BACKINT configuration file

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The BACKINT configuration file (.utl) includes parameters for the SAP with Oracle BACKINT interface and the backup server. The file extension for the BACKINT configuration file is .utl.

Figure 1. SAP with Oracle, IBM® Storage Protect Snapshot with IBM Storage Protect

Illustration of SAP with Oracle IBM Storage Protect Snapshot with IBM Storage Protect

If IBM Storage Protect Snapshot is used with IBM Storage Protect for Enterprise Resource Planning to protect an SAP system that runs with an Oracle database. The parameters that are typically specified in the CLIENT section can be added to the IBM Storage Protect for Enterprise Resource Planning configuration file (.utl file).

If the parameters are specified in the IBM Storage Protect for Enterprise Resource Planning configuration file, IBM Storage Protect Snapshot does not require a separate .utl file.

When you use the IBM Storage Protect Snapshot setup script, new instances of the DEVICE_CLASS parameter are added to the CLIENT section of the profile configuration file. If you use IBM Storage Protect Snapshot with IBM Storage Protect for Enterprise Resource Planning, the IBM Storage Protect Snapshot profile does not contain a CLIENT section.

The following list describes each parameter, associated values, and default values that are relevant for IBM Storage Protect Snapshot in the .utl file. The TSM_BACKUP_FROM_SNAPSHOT, TARGET_DATABASE_SUSPEND, and ACS_DIR parameters are required. All other parameters are optional and are not required to be specified in the .utl file by IBM Storage Protect Snapshot.
TSM_BACKUP_FROM_SNAPSHOT
This parameter is equivalent to the TSM_BACKUP parameter in the IBM Storage Protect Snapshot profile. When a backup server is configured, the offload agent triggers an IBM Storage Protect backup from any snapshot that is created with TSM_BACKUP set to YES, MANDATE, or LATEST.

When IBM Storage Protect Snapshot is used in combination with IBM Storage Protect for Enterprise Resource Planning, the TSM_BACKUP parameter is moved to the .utl file and renamed to TSM_BACKUP_FROM_SNAPSHOTS.

The following options are available:

YES
Create an IBM Storage Protect backup from this snapshot. If the IBM Storage Protect backup operation does not complete successfully, the target set can be reused.
MANDATE
In contrast to YES, the target volumes are not reused until the IBM Storage Protect backup completes successfully.
LATEST
When a snapshot backup was run with TSM_BACKUP_FROM_SNAPSHOT, and the offloaded backup to the IBM Storage Protect server failed or did not start, any new snapshot backup with option TSM_BACKUP_FROM_SNAPSHOT set to LATEST, YES, or MANDATE, removes the backup request to IBM Storage Protect from the previous backup. This removal prevents backup requests to IBM Storage Protect from queuing if the requests cannot be completed in time.
NO
Keep the snapshot backup and do not use it as a source for a subsequent tape backup operation.
TSM_ONLY
The backup is automatically marked for deletion during the unmount operation after the IBM Storage Protect backup is completed. The backup is marked for deletion when the backup is successful and when the backup is unsuccessful.
USE_FOR <list of device classes>
This attribute can be combined with any of the options to limit application to snapshots run with particular device classes as specified in the profile. Use a space to separate device classes.
Default
There is no default value, you must specify a value from one of the possible options.
Advanced mode only
No
MAX_SNAPSHOT_VERSIONS
This parameter is equivalent to the MAX_VERSIONS parameter in the IBM Storage Protect Snapshot profile, and it specifies the number of snapshot versions to keep. When IBM Storage Protect Snapshot is used in combination with IBM Storage Protect for Enterprise Resource Planning, the MAX_VERSIONS parameter is moved to the .utl file and renamed to MAX_SNAPSHOT_VERSIONS.

The following options are available:

ADAPTIVE
The maximum number varies depending on the available space in the storage device. IBM Storage Protect Snapshot reuses the oldest target set as the target for the current backup.
n
Where n is the maximum number of snapshot versions to be stored. When this limit is reached, the oldest version is deleted.
Default
The default value is ADAPTIVE.
Advanced mode only
Yes
LVM_FREEZE_THAW
The LVM_FREEZE_THAW parameter specifies when to enable file system freeze and thaw actions. For more information, see Interdependency of LVM_FREEZE_THAW and TARGET_DATABASE_SUSPEND.

The following options are available:

YES
Enable file system freeze before the snapshot operation and thaw after the snapshot operation. For AIX®, the value YES can be used only when all file systems included in the backup are JFS2 file systems.
NO
Do not enable a freeze. The value NO is required if at least one file system that does not support freeze or thaw actions, such as JFS, is involved.
AUTO
If the TARGET_DATABASE_SUSPEND parameter is YES, then this parameter is set with the following option: LVM_FREEZE_THAW YES. If the file system does not support freeze actions, the AUTO value is NO.
Default
AUTO
Advanced mode only
Yes
TARGET_DATABASE_SUSPEND
The TARGET_DATABASE_SUSPEND parameter determines whether the activity on the target database is suspended until the FlashCopy operation completes. For more information, see Interdependency of LVM_FREEZE_THAW and TARGET_DATABASE_SUSPEND
The following options are available:
YES
Suspend the target database until the FlashCopy® operation completes. Use this value when the level of transaction processing is high.
NO
Do not suspend the target database.
OFFLINE
All backups must be offline. If SAP requests an offline backup, this parameter is ignored.
The values YES and NO imply an online backup type. When you run a backup with OFFLINE specified, the target database on the production system must be in a startup mount state at the time that either acsora or acsutil is issued. Otherwise, recovery must be run to restore the database.
Default
There is no default. A value for this parameter must be specified by the user.
Advanced mode only
No
DEVICE_CLASS
This parameter specifies the device classes to use. The following sample identifies the syntax that can be used with the DEVICE_CLASS parameter:
DEVICE_CLASS <list_of_device_classes> [conditions]
When a list of device classes is specified, the software determines which device class matches the device class in the environment. When multiple device classes are specified, separate the device classes with the space character. The condition statement is optional. When you use the condition statement, use the following syntax:
[USE_AT <days of week>] [FROM <time> TO <time>]
Note: The time period that is specified cannot span midnight for a device class. If a device class time period is required to span midnight, you must specify two time periods for the device class. The first time period must end with a value 1 minute before midnight and the second time period must start at midnight. The following example shows how to specify a time period that spans midnight for a device class:
DEVICE_CLASS myClass FROM 20:00 TO 23:59
DEVICE_CLASS myClass FROM 00:00 TO 06:00

When there are different devices, multiple sections can be used. Each section provides information about a particular device. To select a particular section, use the DEVICE_CLASS parameter. When the software restores data, the software uses the DEVICE_CLASS value that is specified when the data was backed up.

The setup script automatically adds DEVICE_CLASS sections to the IBM Storage Protect Snapshot profile when you add more instances of the DEVICE_CLASS parameter to the CLIENT section of the profile.

Default
STANDARD
Advanced mode only
No.
ALLOW_FULL_FILE_BACKUP

This parameter cannot be changed when you use the setup script. The options are YES and NO. This value specifies whether a full file backup is stored to the repository. Storing a full file backup or a full database backup to the repository affects performance, and is therefore not recommended.

Default
NO
Advanced mode only
Yes
TIMEOUT_FLASH
This parameter specifies the maximum time, in seconds, that the database agent waits for a response to the management agent call during the flash phase. If the database agent does not receive a response within the specified time, an error message is displayed. The TIMEOUT_FLASH parameter allows the maximum time to be specified for a database to be suspended. This parameter also implies the maximum time when JFS2 file systems can be frozen. When the timeout is reached, the file systems thaw, the database is resumed, and the backup operation ends with an error. If the LVM_FREEZE_THAW parameter is set to either AUTO or YES, the minimal value for TIMEOUT_FLASH is 5 seconds. In other scenarios, the minimal value is 1 second.
Default
120 seconds
Advanced mode only
Yes
TIMEOUT_<PHASE>
This parameter specifies the maximum time, in seconds, that the database agent waits for a response to the management agent call during a specific operation phase. If the database agent does not receive a response within the specified time, either the backup or restore operation ends and an error message is shown.
Specify one of the following phase values for a FlashCopy backup:
  • PARTITION
  • PREPARE
  • FLASH (this parameter has a separate description)
  • VERIFY
  • CLOSE
For example, TIMEOUT_PREPARE.
Specify one of the following phase values for a snapshot restore:
  • PREPARERESTORE
  • FLASHRESTORE
  • COMPLETERESTORE
  • CLOSE
For example, TIMEOUT_FLASHRESTORE.
Default
3600 seconds
Advanced mode only
Yes
ACS_DIR
Path to the IBM Storage Protect Snapshot configuration directory. This parameter is required. The following subdirectories are included in this directory:
logs
The subdirectory contains all log and trace information for IBM Storage Protect Snapshot.
shared
The subdirectory contains information that is shared among all IBM Storage Protect Snapshot components.

When the subdirectory is initially created, the only file that is stored in the directory is the password file: pwd.acsd. This file contains the passwords for all devices that are specified within the profile. The file also contains a master password that is used from all components for authentication when they are connecting to the management agent. When you are running remote configuration tasks from the production system with SSH, the information in these directories is promoted to all systems that belong to the instance where IBM Storage Protect Snapshot is configured. When you run configuration tasks separately, you must promote the information manually.

Default
<instance_owner_$HOME>/acs
Advanced mode only
Yes
ACSD

The ACSD is the host name of the system where the management agent is running, and the port it is listening to. The following format is used for ACSD: <hostname> <port>

This parameter must be identical on all systems where IBM Storage Protect Snapshot is installed for a database instance. While the parameter must be identical, each database instance can be managed by an individual management agent.

Default
localhost 57328
Advanced mode only
No
BACKUPIDPREFIX

This parameter specifies a string that is added in front of the backup ID that is generated by FlashCopy Manager. This parameter can be used to separate the backups within the same repository so that other clients are not able to query, restore, or delete these backups.

The string can contain letters, integers, or the underscore character. The string must be 6 characters.

This parameter has the same meaning as the corresponding parameter in the IBM Storage Protect for Enterprise Resource Planning *.utl file. Use the same value.

Default
None
Advanced mode only
Yes
INCREMENTAL

This parameter is relevant when Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN) is used in combination with IBM Storage Protect for Enterprise Resource Planning to create incremental offload backups to an IBM Storage Protect server.

NO
No is the default value. If it is set to NO, all the other INCREMENTAL* parameters have no effect.
CUMULATIVE
The backup type is cumulative RMAN. Cumulative backups are run by using RMAN.
DIFFERENTAL
The backup type is incremental RMAN. Incremental backups are run by using RMAN.
Default
NO
Advanced mode only
No
INCREMENTAL_CATALOG_CONNECT_STRING

The INCREMENTAL_CATALOG_CONNECT_STRING parameter is only for use with Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN).

This parameter specifies the name of the catalog that is passed to RMAN to connect to the catalog database. It is the name of the listener for the catalog database. If the INCREMENTAL parameter is enabled and this value is missing, an error message is displayed.

Default
There is no default value. You must specify a value if the INCREMENTAL parameter has any value other than NO.
Advanced mode only
No
INCREMENTAL_CATALOG_USER

This parameter is only for use with Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN).

This parameter specifies the name of the catalog that is passed to RMAN to connect to the catalog database. If the INCREMENTAL parameter is enabled, and this value is missing, an error message is displayed.

Default
There is no default value. You must specify a value if the INCREMENTAL parameter has any value other than NO.
Advanced mode only
No
INCREMENTAL_CHANNELS

This parameter is only for use with Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN).

Specifies the number of parallel RMAN channels, 1 or more, that transfer the data.

Default
1
Advanced mode only
No
.
INCREMENTAL_LEVEL

This parameter is only for use with Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN).

The RMAN incremental level is an integer of value 0 or 1. An INCREMENTAL_LEVEL of 0 generates a full backup and an INCREMENTAL_LEVEL value of 1 generates an incremental backup. The specification of day and time is optional. If day and time are used, multiple occurrences of this parameter are valid if the time specifications do not overlap. Time must be specified in the 24-hour format. Days can be specified by weekday abbreviations such as Mon or Tue, or by numerical values 0 or 6 where 0 is Sunday and 6 is Saturday. The syntax for day and time specification is [USE_AT <days of week>] [FROM <time> TO <time>]

Default
0
Advanced mode only
No