Specifying configuration parameters for IBM Storage Protect

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After Data Protection for SQL Server is registered to IBM Storage® Protect, you must configure the node name, password, the communications method, and the appropriate parameters to connect to the IBM Storage Protect server.

About this task

Parameter values are stored in an options file that is located by default in the Data Protection for SQL Server installation directory.

Procedure

  1. Use a text editor to edit the dsm.opt options file.
    The dsm.opt options file includes the following parameters, which are necessary for initial configuration:
    COMMMethod
    Specify the communication protocol to use between the Data Protection for SQL Server node and the IBM Storage Protect server. Depending on the commmethod option that you choose, specify one of the following connectivity parameters for the commmethod values.
    • For all backups, specify the COMMMethod option in the Data Protection for SQL Server options file.
    • For VSS backups, specify the COMMMethod option in the backup-archive client options file that is used as the Local DSMAGENT Node. If the environment is configured for VSS offloaded backups, you must also specify the COMMMethod option in the backup-archive client options file that is used as the Remote DSMAGENT Node.
    NODename
    Specify the IBM Storage Protect node name that IBM Storage Protect uses to identify the system that runs Data Protection for SQL Server.
    PASSWORDAccess
    Specify either the default generate value to generate a password automatically, or specify the prompt password to respond to a request for a password.
  2. Optional: modify the default values for the following parameters:
    CLUSTERnode
    Leave this option blank. The default value is used.
    COMPRESSIon
    Specify the compression yes option if any of the following conditions exist:
    • The network adapter has a data overload
    • Communications between Data Protection for SQL Server and IBM Storage Protect server are over a low-bandwidth connection
    • Heavy network traffic exists
    • You can also use the compressalways yes option (with the compression yes setting) to specify that file compression must continue even if the file grows as a result of data compression.
    Specify the compression no option if any of the following conditions exist:
    • The computer that runs Data Protection for SQL Server has a processor overload; the added processor usage might cause issues for other applications that include the server. You can monitor processor and network resource usage with the Performance Monitor program that is included with Windows™.
    • You are not constrained by network bandwidth; you can achieve the best performance by leaving the compression no option unchanged and enabling hardware compaction on the tape drive, which also reduces storage requirements.
    • For legacy backups, specify the COMPRESSIon option in the Data Protection for SQL Server options file.
    • For VSS backups, specify the COMPRESSIon option in the backup-archive client options file that is used as the local DSMAGENT node. If the environment is configured for VSS offloaded backups, specify the COMPRESSIon option in the backup-archive client options file that is used as the remote DSMAGENT node
    DEDUPLication

    Specify whether the IBM Storage Protect API deduplicates data before the data is sent to the IBM Storage Protect server. Specify Yes or No. The value applies only if IBM Storage Protect allows client-side data deduplication.

    When you specify both deduplication and ENABLELANFree options, the deduplication option is ignored.

    You can enable client-side data deduplication by specifying DEDUPLICATION YES in the dsm.opt file.

    ENABLECLIENTENCRYPTKEY
    Specify this option to encrypt databases during backup and restore processing by generating one random encryption key per session.
    Restriction: You can back up encrypted VSS databases only to the IBM Storage Protect server. .

    You can specify DES56 (56 bit), AES128 (128 bit), or AES256 (256 bit). The most secure data encryption method is AES256.

    In the options file, you must also specify the databases that you want to encrypt by adding an include statement with the include.encrypt option.

    For VSS backups, specify the encryption options in the backup-archive client options file that is used as the local DSMAGENT node. If the environment is configured for VSS offloaded backups, specify the encryption options in the backup-archive client options file that is used as the remote DSMAGENT node.

    If you make changes in the backup-archive client options file, ensure that you restart the IBM Storage Protect Client Acceptor Daemon (CAD) service for the SQL Server.

    ENABLELANFree
    If you run data backup and restore operations in a LAN-free environment, specify the ENABLELANFree option. For VSS backups, specify ENABLELANFree yes in the backup-archive client options file that is used as the local DSMAGENT node. If the environment is configured for VSS offloaded backups, specify ENABLELANFree yes in the backup-archive client options file that is used as the remote DSMAGENT node.

    For legacy backups, specify ENABLELANFree yes in the Data Protection for SQL Server dsm.opt file.

What to do next

You can create more Data Protection for SQL Server options files to point to another IBM Storage Protect server. You can create more than one options file, where each file contains different parameters to use with a single IBM Storage Protect server.