on more than one machine is not supported by the vendor; the software is designed to run in an environment where each machine on which the client runs is assigned a unique TSM ID (or 'node name', in Tivoli-speak). In practice this means that one must be very careful in attempting to use the same ID on more than one machine, and when problems are encountered we can expect no help from the vendor in trying to resolve them.

 

Also, the behavior exhibited by TSM in this area is subject to change from one release of the software to another, with no announcements or explanations regarding changes. This is because the vendor neither codes for nor tests the use of a single ID on multiple machines. If you still wish to use the same TSM ID on more than one machine, then the following information may be helpful. These guidelines are the result of our experiences with version 4 of the TSM client.

 

Proceed with caution if you plan to use the same ID to back up more than one machine!

Incremental Backups

The first potential problem arises when doing an incremental backup. TSM bases all of its decisions on what files to back up and what files to expire on its perceived status of what it calls a 'filespace'. What a filespace is depends to some extent on the platform on which the client is running. In Unix, a filespace is simply a filesystem (or part of a filesystem); in Windows, a filespace is a combination of Windows 'Computer Name' and drive letter.

 

When an incremental backup is run, the TSM client compares the filespace as it currently exists on the machine with the filespace as it exists at the TSM server. Any differences will cause action to be taken by the client. For example, if a file on the local machine has been changed since it was last backed up, it will be backed up again. If a file exists in the filespace at the server, but not on the local machine, it will be assumed to have been deleted and will be marked inactive at the server. If you run an incremental backup on two different machines that both contain the same filespace name, you will very likely get unexpected and undesirable results.Files will be incorrectly marked inactive, etc.

 

If you plan to run an incremental backup on more than one machine using the same TSM ID, then you must ensure that all filespace names involved are unique. On Windows, this can be accomplished by having unique Windows computer names; on Unix, having unique filespace names is impractical for system directories but might be possible for some other directories.

Scheduled Backups

 

Another problem arises if you attempt to use the TSM Scheduler to perform scheduled backups of multiple machines with a single TSM ID. Because the server assumes that an ID is only being used on one machine, all sorts of problems and misunderstandings can occur.

 

Scheduler clients connect periodically to the server to request a time at which they should perform a backup, and they report to the server the success or failure of an attempted scheduled backup. It is left to the reader's imagination to come up with possible points of confusion and failure if multiple machines are attempting scheduled backups using the same ID. The bottom line is this: once a machine successfully completes a scheduled backup using a given TSM ID, no other machine can start a scheduled backup using the same TSM ID during the same backup window. (A backup window is generally the period from 6 p.m. one evening until 9 a.m. the following morning.)

 

The more machines on which the same TSM ID is used to do scheduled backups, the greater the number of machines will not be backed up on a given night. For this reason, OIT recommends that you not use the same TSM ID on more than one machine on which you also run the TSM Scheduler, even if you can manage to ensure unique filespace names on the machines in question. The reliability of scheduled backups in this scenario is simply too poor.

 

Unicode Support

 

Support for Unicode filespaces was added to the TSM server in August of 2002. Unicode filespaces allow for greater flexibility in data being backed up from and restored to client platforms running under different national languages.

 

Some TSM clients are capable of backing up filespaces in Unicode format while other clients are not. As of Fall 2002, the only Unicode capable clients are:

  • V4.2.0 or higher for Windows NT/2000
  • V4.2.1.15 or higher for Windows XP

Now to how this affects using a single TSM ID on more than one machine. The important rule to keep in mind is this: once a filespace has been backed up to the server in Unicode format under a given ID, the server will not allow a non-Unicode capable client to connect using that ID. A filespace will be backed up in Unicode format under the following circumstances:

  1. The client doing the backup is Unicode enabled, and
  2. The filespace being backed up does not exist at the server in a non-Unicode format

Number 2 above needs to be understood; the TSM server will not convert an existing filespace backup image to Unicode format, but if a new filespace is backed up (e.g., a new drive is added to an existing machine, or a drive that was previously being EXCLUDEd in the TSM client options is now being INCLUDEd, or if an ID that was being used to back up one machine is later used to back up files on a second machine), that filespace will be backed up in Unicode format. Once that has happened, no non-Unicode capable client will be allowed to connect to the server using that ID.

 

So, for example, if you're using the same ID from a Windows 2000 machine and a Mac, or a Windows 98 machine, etc., you might suddenly find that the client cannot connect from the Mac (or 98...) platform. You find that you're getting the following error message:

 

ANS1357S Session rejected: Downlevel client code version

 

More than likely what has happened is that a Unicode format filespace has been backed up and the server is rejecting connections for your ID from non-Unicode clients.

 

The best solution to this problem is to use a given TSM ID for backing up one machine only. You can request additional TSM IDs for your machines by contacting the OIT Account Administrator.

 

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