Defining schedules for server maintenance activities

Create schedules for each server maintenance operation by using the DEFINE SCHEDULE command in the Operations Center command builder.

About this task

Schedule server maintenance operations to run after client backups. You can control the timing of schedules for maintenance tasks by setting the start time in combination with the duration time for each operation.

The following example shows how you can schedule server maintenance processes in combination with the client backup schedule for a multisite disk solution.

Operation	Schedule
Client backup	Starts at 22:00.
Node replication	Starts at 08:00, or 10 hours after the beginning of the client backup.
Processing for database and disaster recovery files	Database backup starts at 11:00, or 13 hours after the beginning of the client backup. This process runs until completion. Device configuration information and volume history backup starts at 17:00, or 6 hours after the start of the database backup. Volume history deletion starts at 20:00, or 9 hours after the start of the database backup.
Inventory expiration	Starts at 12:00, or 14 hours after the beginning of the client backup window. This process runs until completion.

Procedure

After you configure the device class for the database backups, create schedules for database backup and other required maintenance operations by using the DEFINE SCHEDULE command. Depending on the size of your environment, you might need to adjust the start times for each schedule in the example.

Define a device class for the backup operation before you create the schedule for database backups. Use the DEFINE DEVCLASS command to create a device class that is named DBBACK_FILEDEV:
```
define devclass dbback_filedev devtype=file 
  directory=db_backup_directories
```
where db_backup_directories is a list of the directories that you created for the database backup.
For example, if you have four directories for database backups, starting with /tsminst1/TSMbkup00, issue the following command:
```
define devclass dbback_filedev devtype=file 
  directory=/tsminst1/TSMbkup00,
  /tsminst1/TSMbkup01,/tsminst1/TSMbkup02,
  /tsminst1/TSMbkup03"
```
For example, if you have four directories for database backups, starting with C:\tsminst1\TSMbkup00, issue the following command:
```
define devclass dbback_filedev devtype=file 
  directory="c:\tsminst1\TSMbkup00,
  c:\tsminst1\TSMbkup01,c:\tsminst1\TSMbkup02,
  c:\tsminst1\TSMbkup03"
```
Set the device class for automatic database backups. Use the SET DBRECOVERY to specify the device class that you created for the database backup in the preceding step. For example, if the device class is dbback_filedev, issue the following command:
```
set dbrecovery dbback_filedev
```

Create schedules for the maintenance operations by using the DEFINE SCHEDULE command. See the following table for the required operations with examples of the commands.

Tip: You create the schedule for replication separately in a later step, when you use the Operations Center to configure replication.

Operation	Example command
Back up the database.	Create a schedule to run the BACKUP DB command. If you are configuring a small system, set the COMPRESS parameter to YES. For example, on a small system, issue the following command to create a backup schedule that uses the new device class: `define schedule DBBACKUP type=admin cmd="backup db devclass=dbback_filedev type=full numstreams=3 wait=yes compress=yes" active=yes desc="Back up the database." startdate=today starttime=11:00:00 duration=45 durunits=minutes`
Back up the device configuration information.	Create a schedule to run the BACKUP DEVCONFIG command: `define schedule DEVCONFIGBKUP type=admin cmd="backup devconfig filenames=devconfig.dat" active=yes desc="Backup the device configuration file." startdate=today starttime=17:00:00 duration=45 durunits=minutes`
Back up the volume history.	Create a schedule to run the BACKUP VOLHISTORY command: `define schedule VOLHISTBKUP type=admin cmd="backup volhistory filenames=volhist.dat" active=yes desc="Back up the volume history." startdate=today starttime=17:00:00 duration=45 durunits=minutes`
Remove older versions of database backups that are no longer required.	Create a schedule to run the DELETE VOLHISTORY command: `define schedule DELVOLHIST type=admin cmd="delete volhistory type=dbb todate=today-6 totime=now" active=yes desc="Remove old database backups." startdate=today starttime=20:00:00 duration=45 durunits=minutes`
Remove objects that exceed their allowed retention.	Create a schedule to run the EXPIRE INVENTORY command. Set the RESOURCE parameter based on the system size that you are configuring: Small systems: 10 Medium systems: 30 Large systems: 40 For example, on a medium-sized system, issue the following command to create a schedule that is named EXPINVENTORY: `define schedule EXPINVENTORY type=admin cmd="expire inventory wait=yes resource=30 duration=120" active=yes desc="Remove expired objects." startdate=today starttime=12:00:00 duration=45 durunits=minutes`

What to do next

After you create schedules for the server maintenance tasks, you can view them in the Operations Center by completing the following steps:

On the Operations Center menu bar, hover over Servers.
Click Maintenance.