Collecting Data for Storage Protect - Backup/Archive client performance

Collecting Must gather Data: table of contents:

	Gathering general information
	Preparing the client and server for data collection
	Gathering performance information
	Submitting information to IBM Support
	Online Self-Help Resources
	Related Information

 

Gathering general information

Troubleshooting performance problems can be a time consuming and complex process. Consulting the Performance section of the Storage Protect Documentation Center is often a good start. Especially the Configuration best practices and Solving performance problems sections.

For environments using container pools, adhering to the Blueprint is also beneficial.


 

Preparing the client and server for data collection

Data collection for client performance problems is done by collecting data from the Storage Protect Client and the Storage Protect Server. This is because all client operations (backup/restore/archive/retrieve) also involve interaction with the server.

For Storage Protect 8.1.2 and above, instrumentation is collected by default in dsminstr.log. If it was disabled, then comment out or delete "ENABLEINSTRUMENTATION NO" from the client option file. It can be commented out by putting a * in front.


Restart the CAD and Scheduler if troubleshooting a scheduled operation.
For the server portion, the Servermon script is used to collect data. The script and the instructions can be found here:  
http://ibm.biz/IBMSpectrumProtectServermon.
 

Gathering performance information

1. Before recreating the problem, Servermon needs to be enabled.  If running on a Storage Protect server version 8.1.10 or later, built-in Servermon is on by default and it creates an archive at midnight daily.  If running a server older than 8.1.10, use Perl Servermon and start it in the foreground or background. The default is to run continuously in 24 hour increments, creating a new .zip file at 17:00 daily.
   If this is a LanFree backup, it will be necessary to also start Perl Servermon on the Storage Agent (note: Built-in Servermon is not available on Storage Agents).
2. Recreate the problem by starting the backup or restore manually, or by letting the scheduled operation start automatically.
3. Once the backup/restore has completed, wait for Perl Servermon to finish on the server and also on the storage agent if LanFree. Optionally, it can be cancelled using CTRL+C or "kill -2". It will not stop right away as it will finish the last data collection cycle. Do not do a "kill -9" on Unix or "End process" from Windows Task Manager as this will cause the script to stop immediately and not perform a proper clean-up.  For Built-in Servermon, you can wait the next day to extract the latest extract, or use the -archive to force an archive mid-day, than use the -list and -extract options to retrieve it.  More info here:  https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/ibm-spectrum-protect-always-servermon-commands
4. After the client operation is completed, please issue the following commands from the client and take note of the location of dsminfo.txt on the output:
   Windows:
   cd /d "c:\program files\tivoli\tsm\baclient"
   dsmc query systeminfo
   AIX/Linux:
   dsmc query systeminfo -se={server stanza}
5. Also complete the performance questionnaire. The questionnaire is very important to help understand the problem and the environment.

 

Submitting information to IBM Support

After the data collection is complete, upload the following to ECuRep or to Blue Diamond referencing the SF case number:

From the client:

1. dsminfo.txt (path included at the end of "dsmc query systeminfo")
2. dsminstr.log (located in the same path as the error log: dsmerror.log)
3. full command used for the client operation or the schedule name for scheduled backup

From the server:

1. the data generated by servermon
2. completed performance questionnaire

 

Online Self-Help Resources

 

• Review up-to-date product information at the Storage Protect Support Page.

 

Related Information

• Storage Protect Documentation Center
• Storage Protect Performance section from Documentation Center
• Storage Protect Blueprint