To determine the device classes and storage pools that
you need for your server storage, you must evaluate the devices in
your storage environment.
Procedure
- Determine which drives and libraries are supported by the
server. For the most up-to-date list of supported devices
and operating-system levels, see the Supported Devices website:
- Determine which storage devices can be selected for use
by the server. For example, determine how many tape
drives you have that you can allow the server to use. For
more information about selecting a device configuration, see Device configurations.
The servers can share devices in libraries that
are attached through a SAN. If the devices are not on a SAN, the server
expects to have exclusive use of the drives that are defined to it.
If another application (including another Tivoli Storage
Manager server)
tries to use a drive while the server to which the drive is defined
is running, some server functions might fail. For more information
about specific drives and libraries, see http://www.ibm.com/support/entry/portal/Overview/Software/Tivoli/Tivoli_Storage_Manager.
- Determine the device driver that supports the devices. For more information about device driver support, see:
- Determine how to attach the devices to the server. For more information about attaching devices, see:
- Determine whether to back up client data directly to tape
or to a storage hierarchy.
- Determine which client data is backed up to which device,
if you have multiple device types.
- Determine the device type and device class for each of
the available devices. Group similar devices together and identify
their device classes. For example, create separate categories
for 4 mm and 8 mm devices.
Tip: For sequential
access devices, you can categorize the type of removable media based
on their capacity.
For example, standard length
cartridge tapes and longer length cartridge tapes require different
device classes.
- Determine how the mounting of volumes is accomplished for
the devices:
- Devices that require operators to load volumes must be part of
a defined MANUAL library.
- Devices that are automatically loaded must be part of a defined
SCSI, 349X, or VTL library. Each automated library device is a separate
library.
- Devices that are controlled by Oracle StorageTek Automated Cartridge
System Library Software (ACSLS) must be part of a defined ACSLS library.
- Devices that are managed by an external media management system
must be part of a defined EXTERNAL library.
- If you are considering storing data for one Tivoli Storage
Manager server by
using the storage of another Tivoli Storage
Manager server,
consider network bandwidth and network traffic. If your
network resources constrain your environment, you might have problems
with using the SERVER device type efficiently.
Also, consider the
storage resources available on the target server. Ensure that the
target server has enough storage space and drives to handle the load
from the source server.
- Determine the storage pools to set up, based on the devices
you have and on user requirements. Gather users' requirements
for data availability. Determine which data needs quick access and,
which does not.
- Be prepared to label removable media. You might want to
create a new labeling convention for media so that you can distinguish
them from media that are used for other purposes.
