On 12/31/08 3:16 PM, "Melancon, Ruddy" <[email protected]> wrote:

> We are using minidisks for the Linux images.

Good.

>  1.  What is the best way to initialize and format volumes to be used for VM
> and Linux minidisks.

ICKDSF CPVOL FORMAT is the recommended (and reliable) way to do it.

>  2.  What is the best way [considering the Oracle DBs] to backup and restore
> the VM and Linux images for disaster recovery.

Since you already have TSM, use the TSM Oracle client for the databases, and
the regular TSM client for the OS and applications using a hipersocket
connection to z/OS to transfer the data. Least annoyance path, and keeps all
the tape operations under control of z/OS and managed there. You will see a
dramatic increase in resource utilization for TSM on z/OS, but TSM tape
handling on Linux is so awful and idiosyncratic (not to mention the idiotic
fact that TSM for Linux cannot use channel-attached tape) that the price of
the extra CPU is probably worth it.

Otherwise, set up a Linux image to act as a Bacula server, dump the
databases to big chunks of FCP disk using the Oracle RMAN utility
periodically, and use Bacula to dump them to z/OS datasets using NFS to
transfer the data to z/OS over a hipersocket and DFSMShsm on z/OS to move
them to tape. You should also periodically shut down and log off each Linux
and use DDR or ADRDSSU to dump an image of the Linux guest to tape -- if you
do it this way. You cannot just dump the disks without the shutdown --
you'll get useless junk on the tapes unless you are very, very lucky.

>  3.  Should we use TSM [already installed on zOS] to backup the Linux images
> to zOS.

If you're already paying for TSM on z/OS, then use it. Set up a hipersocket
connection between z/OS and the Linux LPAR and create additional virtual
NICs on the Linux guests. You then couple the extra NICs to the hipersocket
and pump the data over to z/OS and all the nice tape automation, etc there.

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