Adding and configuring space management for a file system

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When you add space management to a file system, you indicate how and when files are migrated and recalled. You can also deactivate, reactivate, and remove space management from a file system.

Note:
  • To add and configure space management for a file system, you must have root user authority.
  • The space management client can work only on mounted file systems. Before you can migrate files to IBM Storage® Protect server storage, first mount your file systems either automatically or manually and then add space management.
  • During the mount process and while the space management client is adding space management to your file systems, do not attempt to access any files in your file systems. Do not perform any tasks against your file systems.

When you add space management to a file system, the space management client completes the following tasks:

  • Creates a hidden directory for the file system named .SpaceMan that stores certain information objects that are required for space management.
  • Creates the hsmfsconfig.xml file in the .SpaceMan directory of the file system. This file contains the space management settings that you selected.
    Remember: The .SpaceMan directory is not processed by the IBM Storage Protect backup-archive client. Copy the hsmfsconfig.xml file to a directory that is included for automatic backups so that the IBM Storage Protect backup-archive client can process the file.
  • Updates mount information for the native file system.
  • Starts space management for the file system.

    For GPFS™ file systems, the dsmwatchd daemon starts at system startup with an entry in the etc/inittab file or with the initctl service. Ensure that DMAPI is enabled on all GPFS file systems that the space management client manages. Issue the following command to query this information: /usr/lpp/mmfs/bin/mmlsfs DevicePath -z.

    If Data Management Application Programming Interface (DMAPI) is disabled, enable it with following command: /usr/lpp/mmfs/bin/mmchfs DevicePath -z yes.

    On GPFS file systems, you can change the value for the DMAPI enablement to YES only if the file system is unmounted on all nodes of the cluster. When DMAPI is enabled, the file system can be mounted only if a dsmrecalld daemon is set up on one of the cluster nodes within the IBM® Storage Scale cluster.

    For information about configuring IBM Storage Scale integration with the space management client, see Technote 7018848.

HSM-created stub files on your space-managed file systems are bound to the space-managed file system. You cannot do the following tasks:

  • Move stub files as native stub files (without the migrated data) to other file systems, even if the other file system is space-managed.
  • Use the IBM Storage Protect raw device backup utility or any other image-based backup utility to restore a space-managed file system to a system other than the original system.
  • Use space-managed file systems within cluster replication tools.
  • Use any other tools that transfer images between systems.

The following are more considerations:

  • You cannot add space management to file systems such as the root file system and the temp file system.
  • You can add space management to a nested file system.
  • You can add space management to an exported file system.

Do not add space management to the /usr and /var file systems. All of those file systems contain files that your operating system uses regularly.