Bill, Your arguments are excellent, and I have one large client dealing with the health records issue --- they need to save patient records for 32 years; we are liking the export solution, once a year, for those nodes (in order to control TSM db size) -- and, continue storing their data in archive storage so we have access to all versions generated, then (AFTER THE FACT) deleting extra versions from each month --- save 2 or 3, delete the rest from archive storage, using a "smart" script in concert with the dba's technique of naming the files being stored.
However I only know ONE (simple) way to accomplish the desired, stated results --- month-end snapshot kept for X months or years; ie, a backupset of the desired file systems on specific nodes. The limitation of this solution is it only captures files in backup storage; you need a different answer for database backups stored in archive storage -- my DBA's love using archive storage, and I have no argument against it, as they only care about time (have no need or interest in counting versions, etc), and they must save daily backups for 4-14 days, weekly's for 6 weeks, monthly's for 6-15 months, etc. If you have a method that allows you "mark" the currently active versions of backup files with a different retention than others, I think it would be new news to most of us... please share. Thanks, Don Don France Technical Architect - Tivoli Certified Consultant Professional Association of Contract Employees (P.A.C.E.) San Jose, CA (408) 257-3037 [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Mansfield" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, April 04, 2002 9:55 AM Subject: Re: Monthly Backups, ...again! > There is a good reason it keeps coming up: legitimate business > requirements. > > The suits (auditors, IRS, corp counsel, HIPAA, etc) demand to be able to > be able to reproduce any datum at given intervals for given durations. > Most often, that translates to restoring files that may change every day > to "month end" state for somewhere between 1 and 7 years. Sometime they > can identify the kinds of data they want, but it is expensive to > accurately identify the list of all files/directories required, so usually > you get a vague wave to "save everything". And of course, it's their > data, not yours, they have a right to keep as much as they want. Telling > them that TSM doesn't support their requirement just invites other > software vendors in the door since *they* handle this particular > requirement with ease (on paper). > > The number of days you can reasonably keep in an incremental backup > usually doesn't extend to forever. Archives sometimes don't cut it, > either in their traditional form or the instant form. You can't stand to > move that much data or use that many tapes - that's why you went > incremental forever in the first place. I really just to do some > operation that marks the current active version with a longer guaranteed > retention, without changing the retention of anything else. > > I don't want to restart the perennial discussion of truly long term > archival storage. It's reasonable to expect a backup system to maintain > internal compatibility for 7 years, and there are techniques for migrating > the data to newer media. > > Just my 5 cents worth (inflation). > _____________________________ > William Mansfield > Senior Consultant > Solution Technology, Inc > > > > > > "Mr. Lindsay Morris" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent by: "ADSM: Dist Stor Manager" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 04/04/2002 10:04 AM > Please respond to lmorris > > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > cc: > Subject: Re: Monthly Backups, ...again! > > > This keeps coming up. It's the hardest thing about TSM, to sell users on > the way it works. > > Tivoli's Storage Vision whitepaper has a comparison of the benefits you > get > by NOT using this Grandfather-father-son technique, but I wish somebody at > Tivoli would come up with some better assistance to help us sell the > incremental-forever -ooops, progressive backup methodolgy - to non-techie > users. (Maybe it's there and I just don't know where to find it...?) > > I think Kelly Lipp has a good article on archiving and when it's sensible > - > maybe he'll post that link here again. > > Also, maybe some users have specific oddball scenarios they have run into > that require surprising policy settings. It would be interesting to hear > about those. Like, the user who goes on vacation for two weeks, and > manages > to trash here email file the day she leaves, doesn't notice it, Lotus > touches the damaged file every day so it gets backed up again, and they > don't keep 14 versions, so she gets back and the only good version (15 > days > old) has rolled off (expired). > > --------------------------------- > Mr. Lindsay Morris > CEO, Servergraph > www.servergraph.com > 859-253-8000 ofc > 425-988-8478 fax > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: ADSM: Dist Stor Manager [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of > > Marc Levitan > > Sent: Thursday, April 04, 2002 8:51 AM > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Subject: Monthly Backups, ...again! > > > > > > A question was brought up while discussing retention policies. > > > > Currently we have the following retentions: > > > > Policy Policy Mgmt Copy Versions Versions Retain > Retain > > Domain Set Name Class Group Data Data Extra Only > > Name Name Name Exists Deleted Versions > Version > > --------- --------- --------- --------- -------- -------- -------- > ------- > > COLD ACTIVE COLD STANDARD 2 1 5 30 > > > > NOVELL ACTIVE DIRMC STANDARD 30 1 120 365 > > NOVELL ACTIVE STANDARD STANDARD 30 1 120 365 > > > > RECON ACTIVE DIRMC STANDARD 36 3 75 385 > > RECON ACTIVE MC_RECON STANDARD 26 1 60 365 > > > > STANDARD ACTIVE DIRMC STANDARD 26 1 60 365 > > STANDARD ACTIVE STANDARD STANDARD 26 1 60 365 > > > > > > UNIX ACTIVE MC_UNIX STANDARD 30 1 60 30 > > > > > > I believe that this provides for daily backups for over a month. > > > > There was a request to have the following: > > 1) Daily backups for a week. > > 2) Weekly backups for a month. > > 3) Monthly backups for a year. > > > > I believe we are providing 1 & 2. We are providing daily backups for a > > month. > > > > How can I provide monthly backups for a year? > > I know that I could take monthly archives, but this would exceed > > our backup > > windows and would increase our resources ( db, tapes, etc.) > > Also, I know we could lengthen our retention policies. > > Also we could create backup sets. (tons of tapes!) > > > > How are other people handling this? > > > > Thanks, > > > > > > Marc Levitan > > Storage Manager > > PFPC Global Fund Services > > > > > _____________________________ > William Mansfield > Senior Consultant > Solution Technology, Inc
