Tivoli Storage Manager for Macintosh Using the Backup-Archive Client


Chapter 3. Backing Up and Restoring Files

Use TSM to store backup versions of your workstation files on a TSM server. You can restore these backup versions from the TSM server to your workstation if the original workstation files are lost or damaged.

This chapter includes instructions for the following tasks.

Task Page
"Running a Backup" "Running a Backup"
"Running a Restore" "Running a Restore"
"Point-in-Time Restore" "Point-in-Time Restore"
"Authorizing Another User to Restore or Retrieve Your Files" "Authorizing Another User to Restore or Retrieve Your Files"
"Restoring or Retrieving Another User's Files" "Restoring or Retrieving Another User's Files"
"Restoring or Retrieving Your Files to Another Workstation" "Restoring or Retrieving Your Files to Another Workstation"

If you are a first-time user, Table 3 is a checklist of preliminary considerations before performing a backup:

Table 3. Preliminary Steps for Backing Up Files



&box. Decide whether you want to backup files or archive them. See "Do You Want to Back Up or Archive Files?" for more information.
&box. Decide what type of backup you want according to your needs. See the following sections for more information: "Full Incremental", "Partial Incremental", and "Full Incremental Versus Partial Incremental"
&box. Create an include-exclude list to specify files and folders you want to exclude from backup services. See "Using the Include-Exclude List to Control Processing" for more information.
&box. For further backup considerations, see "Backup Considerations"

Do You Want to Back Up or Archive Files?

When TSM backs up or archives a file, it sends a copy of the file and its associated attributes to the server; however, backups and archives have different goals.

Backups protect against file damage. A sequence of backup versions is kept for each file on your workstation (the number of backup versions is set by your administrator), and older versions are deleted as newer versions are made.

Archive copies are more permanent. They maintain a file in a particular state indefinitely (although your administrator can limit how long archives are kept). They are useful if you need, for example, to go back to a particular version of your files, or if you want to delete a file from your workstation and retrieve it if necessary. For example, you might need to save spreadsheets for tax purposes, but because you are not using them, you do not want to leave them on your workstation . See Chapter 4, Archiving and Retrieving Files for more information about archiving and retrieving files.

Use backups to protect against unforeseen damage to your files, and archives for maintaining more permanent versions of your files.


Backing Up Volumes, Folders and Files

Your administrator might have set up schedules to back up files on your workstation automatically. See Chapter 5, Automating TSM Tasks for information on checking and running the schedules available to you. The following sections discuss how to back up files without using a schedule.

There are two types of incremental backup: full incremental and partial incremental.

Full Incremental

A full incremental backup (also called an incremental backup), initially backs up all specified volumes, folders and files, and thereafter, all new and changed files, thus maintaining current server storage of your workstation files according to your storage management policies. See Chapter 6, "Understanding Storage Management Policies" for more information about storage management polices.

To perform a full incremental backup select the Incremental (complete) option from the type of backup pull-down menu on the TSM backup window.

During a full incremental, the client queries the server to determine the exact state of your storage as of your last incremental. TSM uses this information to:

Partial Incremental

A partial incremental backs up new and changed files but does not expire or rebind files on the server, and it ignores the frequency attribute of the copy group. There are two types of partial incremental backup:

Full Incremental Versus Partial Incremental

Both full and partial incrementals back up new and changed files. An incremental-by-date takes less time to process than a full incremental, and requires less memory. However, unlike a full incremental, an incremental-by-date does not maintain current server storage of all your workstation files because:

For these reasons, if you have limited time during the week to perform backups, but extra time on weekends, you may want to maintain current server storage of your workstation files by performing a partial incremental backup on weekdays, and a full incremental backup on weekends.

Using the Include-Exclude List to Control Processing

Usually, there are files that you do not want to back up. These files can be operating system or application files that can be easily recovered by reinstalling the program, or any other file that you could easily rebuild.

You can use the include and exclude options in the Preferences file to exclude specific files from backup services. TSM client folders must be excluded from backup services. TSM honors the include-exclude list whether you are doing an incremental or selective backup. TSM backs up any file that is not explicitly excluded. You do not need to use an include option to include specific files unless those files are in a folder you are trying to exclude.

For more information about creating an include-exclude list in your Preferences file, see Chapter 7, Creating an Include-Exclude List.

Estimating Backup Processing Time

The first time you perform an incremental backup, TSM has to back up all your files, which can take a long time. Subsequent backups usually do not take as long. The Estimate function is provided on the TSM Backup and Restore windows to estimate the amount of time it takes to process your files and folders. The estimated transfer is a rough calculation of the time it takes TSM to transfer your data, based on previous transfers of data between your workstation and the current TSM server. The actual transfer time could be longer or shorter than the estimate due to factors like network traffic, system load on your workstation, or system load on the server.

Running a Backup

To run a backup, perform the following steps:

  1. Click on Backup from the TSM main window. The Backup window displays.
  2. Expand the folder tree. Select the objects you want to backup. To search or filter files, click on the Edit menu> Find item.
  3. Select the type of backup Type of Backup pull-down menu:
  4. To modify specific backup options click the Backup Options button located to the right of the Estimate button. The options you select are effective during the current TSM session only.
  5. Click on Backup. The Task List window displays the backup processing status.

Displaying Backup Processing Status

When TSM backs up a volume or other set of files, it attempts to improve performance and load balancing by using multiple sessions. This can result in as many as five sessions running at one time to read files and send them to the server.

The backup-archive client GUI provides a Task List window you can display to see information about files that are processing.

When a task completes, a Task Report window displays processing details. You can click the Help button in the Task Report window for information about the following processing statistics:

Backup Considerations

This section discusses some advanced considerations for using backup. You do not need to understand this information to use TSM for basic work.

Understanding How TSM Uses Volume Names

TSM backs up volumes based on the volume name. TSM maintains each volume name as a separate restore or retrieve volume. These volume names become the names of file spaces on the TSM server.

If you change the name of a volume you have already backed up, TSM sees it as a new volume and does not relate it to the previous one. An incremental backup on the volume backs up the files under the new name. A mismatch might occur if you rename your volumes, or if you access TSM from a different workstation than the one from which you backed up the files.

Volume Naming Precautions

Unlike other applications on the Macintosh, TSM is not case sensitive--it sees two volumes called "La Pomme" and "la pomme" as identical. Therefore, you must assign a different name to each volume to avoid volume duplications.

If duplicate volumes exist on your desktop, TSM cannot determine which one corresponds to the volume of the same name on the server, and displays an error message. Remove or rename duplicates as needed.

Setting Your Default Domain

When you start TSM, it sets your default domain to the volumes you set with the domain option in the Preferences file (see Domain). If you do not have the domain option set, the default domain is all local volumes. Selecting Backup Domain from the Actions menu incrementally backs up all volumes in the domain.

Understanding What TSM Considers a Changed File

During a full incremental, TSM backs up a file if any of the following have changed since the last backup:

When file attributes change but not the file itself, only the attributes are backed up. For example, if only the icon color changes in a file after it is backed up, the next incremental only updates the icon color on the TSM server. This saves network and storage space because the entire file is not transmitted or stored in a storage pool.

The active backup copy of the file remains active and the insertion date does not change. The new icon color is associated with the active backup copy, and is locked to this copy when it becomes inactive. A point-in time restore or a pick option will restore this backup copy with the associated new icon color.

You can use a selective or full incremental backup to backup the entire file and change the insertion date. To ensure that a file retains the attributes it had prior to being backed up, use a selective backup.

Using Wildcard Characters

You can use the operating system's wildcard characters when searching or filtering. These characters allow you to select groups of files that have similar names. However, the path itself cannot contain wildcard characters.

The supported wildcard characters are:

*
The asterisk (*) wildcard character represents zero or more characters. For example:

*doc
Matches all files that end in doc.

test*
Matches all files that start with test.

See Matchallchar for information on how to define the * wildcard character in your preferences file.

?
The question mark (?) wildcard character stands for one character. For example:

??doc
Matches all files that have five characters, ending with doc.

test?
Matches all files that have five characters, starting with test. It would match test1 and test2, but not test10.

See Matchonechar for information on how to define the ? wildcard character in your preferences file.

You can combine the asterisk and question mark in a file specification. For example, ??doc* matches all files that contain doc in the third, fourth, and fifth places. It would match Exdoc Data or Exdoc, but not Testdoc.

Understanding Which Files Are Backed Up

When you request a backup, TSM backs up a file if all of the following requirements are met:

The following additional requirements apply when you request an incremental backup:

When you run a backup, TSM also backs up all folder information, unless the folder is excluded from backup with the exclude.dir option. You cannot exclude a folder from backup if specified files within it are excluded from backup. Folders are counted in the number of files backed up.

Backing Up Opened Files

Some files on your system may be in use, or open, when you try backing them up. Because an open file may change during a backup, the backup may not accurately reflect the contents of the file. If this is the case, you need to consider the following options:

Understanding How Your Files Are Managed

TSM uses management classes to determine how to manage your backups on the TSM server. Every time you back up a file, the file is assigned a management class. The management class is either a default chosen for you, or one you assign to the file using the include option in the include-exclude list. If you assign a management class it must contain a backup copy group for the file to be backed up. See Chapter 5, Automating TSM Tasks for more information on management classes and how to assign them to files.

File Sharing Access Privileges

TSM also backs up File Sharing Access Privileges, but only if all backups are done with File Sharing turned on. Also, to restore folders with their previous access privileges, you must perform the restore while File Sharing is on.


Restoring Files, Folders, and Backup Sets

You can use TSM to restore backup versions of specific files, a group of files with similar names, entire folders, or backup sets.

Do You Want To Restore an Active or Inactive Backup?

Your administrator determines how many backup versions TSM maintains for each file on your workstation. Frequently, the administrator has TSM maintain more than one version of each file. Having multiple versions of a file allows you to restore older versions in case the most recent backup is damaged.

TSM considers the most recent backup version to be the active version. Any other backup version is considered an inactive version.

Every time TSM backs up your files, the new backup version becomes the active version, and the previous active backup version becomes an inactive version. When the maximum number of inactive versions is reached, TSM deletes the oldest inactive version.

If you want to restore an inactive backup version, you need to display both active and inactive versions, by clicking on the View menu> Show active/inactive files item. To display only the active versions (the default), click on the View menu> Show active/inactive files item again.

Running a Restore

To run a restore, perform the following steps:

  1. Click on Restore from the TSM main window. The Restore window displays.
  2. Expand the folder tree. Click on the object that you want to restore. To search or filter files, click on the Edit menu> Find item.
  3. To modify specific restore options click the Restore Options button located to the right of the Estimate button. The options you select are effective during the current TSM session only.
  4. Click on Restore. The Restore Destination window displays. Enter the appropriate information.
  5. Click on Restore. The Task List window displays the restore processing status.

Restoring Data from a Backup Set

Your TSM administrator can generate a backup set (a collection of your active files that reside on the server) onto portable media that are supported by both the server and client.

Portable media can be used on devices such as a tape, CD-ROM, DVD, JAZ or ZIP drives. Current device support information is available at the following Web site:

http://www.tivoli.com/support/storage_mgr/tivolimain.html

You can restore backup sets from either of the following locations:

Note:If you cannot restore a backup set from portable media, check with your TSM administrator to ensure that the portable media was created on a device using a format that is compatible with your device.

TSM considers a backup set as one object containing the whole file structure. Files are copied down to the file space level, and you can perform partial restores. After a backup set is generated, it is not tracked by the TSM database. The media is self-describing and contains all the information required to perform a successful restore.

Backup sets can provide you with instant archive and rapid recovery capability as described below:

Instant Archive
This capability allows you to retain long-term storage of periodic backups without requiring that the data be sent again over the network from client nodes.

Rapid Recovery
When you are away from your office without a network connection and you lose data, you can restore the data from the backup set.

See for information on how to use the restore backupset command.

Restoring Backup Sets

Note:Before you begin a restore, be aware that backup sets can contain data for multiple filespaces. If you specify a destination other than the original location, data from all filespaces is restored to the location you specify.

To restore a backup set, perform the following steps:

Point-in-Time Restore

A point-in-time restore permits you to restore versions of your files that were backed up on a specific date and time. A point-in-time restore can eliminate the effect of data corruption, or recover a basic configuration to a prior condition.

Perform incremental backups on a TSM V3 server or higher, to support a point-in-time restore. During an incremental backup the TSM server is notified when files are deleted from a client filespace or folder. Selective and incremental by date backups do not notify the server about deleted files. Run incremental backups at a frequency consistent with possible restore requirements.

A point-in-time restore is supported on the filespace, folder, or file level. When a point-in-time restore is performed:

To perform a point-in-time restore:

  1. Click the Point-in-Time button from the Restore window. The Point in Time Restore window displays.
  2. Specify the point-in-time date and time, and select the Use a Point in Time date during restore box.
  3. Select OK.
  4. Click on Restore.

Restore: Related Tasks and Considerations

This section discusses some advanced considerations for restoring files. You do not need to understand this information to perform basic TSM tasks.

Authorizing Another User to Restore or Retrieve Your Files

You can authorize a user on another node to restore your backup versions or retrieve your archive copies. This allows you to share files with other people or with other workstations that you use with a different TSM node name.

To authorize another node to restore or retrieve your files:

  1. From the TSM main window select the Utilities menu> User Access List item. The User Access List window displays.
  2. Enter the name of the node and user you want to authorize, and the folder and file specification for the file to which you want the user to have access. You can give the user access to backups or archives. You must add separate authorizations for backup and archive access, even if you want to give the same user access to the same files for both. You can authorize all users by using an asterisk (*) for the user name or authorize all nodes by using an asterisk (*) for the node name.
  3. Click on Add to add the user. While you are in the User Access List window, you can add several users at once, delete users, or change your existing authorizations. All additions, deletions, and changes are processed when you click on OK. If you make a mistake, click on Cancel to exit the user access list and start again.
  4. Click on OK to add the user to the user access list. The user is not added until you do this.

Restoring or Retrieving Another User's Files

After users grant you access to their files on the server, you can restore or retrieve those files to your local system. You can display another user's filespaces on the TSM server, restore the other user's backup versions, or retrieve the other user's archive copies to your local drives.

  1. From the TSM main window select the Utilities menu> Access Another User item. The Access Another User window displays.
  2. Enter the user's node name in the Node name field.
  3. Click on Set.

Restoring or Retrieving Your Files to Another Workstation

TSM lets you restore or retrieve files you back up from your own workstation, when you are using a different workstation. You just need to tell TSM your node name, because your backups and archives are stored according to your node, not your specific machine. Your TSM password protects your data.

To restore or retrieve files to another workstation, either change the nodename option in your Preferences file to match the current workstation, or type it in when prompted for the nodename and password. You can then restore or retrieve files as if you were working on your original workstation.

If you do not want to restore or retrieve the files to the same folder name on the alternate workstation, use a different destination.

You can also have more than one Preferences file with different values for the nodename option. See Creating Multiple Preferences Files for more information.

Restoring a Disk In Case of Disk Loss

TSM can only recover your files if you can run the TSM client. If the disk that contains the client is lost (from theft or hardware failure, for example), you must reinstall the client before you can recover your files. If you also lose the disk that contains the operating system and communication software, you must recover them before you can connect to the TSM server.

To protect yourself against these kinds of losses, perform the following steps:

  1. Record the the IP address, subnet mask, default router, and name servers in the TCP/IP Control Panel. You can use this information to reconfigure TCP/IP when you re-install MacOS.
  2. Record your nodename, TCP Server address, and TCP Port number from the TSM Backup Preferences dialog. You will need this information to configure TSM Backup so you can restore your data.
  3. Re-install the MacOS from your Macintosh installation CD to access the network.
  4. Install the Tivoli Storage Manager for Macintosh installation program. You can either get this from the http://www.tivoli.com/support/storage_mgr/tivolimain.html site, or speak with your TSM administrator.

Deleting Restore/Retrieve Volumes

If your TSM administrator gives you backdelete and archivedelete authority, you can delete entire restore/retrieve volumes from TSM storage. This deletes all the files, both backup versions and archive copies, that are associated with a particular volume. You can select the File menu> Connection Information item to see your permissions.

For example, if you delete the Macintosh HD restore/retrieve volume, you are deleting all associated backup versions and archive copies. The original files still exist on your hard disk. Consider this carefully before you delete a restore or retrieve volume. You cannot delete individual backup versions kept on the TSM server.

If you decide you do not need a restore/retrieve volume, delete it by clicking on the Utilities menu> Delete Filespaces.

Note:Restore and Retrieve volumes can also be referred to as file spaces.

Overlapping Files

TSM remembers a file's position on your desktop when it backs up the file and tries to restore it back to its original position. If a file is in the top, left corner of your desktop when you back it up, TSM tries to put it there when you restore it.

But if something else is in that same position when you restore, it is possible that folders and icons can overlap. If this occurs, select the View menu> View Options item > by Name item, to list objects alphabetically, with no overlapping.

Rebuilding the Desktop

If a file you restore does not have the icon it should, you probably need to rebuild the Desktop. Folders with icons pasted onto the Get Info dialog box always require the Desktop to be rebuilt. Do this by restarting your Macintosh with the Option and Command keys held down.


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