Hi Allen, What you recall is correct. MVS doesn't understand open file systems, and a non-MVS OS doesn't understand MVS filesystems.
You can't use TSM to do your mainframe backups in any way (except for the O/E component of MVS, which is a unix-style filesystem. If you use mainframe software to backup O/E, you get a backup of an HFS filesystem in 1 big clump. The TSM client for O/E can read inside the HFS and back it up by directory/file.) Offsites for the mainframe are just as they've always been: * Some sites rotate older generations offsite, keep newer generations onsite * Some sites have the software (like DFHSM) do it the TSM way, with a copy onsite and another copy offsite generated by the same software. * Sites with $$$ to work with are starting to use replication tecnology to fling the bits cross country instead of using traditional CTAM (Chevy Truck Access Method) to move the tapes physically. VTS (I assume you really mean VTS, not generic VTLs) in general is not a good fit for mainframe (or TSM) backups, because the 3494/3584 VTS was designed to work with small volumes, and the backup software (either DFHSM or TSM) wants to write big, full volumes. Although it can be made to work, you get better performance out of raw tape than a VTS for backup. If you need more info on that issue, let me know... Wanda -----Original Message----- From: ADSM: Dist Stor Manager [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Allen S. Rout Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 1:29 PM To: ADSM-L@VM.MARIST.EDU Subject: Mainframe backups... Greetings, all. I've gotten a request to update my opinions on ways that TSM can help the mainframe do backups. What I'm recalling from previous discussions we've had here is that the MVS filesystem structure, and the files theron, are sufficiently different from the heirarchical structures of byte streams we're accustomed to, that much of TSM is inapplicable to MVS data. So, for those of you in a mixed-mode shop, is TSM anywhere in the backup picture for your mainframe data? How are you doing offsites for the mainframe? Is it a VTS thing, or are there other methods you prefer? - Allen S. Rout