Clients

View client status and configuration information.

The table shows clients that are registered to the servers that are managed by the Operations Center. Clients are sometimes called client nodes.

The table shows the servers to which the clients back up data, and shows if there was a problem in backing up data. If a server replicates the client data to a target server, and replication is enabled for the client, the target server and replication workload are shown. However, only clients that are configured as the source of replicated data are shown in the table.

Clients that are registered to target replication servers and are configured to receive the replicated data are not shown in this table.

Tip: To view the clients that are defined to target replication servers, issue the QUERY NODE command. Look for the value Receive in the Replication Mode field of the output.

A client is usually equivalent to a computer, for example, a backup-archive client that is installed on a workstation for file system backups.

However, multiple clients can be installed on a single computer, for example, a Microsoft SQL server that contains both an application client for SQL database backups and a backup-archive client for file system backups.

The following actions and status indicators are available on the page:

Alerts
The Client category that is shown in the Alerts list provides a count of alerts for clients that do not correspond to another client category. This category does not summarize all the client alerts.
Applications, Virtual Machines, Systems, and Object Clients
The following client types are shown in the Operations Center:
Applications
The following clients are application clients:
  • IBM Spectrum Protect for Enterprise Resource Planning
  • IBM Spectrum Protect Snapshot
  • IBM Spectrum Protect for Databases
  • IBM Spectrum Protect for Mail
  • IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments (except for VMware vSphere clients, which are classified as system clients)
A virtual machine that is backed up by using application client software that is installed on the virtual machine itself is also classified as an application client.
Virtual Machines
A virtual machine is the individual guest host within a hypervisor. Each virtual machine is represented as a file space.
To be classified as a virtual machine, a client must meet the following requirements:
  • It is not registered to an IBM Spectrum Protect server as a client.
  • It is backed up by an IBM Spectrum Protect client that is installed outside the virtual machine.
    Tip: This separately-installed client, called a data center node, is classified as an application client, even if it is technically a system client.
Systems
Backup-archive and API clients are classified as system clients.
System clients also include the following items:
  • A IBM Spectrum Protect source server in a server-to-server virtual volume configuration
  • A virtual machine that is backed up by using backup-archive client software that is installed on the virtual machine itself
  • VMware vSphere clients
Object Clients
An object client is an application that accesses the server by making S3 requests to store and retrieve objects. A software agent, called the object agent, receives the S3 requests from the object client and communicates with the server to complete the request. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is the only exploiter of this client type. All object clients represent an IBM Spectrum Protect Plus server.
Details
Use the Details notebook to monitor activity history and to view or change client properties. You can also access the web client interface and view diagnostic information for resolving backup issues.
Tip: If the "Activity over 2 Weeks" table on the Summary page shows that a client was backed up but does not show any data, the network connection might have been interrupted during the backup.
Back Up
Creates a one-time backup action. The backup uses the settings from the most recent scheduled backup for the selected clients, whether or not the previous backup completed successfully.

The backup runs only for the selected clients, not for all the clients that use the schedule.

The following restrictions apply:
  • This action is only available if the server scheduling mode is set to Prompted.

    You can change the scheduling mode on the Properties page for the server (Servers > Details > Properties > Sessions and Schedules > Poll by client or prompt by server).

    Additional configuration might be required to use this scheduling mode.

  • Only backups that are scheduled by IBM Spectrum Protect can be run again. Unscheduled backups, or those that are managed through operating system utilities or other scheduling tools are not eligible.
  • Backups cannot be run again for the following types of clients: network-attached storage (NAS) clients, virtual machines, or data center nodes.
  • Only the following types of backups can be run again: Incremental, Selective, Command, and Macro. Other schedule types are ignored.
  • A client that has not yet backed up can only be backed up if it is associated with a single schedule. If such a client is associated with multiple schedules, an error message is shown.
Tip: For an IBM Spectrum Protect schedule to run, the client computer must be turned on. The client must also run the client scheduler or must allow the client acceptor daemon to start the scheduler.

To create a client schedule, use the + Schedule action on the Client Schedules page.

Set At Risk
By default, the at-risk settings that are specified on the Settings page apply for all the clients that are managed by the Operations Center (Settings icon > Settings > General).

You can, optionally, use the Set At Risk action to customize the individual at-risk settings for one or more clients. For example, to reduce the number of false risk indications, you can bypass clients that are no longer associated with regular backup schedules.

You can select one of the following at-risk modes:
Default
The client uses the at-risk settings that are specified on the Settings page. Any future changes to these settings are applied to the client.
Bypass
The Operations Center does not show the client as being at risk.
Custom
The client is shown as being at risk if it does not back up during the time interval that you specify. This setting overrides the default settings for the client.
Set Replication
Enables or disables replication for the selected clients. If you set replication on (enable replication) for a client, the data it backs up to the server is replicated to the target server. If you set replication off (disable replication) for a client, the data that it backs up to the server is not replicated to another server.

Before you can enable replication for the client, you must first pair its server with a target server for replication. You can define a replication server pair from the Replication page.

You can select multiple clients in the table, and set replication on or off for all of them. However, you can set replication for multiple clients only if there are all enabled or all disabled. To identify a client's current replication state, select the client, and click Details > Properties. You can also identify which clients are disabled by looking at the Replication Workload column. For any client row that shows a dash instead of a workload, hover over the dash to see whether replication is disabled for the client.

Replicate
Starts replication for the selected clients. You can use this action if scheduled client-replication tasks fail.

This action replicates data in file spaces that belong to the selected clients. If a replication task is already running for a client, the client is skipped and replication begins for other selected clients.

Tip: You can start replication for all clients on a server from the Replication page of the Operations Center.
Decommission
Removes the selected clients from backup schedules and locks the clients to prevent access to the server.
Important: You cannot recommission a client. To back up the client system again, you must register a new client and associate it with a schedule.

After decommissioning, the client data is no longer backed up. Files that were backed up prior to decommissioning are not immediately deleted. However, all backup file versions, including the most recent backup, become inactive copies. The files are retained on the server according to your policy settings.

After file retention periods expire and all client backup and archive file copies are removed from server storage, the associated file spaces are deleted and the client definition is deleted from the server.

Tip: A client will never be deleted if it uses a management class that retains data indefinitely.

You can manage retention by using the Keep Extra Backups and Keep Archives settings on the Properties page for the policy domain that stores the client data (Services > Details > Policy Sets).

Clean Up
Deactivates any active backup data that was stored before the date and time that you specify. The data can no longer be retrieved, and will be deleted according to your storage management policies.

Data that was backed up after the specified date and time are still accessible, and the client continues to back up data according its schedule associations.

Restriction: This action is only available for application clients that protect Oracle databases.
At Risk
A client is considered to be at risk if a problem occurs during its most recent scheduled backup, or during a backup that starts within a specified time interval. The term backup also includes archive operations for the following client types:
  • IBM Spectrum Protect for Enterprise Resource Planning
  • IBM Spectrum Protect for Databases
  • IBM Spectrum Protect for Mail
Archive data for other client types is not considered backup data for at-risk status.
Tip: For replicated clients, the at-risk status is shown only for clients that are registered on a source replication server.

The default at-risk time intervals are specified when you initially configure the Operations Center, and can be changed on the Settings page (Settings icon > Settings > General).

The following states can be shown:
Missed or failed status icon Missed
A backup was scheduled, but there was no contact by the client. Ensure that the client is running, and that there are no network issues.
Missed or failed status icon Failed
A scheduled backup started, but did not complete (return code 12).

Review the dsmerror.log and dsmsched.log files on the client system to determine which error messages were issued and to assess their impact on the operation.

This risk state usually means that the error was severe enough to prevent the successful completion of the operation.

Warning and skipped status icon Warning
A scheduled backup completed with warnings (return code 8).

Review the dsmerror.log and dsmsched.log files on the client system to determine which warning messages were issued and to assess their impact on the operation.

Tip: You can, optionally, exclude this condition from being reported as an "at risk" indicator by using the Settings page (Settings icon > Settings > General).
Warning and skipped status icon Skipped
A scheduled backup completed, but some files were not backed up (return code 4).
This risk state is very common. Files are not processed for various reasons. The most common reasons are:
  • The file satisfies an entry in an exclude list.
  • The file was in use by another application and could not be accessed by the client.
  • The file changed during the operation to an extent that is prohibited by the copy serialization attribute.
Tip: You can, optionally, exclude this condition from being reported as an "at risk" indicator by using the Settings page (Settings icon > Settings > General).
Policy status icon Policy
A backup did not complete during the configured status interval, which is 24 hours, by default.

This state applies to unscheduled backups or backups that are not scheduled by IBM Spectrum Protect.

If a backup was expected, ensure that the client node is running, and that there are no network issues.

Data status icon Data
For a virtual machine, a backup started during the configured status interval, but has not yet completed.

For application or system clients, a backup completed with skipped files or failures during the configured status interval, which is 24 hours, by default.

This state applies to unscheduled backups or backups that are not scheduled by IBM Spectrum Protect.

It is very common for files to be skipped. This typically occurs for the following reasons:
  • The file satisfies an entry in an exclude list.
  • The file was in use by another application and could not be accessed by the client.
  • The file changed during the operation to an extent that is prohibited by the copy serialization attribute.
Unsupported status icon Unsupported
The IBM Spectrum Protect client software version is not supported by the IBM Spectrum Protect server. Upgrade the client to a current software version.
Unknown status icon Unknown
Status cannot be obtained. Ensure that the IBM Spectrum Protect server on which the client is registered is running, and that there are no network issues.

You can also look for related alerts on the Alerts page to help determine the cause of the problem.

Decommissioned status icon Decommissioned
The client was removed from schedules and locked to prevent access to the server.

To back up the client system again, you must register a new client and associate it with a schedule.

Bypass status icon Bypassed
At-risk warnings are suppressed for the client.

To change the at-risk settings, use the Set At Risk action.

Active backup icon Active
The client has an active server connection, for example, to back up files. At-risk status cannot be determined.
— Not Applicable
The at-risk status is not applicable because the client is a data center node in a virtual environment or has no backup data on the server.
Replication
Two ways to configure replication are available in IBM Spectrum Protect. The information that is shown in this column depends on which of the following methods were used to configure replication.
Command-initiated replication
Traditionally, a replication server pair was established by issuing the SET REPLSERVER command and replication processing was initiated by the issuing the REPLICATE NODE command. For directory-container storage pools, data extents could also be copied to the target replication server by using the PROTECT STGPOOL. In the Operations Center, you could define the replication server pair and set up the administrative schedule for the REPLICATE NODE command by using the Add Server Pair wizard. When you were defining a directory-container storage pool by using the Add Server Pair wizard, the wizard could define administrative schedules for the PROTECT STGPOOL command.

If replication is configured to use only this command-initiated replication, then this column contains a workload bar for each client that is replicating data. The workload bar is shown only if command-initiated replication is used exclusively across all servers that are managed by the Operations Center. The workload bar shows the total amount of data to be replicated for the client.

If replication tasks are running, the workload bar highlights the progress of the replication tasks. A marker on the workload bar shows the projected amount of data to be replicated for the running tasks in relation to the overall workload.

To view details about the workload, hover over the workload bar.

Storage-rule initiated replication
Starting in Version 8.1.13, replication can also be initiated by a replication storage rule. A replication storage rule defines a replication server pair. If the replication storage rule is enabled, it runs once a day at a specified time to replicate data from the source replication server to the target replication server. If any server that is managed by the Operations Center defines a replication storage rule, then this column contains a link that opens the Client Replication page for the client. The Client Replication page shows the replication status of each of client file space.
Tip: If replication is configured, you can enable or disable replication for a client by selecting the client and clicking More > Set Replication.
Locked
To unlock a client, use the UNLOCK NODE command.
Version
This column is not shown by default, but you can add it to the table.

A virtual machine inherits the version number of its client node owner. If a proxy node is used to back up the virtual machine, a version number might not be shown.

Next Schedule Start
This column is not shown by default, but you can add it to the table.

The following information is shown when you hover over the clock icon:

Start time
Specifies when the start window begins. The start window is the time period during which the scheduled operation must start. The operation can start at any time within the start window.
Tip: The start window does not limit how long the scheduled operation can run.
Last run time
Specifies how long the scheduled operation took to complete. If a value is not shown, the schedule that is shown in the Next Schedule column did not yet run or last ran before the event-record retention period (by default, 14 days).
End time
If the scheduled operation exceeds the specified time, the IBM Spectrum Protect server issues a warning message. By default, this message generates an alert.

This setting does not stop a scheduled operation from running to completion.

Front-end Capacity
Shows the estimated capacity usage that applies against IBM Spectrum Protect Suite front-end license entitlements. For more information, see the Licensing page (Settings icon > Licensing).
Snapshots

This column applies only to virtual machine clients that are managed by OSSM. A snapshot is a copy of the virtual machine at a specific point in time. SLA policies that are defined on IBM Spectrum Protect Plus determine when snapshots are backed up to directory-container storage pools that are managed by IBM Spectrum Protect. The column shows the number of snapshots that are available. These snapshots can be restored by using IBM Spectrum Protect Plus.

To view a list of the snapshots, click the number that is displayed in this column.

OSSM Managed
Open Snap Store Manager (OSSM) enables an IBM Spectrum Protect Plus server to back up virtual machine snapshots to directory-container storage pools that are managed by IBM Spectrum Protect. An OSSM instance is installed on the same system as the IBM Spectrum Protect server and is a gateway through which the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus server can access IBM Spectrum Protect resources.

On the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus server, service level agreement (SLA) policies, also known as backup policies, define parameters for backup jobs. These parameters include the frequency at which virtual machine snapshots are backed up to IBM Spectrum Protect. To manage these snapshot backups on the IBM Spectrum Protect server, OSSM creates client nodes to represent the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus server and the virtual machines that its SLAs protect.

For a virtual machine, you can view information about the virtual machine snapshots that were backed up. To view the snapshots, select the virtual machine and click Details > Snapshots.

For more information about using IBM Spectrum Protect commands, see the IBM Spectrum Protect documentation.