Description

The description option assigns or specifies a description for files when performing archive, delete archive, retrieve, query archive, or query backupset.

For example, if you want to archive a file named budget.jan and assign to it the description 2002 Budget for Proj 1, you would enter: Mac OS X operating systemsOracle Solaris operating systemsLinux operating systemsAIX operating systems
   dsmc archive –des="2003 Budget for Proj 1" /home/plan/
   proj1/budget.jan
Windows operating systems
   dsmc archive –des="2003 Budget for Proj 1" c:\plan\proj1\
   budget.jan
Note:
  1. The maximum length of a description is 254 characters.
  2. Enclose the value in quotation marks (" ") if the option value that you enter contains a blank space.

Use the description option with the following commands:

  • archive
  • delete archive
  • query archive
  • query backupset
  • retrieve
Mac OS X operating systemsWindows operating systemsOracle Solaris operating systemsLinux operating systemsAIX operating systems

Supported Clients

This option is valid for all clients. The IBM Spectrum Protect API does not support this option.

Syntax

Read syntax diagramSkip visual syntax diagramDEScription =  description

Parameters

description
Assigns a description to the file you are archiving. If you do not specify a description with the archive command, the default is Archive Date:x, where x is the current system date. Note that the date is always 10 characters long. If your date format uses a two digit year, there are two blank spaces at the end of the date. For example, a default description using a four-digit year might be "Archive Date: 2002/05/03", and the same default with a two-digit year might be "Archive Date: 02/05/03 " (note the two spaces at the end). When retrieving files using the two-digit year description, you can enter the -description option string in either of the following ways: 
-description="ArchiveDate: 02/05/03  "
 or
-description="ArchiveDate: 02/05/03*"

If you use the archive command to archive more than one file, the description you enter applies to each file. For example, to archive a group of files and assign the same description, Project X, to each file, you would enter:

Mac OS X operating systems
dsmc archive –description="Project X" "/Users/van/Documents/*.x"
Mac OS X operating systemsOracle Solaris operating systemsLinux operating systemsAIX operating systems
   dsmc archive –description="Project X" "/home/allproj/.*"
Windows operating systems
   dsmc archive –description="Project X" c:\allproj\*.x

You can then use the description to retrieve all of the files.

Examples

Command line:
Mac OS X operating systems
dsmc archive "/Users/van/Documents/*.prj" -des="2003 Budget for Proj 1"
Mac OS X operating systemsOracle Solaris operating systemsLinux operating systemsAIX operating systems
dsmc archive "/home/foo/*.prj" –des="2003 Budget for Proj 1"
dsmc query backupset –loc=server –descr="My Laptop"
Windows operating systems
dsmc archive –des="2003 Budget for Proj 1" c:\foo\ *.prj