Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) Frequently Asked Questions - Part 2

Check the previous 50 TSM Interview Questions

51) what wiil u do when the recovery log reaches to 95% ?

first cancel the all the process except database back up.

Then go for show logpin to  check which session is pinning the recovery log and cancel that sessions

Cancel session sessionno

52) what will u do when the migration is slow ?

storge pool migration  depends on no of mount points in the library,

Increase the no of migration processes.

Avoid migration during back up.

53) what will u do when migration fail?

when there is no scratch volumes available  available in target storage pool the migration may fail. If there is no tape drives available then migration may fail.

Sol) update the storage pool  to increase the scrstch volumes.

Verify the if any of the drives are offline  then update the path and drive.

54) what reason the database back up fails ?

if there is no tape drives availability, no scratch volumes available.

55) how to take the db back up?

backup db decvice class=devcname type=full/inc/snapshot

56) How to restore a client file ?

restore  filepath     –su=yes.

57) interactive mode and non inter active mode?

inter active mode: dsmc with out parameter invoke the command line. 

Non inter active mode:dsmc with parameter invokes the commandline

58) how can u migrate the data manually ?

migrate stg stgname  lowmig= % 

59) how can u do the reclamation manually?

reclaim stg stgname

60) what is inventory expiration?

inventory expiration is the process to delete the expired data(the data which is expire based on the copy group parameters)

Also Read: Difference between Server-side and Client-side Deduplication

61) what is scheduling ?what are the types of scheduling ?

scheduling is use to automate the process of   administrative commands and baclient operation at specific date and time when the schedule is activated.

1)administrative schedule

2)client scheduling

Scheduling modes :client polling ,sever promted

Client polling:in tmis mode client contact the server   to find out whether there is schedule defined for him and when should run it

62) how can u check the no of drives ?

q drive

63) how many no of  slots in ur library ?

it’s based on the model (700) ,no of i/o slots in 60, scrath volumes 20

64) If one of the node tsm client was not working properly, Some time client was working some time it was giving tcp port error?

Reason: There may be another session in the client using the same port. So inform the network admin to change the port number of that service

65)  Some time schedules got failed because of password expired for the node?

Need to register the nodes with thr proper password expire value as per ur environment policy Here I am registering the nodes with the password expiry as "zero".

66) TSM DB "cache hit ratio" should between 98% to 100%. But in our TSM server it was less than 97?

Action:

I have increased the "buffer pool size" as per the below values. now it is more than 99% always.

System (RAM)Memory (MB)   Recommended Buffer Pool Size (KB)  Recommended Buffer Pool Size (MB)

256                                          32678                                             32

512                                          65536                                             64

1024                                        131072                                           128

2048                                        262144                                            256

3072                                        393216                                            384

4096                                        524288                                            512

67)   Unix

Saving and Closing

[esc]

:wq!

Save changes and quit

[esc]

:w!

Save without quitting

[esc]

:q!

Quit without saving

[esc]

:w newfile

Save as a different file name

68) How this LOGPINNING works ?

Step 1) Check the log utilization first, using command q log <<

TSM_SERVER>q log

Available Assigned   Maximum   Maximum    Page     Total      Used   Pct  Max.

    Space Capacity Extension Reduction    Size    Usable     Pages  Util   Pct

     (MB)     (MB)      (MB)      (MB) (bytes)     Pages                  Util

--------- -------- --------- --------- ------- --------- --------- ----- -----

   12,288   12,288         0     4,672   4,096 3,145,216 1,948,198  61.9  62.0

Step 2) If the LOG utilization is more than regular, then check which is pinning the LOG utilization, using command >> show logpin

TSM_SERVER>sh logpin

Dirty page Lsn=19212493.185.2168, Last DB backup Lsn=19209505.150.728,

Transaction table Lsn=19205104.4.2091, Running DB backup Lsn=19205104.4.2091,

Log truncation Lsn=19205104.4.2091

Lsn=19205104.4.2091, Owner=DB, Length=56

Type=Update, Flags=82, Action=SetIcb, Page=10953728, Tsn=0:3958938980,

PrevLsn=0.0.0, UndoNextLsn=0.0.0, UpdtLsn=0.0.0 ===> Bit Offset = 594

(312713) Generating SM Context Report:

(312713)  *** no sessions found ***

(475) Generating SM Context Report:

(475)  *** no sessions found ***

(312712) Generating SM Context Report:

(312712) Session 227317:    Type=Node,   Id=SAP_HIG

(312712)   Platform=TDP R3 AIX, NodeId=760, Owner=

(312712)   SessType=4, Index=4, TermReason=0

(312712)   RecvWaitTime=0.000  (samples=0)

(312712)   Backup  Objects ( bytes )  Inserted: 0 ( 0.0 )

(312712)   Backup  Objects ( bytes )  Restored: 0 ( 0.0 )

(312712)   Archive Objects ( bytes )  Inserted: 0 ( 0.0 )

(312712)   Archive Objects ( bytes ) Retrieved: 0 ( 0.0 )

(312712)   Last Verb ( ConfirmResp ), Last Verb State ( Sent )

Session 227317 is assoicated with this transaction.

The recovery log is pinned by a data base backup that is currently running.

Step 3) Check the session details, which is pinning the log.

TSM_SERVER>q sess 227317 f=d

Sess Number: 227,317

Comm. Method: Tcp/Ip

Sess State: RecvW

Wait Time: 0 S

Bytes Sent: 22.6 K

Bytes Recvd: 185.5 G

Sess Type: Node

Platform: TDP R3 AIX

Client Name: SAP_HIG

Media Access Status:

User Name:

Date/Time First Data Sent: 12/26/2008 18:00:39

Proxy By Storage Agent:

Step 4) From the above OUTPUT, Node SAP_HIG is started the abckup at 26th December 18:00 hrs, till now, 185.5.GB backup has completed.

Remeber this is running in LAN. As per IBM, If the backup data running in LAN is more than 150GB. It should be changed to LANFREE.

Since this session is running in LAN, It is pinning the recovery log.

Step 5) Cancel the session which is pinning the LOG.

TSM_SERVER>cancel   sess 227317

Cancelling session 227317.

49) What are all TSM Server parameters help to increase the server performance?

Rescource Utilization.

Buffer pool Size.

Number of Clients.

Database Size must be under controlled.

Not to use Show, Few Select commands.

50) What are all parameters helps to increase backup performance?

Adapter from Client side, should have 1GBPS NIC.

Increase Transaction Byte Limit value in DSM.OPT

If the backup is going to TAPE, better to use Latest LTO technology to speed up the Backup performance.

51) What are all actions you will perform to speed up the restoration?

Keep the Client Data in DISK Storage Pool itself for few days using MIGDELAY value, So that When ever we restore that data It will be faster since it is in DISK.

Increase Transaction Byte Limit value in, Mount Points in Client DSM.OPT.

Use Collocation enabled for the Node.

52) How to check the number of slots in library?

show slots libraryname  >> will show each and every information about slots.

Ex: PVR slot information for library DDSST05.

Library          : LIBR3584

Product Id       : 03584L32        

Support module   : 4

Mount count      : 3             No of drives Mounted.

Drives           : 6                     Total No. of Drives.           

Slots            : 1063

Changers         : 2                >>>>>>>> It means that GRIPPERS are 2

Import/Exports   : 10

Device           : /dev/st05_smc101

Drive   0, element 257

Drive   1, element 258

Drive   2, element 259

Drive   3, element 260

Drive   4, element 261

Drive   5, element 262

Changer 0, element 1

Changer 1, element 2

Slot 0, status Cleaner, element number 1025, barcode not present, barcode value

<>, devT=LTO, mediaT=387, elemT=ANY

Slot 1, status Cleaner, element number 1026, barcode not present, barcode value

<>, devT=LTO, mediaT=387, elemT=ANY

Slot 2, status Cleaner, element number 1027, barcode not present, barcode value

<>, devT=LTO, mediaT=387, elemT=ANY

53)  How to find and resolve when the drive is continuously generating errors?

From TSM Server, We can check the drive errors in activity log using,

q act se=drivename begind=-1 endd=today

From AIX,

errpt | more

To resolve the drive issue,

Check the drive element address, using > q dr libraryname f=d

Also Read: TSM Server Performance Tuning Parameters

54) What are the latest features of TSM 5.5?

TSM 5.5 includes integrated key management for encrypted backups, support for VMware's Consolidated Backup option (VCB),

Snapshot support for Microsoft applications,

The ability to do multiple simultaneous restores on sequential disk and the ability to restart the movement of TSM instances from one server to another.

55) How to configure LANFREE?

From TSM Server side, you have to define the server and have to define the paths to all the drives.

define server <Servername> hladdress=<Servername> lladdress=<LANFREE portnumber> serverpassword=<Server Password>

define path SERVERNAME DriveNAME srctype=server desttype=drive library=<Library Name> device=/dev/rmt3

From the Client Side,

Install Storage Agent Software, ATAPE driver, CFGMGR, and configure dsmstopt and devconf.file

Then Start the DSMSTA process,

56) To check whether all the drives configured properly or not in Storage Agent, use this command?

lsdev –Cc tape

57) To check Whether Storage Agent Process is running or not?

ps –ef | grep dsmsta

58) How to check whether drive is configured properly or not?

In AIX, lsdev –Cc tape

From TSM Server, q drive libraryname drivename f=d

Here you can find whether drive is online or not

AIX COMMANDS

lsdev –Cc tape  To check the Configured TAPE drives,

                                To check information about Ethernet Adapter 1,

prtconf                  To find the complete information about the AIX system.

                                                [Processor, Memory, Hard Disk]

59) What are the server configuration files? Explain in detail?

Also Read: How to increase TSM restore performance

60) What is Reclamation, Migration? How will you do it manually?

Reclamation: It is the process moving the active  data from fragmented volumes to single or few no of volumes. It makes the fragmented volumes reusable.

Command: Reclaim stg poolname threshold=number duration=minutes offsitereclaimimit=no of volumes

Migration: This is used to migrate files from one storage pool to the next storage pool

Command: Migrate stgpool poolname lowmig=number duration=minutes reclaim=yes/no.

61) Mention the reasons for migration fail?

Migdelay and vol out of space.

62) Have you ever implemented new TSM server? what is the process?

63) what is the procedure to take backup from new Backup/Archive client?

64) How will you do the restore to a client system if you have access?

Restore path

Restore path –pick(To restore a particular file)

65) What is the maximum size of recovery log?

13 GB

66) What will you do if recovery log reaches 98%?

Issue show logpin command and cancel all the inactive processes that are pinning the log.

67) Is there any other process other than show logpin?

68) How many Servers & Clients do you have in your company?

8 severs,1500 clients.

69) What are your Daily activites?

 Health check of TSM servers.

 Checking

 status,If any missed or failed schedules resolving the problem.

70) Mention any other commands other than q db,q log?

Using SELECT commands we can do

71) What are the parameters in copy group?

72) How will you configure schedule in client?

73) What is command to take DB Backup?

Backup DB devc=deviceclass type=full/incremental/snapshot

74) Do you have idea about Exchange, TDP oracle, TDP SQL?

Yes I know about TDP SQL

75) How will you take scheduling backup in TDP SQL?

LIBRARY

94) What type of library model you are using?

95) How many drives do you have?

96) what is the model of the tape you are using?What is its size?

LTO 3

Size:400 GB,when compressed 800 GB

97) What will yu do when drives went offfline?

98) Is you library is shared?How you shared it?

YES

Define library library_name library type= manual/scsi/349x  autolabel=yes/no shared=yes/no

99) Is your library is logically shared or physically shared?

Logically shared

100) If logically shared is all drives accessible to all servers?

NO