I've done a fair amount of prototyping using different varients of virtual tape and also trying to use our VSE TLMS and channel connected tape drives with zLinux.
Basically for zLinux, I send mount requests to a VSE service machine, that causes a Dynam mount request to be done. When satisfied, the tape drive is attached back over to the zLinux machine. The biggest problem I have, and will also be if we have VTS command function in zLinux, is how to handle EOV. And in a VTS, the virtual volume is a lot smaller than the standard real tape cart. Perhaps having the 3590 device driver updated to call an exit at EOV, (perhaps a rexx exec(?)) to reissue the VTS commands. The second, smaller problem, is not all software products seem to like the 3590 tape support for zLinux. I can "tar" things, but Oracle didn't seem to like it, but it could be my setup also. <G> Right now, I'm on, what the Open Systems people call D2D2T (disk to disk to tape). I backup the zLinux image to a disk file. I FTP the disk file to VSE. I backup the disk file using VSE utilities and TLMS. If I had the VSE "Barnard" software IP stack, I could ftp directly to a tape drive. We have the CSI stack which doesn't have this function, at this time. That would bring it down to D2T. Also, been experimenting with VSE Virtual Tape with the server back on zLinux. Trying to come up with an interm "robotic TLMS" until we get budgetted for our real VTS. Life is fun, when you don't have money for a real solution <G>. I have a drawer full of spit, bubble gum, purple smoke, lasers and duct tape which is used to put all of this together. But thinking about have VTS command functions available to zLinux, the first swipe at it might be interfacing to z/VM to use a CMS server as the interface to the VTS command functions. Good way to get something out there and debug the prototype before moving it to a native zLinux application. Well, you wanted comments :) Tom Duerbusch THD Consulting Ingo Adlung wrote:
The tape support should be in place to my knowledge. What's missing is the tape management piece. Of course we could consider writing a driver that applies tape library functions for VTS but without any tape management software on top it would only be a piece of technology. I.e. if there is any outlook for an exploiter we can consider putting in onto the requirements list. But then the tape library API may not be published causing implementation delays and possibly you could instead attach to the VTS through FCP, too and use TSM support off the box. That way you wouldn't have to hold your breath while we figure out how to deliver on your requirement validating with more customers such that we understand its general market importance and push it into plans eventually - still awaiting tape management exploitation ... Thoughts? Best regards Ingo
---------------------------------------------------------------------- For LINUX-390 subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: INFO LINUX-390 or visit http://www.marist.edu/htbin/wlvindex?LINUX-390
