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