Encryption should be the responsibility of the backup/restore product. IBM already has encryption hardware on the machine. VM:Backup exploits it today. I don't know about other products.
Dennis "A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.." -- General George S. Patton -----Original Message----- From: The IBM z/VM Operating System [mailto:ib...@listserv.uark.edu] On Behalf Of Mike Walter Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 10:30 To: IBMVM@LISTSERV.UARK.EDU Subject: Re: [IBMVM] Using DVD to restore an existing z/VM? Having read multiple media reports of companies losing tapes containing confidential information, are you sure you just want to put your DASD backups on a physically-tiny thumb drive? I lost my first 16G thumb drive within months even though I was pretty careful with it (having paid out of pocket for it a year ago). Most people don't have 3480, 3490, or 3590 tape drives sitting around to read company data. Most people _do_ have PC's with USB ports, even though trying to figure out whatever format a 3390 dump might be in would be quite a challenge. But it would still be a matter of getting your security officer to sign off on something s/he doesn't really understand. If you still think it's a good idea (and it *does* have merit), "do you want encryption with that order"? :-) Any other considerations to discuss before making recommendations to IBM? Mike Walter Hewitt Associates Any opinions expressed herein are mine alone and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of Hewitt Associates. "Michael Coffin" <michaelcof...@mccci.com> Sent by: "The IBM z/VM Operating System" <IBMVM@LISTSERV.UARK.EDU> 06/19/2009 11:49 AM Please respond to "The IBM z/VM Operating System" <IBMVM@LISTSERV.UARK.EDU> To IBMVM@LISTSERV.UARK.EDU cc Subject Re: Using DVD to restore an existing z/VM? I think what we really need is the ability of the HMC to use a USB as an input device (e.g. be able to IPL a standalone program off of a USB stick, and have a program like DDR use the USB stick as an input or output device), and perhaps the ability of z/VM to read AND write to the USB so that we can write iplable decks and DDR content there. If a vendor (IBM or otherwise) wants to further exploit that capability with products that make it easier, so much the better. But the "basic" ability to do I/O to the device via the HMC and OS are what I'd be looking for. -Mike -----Original Message----- From: The IBM z/VM Operating System [mailto:ib...@listserv.uark.edu] On Behalf Of Alan Altmark Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 10:56 AM To: IBMVM@LISTSERV.UARK.EDU Subject: Re: Using DVD to restore an existing z/VM? On Friday, 06/19/2009 at 08:27 EDT, "McKown, John" <jmck...@healthmarkets.com> wrote: > And, from what I've seen, IBM does not like to give some things out to > customers because it "freezes" what IBM can do in the future. Backward > compatability is wonderful for customers and a royal pain for vendors as it can > impact innovation. I wonder when/if Linux will ever suffer from the "can't > change that, the customers would revolt" syndrome. That's true, but it goes even deeper. Backup/Restore is "vendor space," including IBM's own offerings. We can't do things in the base product or give away things that would negatively affect the value of such software. But that's all stuff that gets sorted out when the actual requirement is analyzed by product planners and we understand what technology is needed and how it is best delivered. Alan Altmark z/VM Development IBM Endicott The information contained in this e-mail and any accompanying documents may contain information that is confidential or otherwise protected from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, or if this message has been addressed to you in error, please immediately alert the sender by reply e-mail and then delete this message, including any attachments. Any dissemination, distribution or other use of the contents of this message by anyone other than the intended recipient is strictly prohibited. All messages sent to and from this e-mail address may be monitored as permitted by applicable law and regulations to ensure compliance with our internal policies and to protect our business. E-mails are not secure and cannot be guaranteed to be error free as they can be intercepted, amended, lost or destroyed, or contain viruses. You are deemed to have accepted these risks if you communicate with us by e-mail.
