C H A P T E R  2

Daily Operations

This chapter provides information about daily operations you can perform using the Sun StorageTek Backup Manager software. It contains the following sections:


Daily Activity Checklist

As the administrator for your backup environment, your daily routine will include reviewing the SBM reports to answer the following questions.


TABLE 2-1 Daily Activity Checklist

Question to Answer...

Where to find data...

Did my backups run successfully last night?

Backup Job Status page

Were there any backup job failures last night?

On which clients did the backup jobs fail?

Backup Job Details: Jobs page

Are the failures on a critical server?

Investigate the servers in your backup environment

Do any jobs have a low throughput?

Client Jobs Details page

How long did the backup job take?

What time did the backup job start?

What time did the backup job end?

Why did my jobs fail? (What is the error code?)

Backup Job Details: Errors page

What is the distribution of the error types?

What is the status of all my tape libraries and drives?

Tape Library Status page

Are there any drives offline?

Are there any CAPs offline?

If drives are offline, what is the drive ID of the drive?

Tape Library Details: Status page

How do I check serial numbers and firmware revision levels for the components in my library?

Tape Library Details: Configuration page

How do I check if my library is fully utilized?

What type of activity has been going on over the last week?

Tape Library Details: Statistics page


As you work your way through the checklist, you may find it necessary to investigate your backup environment. You will need to react to the SBM reports according to:


Example Scenarios

The following pages provide sample scenarios using the Daily Activity Checklist. There are four examples:

Example 1: Reviewing Backup Job Status

This sample scenario shows the backup job status for Master Server "SERVER1" and backup product "TSM."

Launch the SBM application, click the Backup tab, and then review the status of the backup jobs on Master Server "SERVER1" (See FIGURE 2-1).

You ask the following questions:

FIGURE 2-1 Backup Job Status for Backup Master Server "SERVER1"


Backup Job Status screenshot showing example of failed backup jobs.

You see that there are 40 failed jobs and you want to drill down to see on which clients the backup jobs failed.

Click the name of the Master Server ("SERVER1) to display the Backup Jobs Details report (FIGURE 2-2).

FIGURE 2-2 Client with Failed Jobs


Client Job Summary screenshot showing example of client with failed jobs.

Based on the information on the Backup Job Details report, you now know which client has the failed jobs. You need to determine if this client, "SBURLABSOL04," is a critical server.

After investigating your backup environment, you decide you want to learn more details about the jobs that ran on "SBURLABSOL04."

Click the name of the client (SBURLABSOL04) to display the Client Jobs Details page (FIGURE 2-3).

FIGURE 2-3 Details for Successful Jobs


Client Job Details screenshot showing client jobs that were successfully backed up.

The information on the Client Jobs Details report shows both successful and failed jobs.


To see details about the failed jobs, use the arrows Column filter arrows icon on the Status column to sort on the "Failed" status (FIGURE 2-4).

FIGURE 2-4 Sort Jobs


Client Job Details screenshot showing filter arrows used to sort jobs by Status type.

After you sort the list of jobs (FIGURE 2-5), you can further review the information for each failed job and answer the following questions:

FIGURE 2-5 Details for Failed Jobs


Client Job Details screenshot showing errors associated with the backup jobs that failed.

During your review of the failed jobs, you see that there are two types of errors on this client, represented by the status codes 4 and 8. TSM code 4 indicates some files were not processed as part of the backup job. TSM code 8 indicates at least one warning message was issued during the backup job.

You decide to take a closer look at the distribution of these two errors.

Close the Client Jobs Details report, and then click on the Errors tab to display the error information for the Master Server. (FIGURE 2-6).

FIGURE 2-6 Error Code Distribution


Bacxkup Job Details screenshot showing the error distribution pie chart.

By reviewing the error distribution, you learn that nearly all of the errors are status code "4."

You can review the error code definition to find out more information about the type of errors you are seeing. (Refer to your backup product documentation for a description of error codes.)

In this example, some files were not processed as part of the job. This is most likely due to files being used by another application, in which case, they cannot be accessed by the backup client. So, you would start investigating by reviewing the TSM error logs to see which files were skipped.

Example 2: Reviewing Tape Library Status

This sample scenario shows the tape library status for Sun StorageTek SL8500 tape library.

Launch the SBM application, click the Tape Library tab, and then review the status of the tape libraries in your backup environment (FIGURE 2-7).

You ask the following questions:

FIGURE 2-7 Tape Library Status


Tape Library Status screenshot showing the status of the tape library is degraded.

While reviewing the tape library status, you see that one of the drives in the SL8500-LSM00 tape library is offline. You decide to drill down and find out the drive ID for the offline drive.

Click the name of the tape library (SL8500-LSM00) to display the Tape Library Details report (FIGURE 2-8).

FIGURE 2-8 Details for Tape Library Drives


Drive Status screenshot showing an example of a drive that is offline.

By reviewing the Drive Status report, you see that the ID for the offline drive is 15.



Tip - Refer to your library documentation for more information.


Example 3: Reviewing Tape Library Configuration Details

This sample scenario shows tape library configuration information.

Launch the SBM application, click the Tape Library tab, and then select the tape library you want to gather configuration data for from the Tape Library Status report (FIGURE 2-9).

You ask the following questions:

FIGURE 2-9 Collecting Tape Library Configuration Information


Tape Library Status screenshot showing serial number and firmware revision level.

There are two different agents you can use with Sun StorageTek tape libraries: STK agent and ACSLS agent. The STK agent collects information using the SNMP agent; the ACSLS agent collects information using the ACSLS API.



Note - Sun recommends using the STK agent for tape libraries that support SNMP because more information is provided.


First, you review a tape library using the STK agent. Click the name of the tape library (StorageTek-L40-LLC02204859) and then click the Configuration tab to display the Configuration report (FIGURE 2-10).

FIGURE 2-10 Sun StorageTek Tape Library Using the STK Agent


Tape Library Details screenshot showing configuration report.

Because this data is coming from the STK agent, information is provided for all the fields.

In comparison, you review the configuration information for a tape library using the ACSLS agent. Click the name of the tape library (StorageTek-SL8500-LSM00) and then click the Configuration tab to display the Configuration report (FIGURE 2-11).

FIGURE 2-11 Sun StorageTek Tape Library Using the ACSLS Agent


Tape Library Details screenshot showing the configuration and number of free and active cells.

Because this data is coming from the ACSLS agent, information is not provided for all the fields.

Example 4: Reviewing Tape Library Statistics

This sample scenario shows statistics and tape library activity for the Sun StorageTek L40.

Launch the SBM application, click the Tape Library tab, and then select the tape library you want to see activity details for from the Tape Library Status report (FIGURE 2-12).

FIGURE 2-12 Tape Library Status for L40


Tape Library Status screenshot showing where to click for tape library details.

Next, click the name of the tape library (StorageTek-SL40-LLC02204859) and then the Statistics tab to display the Statistics report (FIGURE 2-13).

FIGURE 2-13 Tape Library Activity


Tape Library Details screenshot showing statistical graphs for a tape library.

You can review the tape activity that occurred over the last week.


Next Steps

You are now ready to perform additional configuration tasks.