Setting IBM Spectrum Protect client options on UNIX or Linux

IBM Spectrum Protect clients on UNIX or Linux are configured by setting options in the dsm.opt and dsm.sys files. The include/exclude file is used to define which files are included or excluded during backup, archive, or hierarchical storage processing.

About this task

Configure the IBM Spectrum Protect backup-archive client to operate in an SAP environment with the following procedure.

Procedure

  1. Install the IBM Spectrum Protect client software on the SAP database server system.
  2. Edit the client system options file dsm.sys and set these values as appropriate for your installation: 
    Servername        server_a
TCPPort           1500
TCPServeraddress  xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx or servername
InclExcl          /usr/tivoli/tsm/client/ba/bin/inclexcl.list
Compression       OFF
  3. Specify TCPServeraddress 127.0.0.1. If the server and client are on the same system, select loopback. This selection improves TCP/IP communication speed.
  4. Specify InclExcl if you want IBM Spectrum Protect to include or exclude the files that are listed in inclexcl.list.
  5. Throughput improves when tape drives attached to the IBM Spectrum Protect server provide hardware compression. However, combining hardware compression and IBM Spectrum Protect client software compression (Compression ON) is not advised.
  6. Edit the client user options file dsm.opt and set these values as appropriate for your installation: 
    LANGUAGE     AMENG   (this is the default value)
NUMBERFormat 1       (this is the default value)
TAPEPROMPT   NO
TIMEFORMAT   1       (this is the default value)

Results

When the IBM Spectrum Protect API client is installed on a UNIX or Linux system, ensure that a link exists that points to the IBM Spectrum Protect API installation directory, /usr/tivoli/tsm/client/api/bin64.
  • /usr/lib/libApiDS.so

The IBM Spectrum Protect provides two features for specifying the location of the IBM Spectrum Protect API Client error log: the environment variable DSMI_LOG and the IBM Spectrum Protect system client option ERRORLOGName in dsm.sys. For DSMI_LOG, a directory is specified to which a file named dsierror.log is written. For ERRORLOGName a path and user-defined file name are defined.

To achieve conclusive logical linking of the environment, configuration and log files in your SAP backup-archive system, you must use the IBM Spectrum Protect system client option ERRORLOGName rather than the environment variable DSMI_LOG.
  • When you use ERRORLOGName, you can include the SID in the file name. This information can speed up problem determination by simplifying identification of the correct error log file. You can match log file names to the active user client options file name, which must also contain the SID and be stored in environment variable DSMI_CONFIG. This information is especially useful on systems with several SIDs.
With this setup, you obtain the following logical interlinking:
  • Environment variable DSMI_CONFIG is exported from the login shell
  • Environment variable DSMI_CONFIG points to client user options file /usr/tivoli/tsm/client/api/bin64/dsm_SID.opt
  • Client user option SERVER servername in dsm_SID.opt points to the SERVER servername stanza in /usr/tivoli/tsm/client/api/bin64/dsm.sys
  • The SERVER servername stanza contains the option ERRORLOGName /writeable_path/dsierror_SID.log
If the variable DSMI_LOG exists in your environment from an earlier setup, it is overridden by dsm.sys option ERRORLOGName. However, to avoid confusion, make sure the DSMI_LOG path is identical to the path in ERRORLOGName. Alternatively, you can remove DSMI_LOG completely from your environment.