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Spectrum Protect Maintenance Mode

By IMWUC Community Team posted Wed December 09, 2015 05:30 PM

  

In Spectrum Protect v7.1.3 an additional method to place the server in maintenance mode was introduced. In the documentation maintenance mode is described as “….the preferred method for starting the server before you begin maintenance or reconfiguration tasks”. Actions like verifying a server upgrade or a restored server database comes to mind. During maintenance mode, operations that might disrupt maintenance or reconfiguration tasks are automatically disabled. Basically all tasks that are related to the adjustment and movement of data. These are:

Administrative schedules Client schedules Reclamation Expiration Migration Client sessions are actively refused

During maintenance mode, the manual start of reclamation, expiration and migration is allowed.

The DSMSERV utility is now extended and placing a server in maintenance mode is now as simple as issuing: DSMSERV MAINTENANCE

maintenancemode1

Check for the output of ANR3415I:

maintenancemode2

This is the corresponding help text:

maintenancemode3

A piece of history for the old timers:
In the past maintenance mode was called starting the server in “Stand-alone” (sometimes “Single-user”) mode. But that list also included disabling all administrative sessions. The above list can be translated to:

DescriptionOption or commandRemark
Disable administrative and client schedules DISABLESCheds Yes Translates to: ANR2718W Schedule manager disabled
Reclamation and migration NOMIGRRECL
Expiration EXPINterval 0
Administrative and client sessions are actively refused DISAble SESSions CLIent

The only noticeable difference is that in the new, out of the box, maintenance mode it is not purely stand-alone as other administrators then yourself are allowed to connect to the Spectrum Protect server. But that can be easily fixed with the “disable sessions all” command.

To place a server in stand-alone mode: halt the server, place NOMIGRRECL, DISABLESCHEDS YES and EXPINTERVAL in dsmserv.opt, start the server and type “disable sessions all” as soon as it is available.

The return to normal mode: halt the server, remove the options from dsmserv.opt, start the server and type “enable sessions all”.

This was the procedure for many years, but now there is the convenient DSMSERV MAINTENANCE option. Explore it and update all your DR procedures :-)

For an IBM Training demo of this, check this YouTube video:

—- Tommy Hueber

Original author: tommy
2 comments
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Comments

Fri April 08, 2016 11:55 AM

But what I really need is a maintenance mode for clients!

One of my biggest headaches is to manage the periodic maintenance of TSM clients.

I'd love a switch that says to TSM, client by client, or group of clients, not to perform some schedules (but, for instance, to keep my SQLLOG schedules).

Can't simply lock nodes as we must support receiving transaction logs even during maintenance.

I have developed a script to generate TSM macros to:

  • Disassiciate schedules (separate macros for all but SQLLOG and then for only SQLLOG)
  • Perform backups (we use a schedule naming convention of DDHHMMschedule_type) with separate macros for each schedule type.
  • Associate schedules

But now have to re-create this to facilitate breaking-down lists as we occassionally have requirements change during maintenance and breaking the sets is difficult.

Having 'custom' fields on the NODES record (heck all records written by a REGister or DEFine command) would help facilitate this process.

Thu January 14, 2016 12:16 PM

spectrum Protect

Spectrum product has agood idea with training, eben though i missed it when they came to d.c, but got some contacts and notes, these guys are doing a god job.really makes the job easier. lol!