Asnodename

Use the asnodename option to allow an agent node to back up, archive, restore, retrieve, and query data on behalf of a target node.

An agent node is a client node that the IBM® Storage Protect administrator grants the authority to perform client operations on behalf of a target node. The target node is the client node that the agent node performs the actions for. The administrator uses the grant proxynode command on the IBM Storage Protect server to grant this authority.

Agent nodes can be used to distribute the workload of backing up a computer’s volumes, across multiple client systems. Each system that is involved in the backup uses its own agent node name, but the backup data is stored in a common file space that is owned by the target node.

For example, assume that you plan to back up four volumes that belong to a node that is named SCORPIO, but the backup operation takes too long to run. You can distribute part of the workload to three other machines: TAURUS, ARIES, and LEO. SCORPIO and the three other machines each back up one of SCORPIO’s volumes. Each node that is involved in the backup connects to the server by using its own agent node name, and each node specifies a unique value for the asnodename option. Do not use a computer name or cluster name for the asnodename value. The following table illustrates an example configuration.

Table 1. Setting the value of the asnodename option to distribute backups.
Host name	NODENAME option value	ASNODENAME option value	Volume backed up	Server file space name
SCORPIO	SCORPIO	TARGET_SCORPIO	\\scorpio\r$	\\target_scorpio\r$
TAURUS	TAURUS	TARGET_SCORPIO	\\scorpio\s$	\\target_scoprio\s$
ARIES	ARIES	TARGET_SCORPIO	\\scorpio\t$	\\target_scoprio\t$
LEO	LEO	TARGET_SCORPIO	\\scorpio\u$	\\target_scorpio\u$

To create the relationships between the target node and the proxy nodes, the IBM Storage Protect server administrator needs to take the following actions:

Register nodes SCORPIO, TAURUS, ARIES, LEO, and TARGET_SCORPIO.
Grant nodes SCORPIO, TAURUS, ARIES, and LEO proxy authority to node TARGET_SCORPIO

When you back up or archive data without the asnodename option, the backed up data is stored in a file space on the server that matches the UNC name of the drive on which the original data exists.

When you use the asnodename option to back up data on behalf of a target node, the data is stored in a file space that is owned by the target node. However, instead of using the host name in the file space name, the target node name is used in the file space name. For example, if node TAURUS backs up data on SCORPIO's S drive and sets the asnodename option value to -asnodename=target_scorpio, the backup data is stored in a file space named \\target_scorpio\s$. The file space is owned by the TARGET_SCORPIO node.

When you restore or retrieve data, the default behavior is to restore or retrieve the data to a location that matches the file space name.

Continuing with the preceding example, if node SCORPIO uses -asnodename=target_scorpio to restore data from \\target_scorpio\s$, the client attempts to restore the data to the S drive on a computer named TARGET_SCORPIO. This operation does not produce the expected result because, in this sample configuration, there is no computer that is named TARGET_SCORPIO.

In the following example, the restore command is entered on the SCORPIO node. The command restores all files and subdirectories from the Users\andy\education directory in the \\target_scorpio\s$ file space to the S drive on the computer that is named SCORPIO:

dsmc restore \\target_scorpio\s$\users\andy\education\* s:\ 
  -subdir=yes -asnodename=target_scorpio

The following considerations apply when you use a proxy node to back up or restore data on other nodes:

A proxy operation uses the settings for the target node (such as maxnummp and deduplication) and schedules that are defined on the IBM Storage Protect server. The IBM Storage Protect server node settings and schedules for the agent node are ignored.
You cannot use asnodename with the backup nas command.
You cannot use asnodename with the fromnode option.
If you use asnodename to backup and restore volumes that are in a cluster configuration, do not use clusternode yes.
You cannot use asnodename to back up or restore system state.
If an agent node restores data from a backup set, the system state object in the backup set is not restored.
You can use asnodename with the backup image command, but you must specify the volume by UNC name. You cannot use the drive letter.
If you use the same asnodename value to back up files from different machines, you need to keep track which files or volumes are backed up from each system so that you can restore them to the correct location.
All agent nodes in a multiple node environment should be of the same platform type.
Do not use target nodes as traditional nodes, especially if you encrypt your files before backing them up to the server.

Supported Clients

This option is valid for all Windows clients.

Options File

Place this option in the dsm.opt file. You can set this option on the General tab of the Preferences editor.

Syntax

Parameters

targetnode: Specifies the node name on the IBM Storage Protect server under which you want to back up or restore data.

Examples

Options file:

asnodename target_scorpio

Command line:

This command backs up the entire F: drive to a server file space named \\target_scorpio\f$.

dsmc incremental f: -asnodename=target_scorpio

This option is not valid in interactive mode, but it can be defined in the options portion of a schedule definition.