Monitoring and maintaining the environment for performance

By monitoring server and client operations constantly, you can find problems early and more easily identify causes. Keep records of monitoring reports for up to a year to help you identify trends and plan for growth.

• Use the server monitoring script, servermonV6.pl. This script includes server and system commands that help you monitor a server. To download the script and see more details, go to http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21432937.
• Use monitoring tools to verify that client and server operations are completed successfully and within a time that meets your business requirements. For tips, see Daily monitoring from the Operations Center.
  1. Verify that server maintenance processes such as database backup and storage pool backup are completed successfully. Investigate failed or incomplete processes.
  2. Verify that client backups are successful and complete. Investigate failed or incomplete client backups, especially for clients that are most critical to your overall operations.
• If you are using data deduplication, node replication, or both, verify that processes that are related to these features are finishing. For example:
  • For server-side data deduplication, verify that the duplicate identification processes can handle all of the new data that the server stores each day. If the processes finish or go to an idle state before subsequent operations such as reclamation begin, you know that the processes can handle the new data.
  • For node replication, verify that replication processes finish replicating all newly stored data before the start of client backups on the next day.
  • If you are using both data deduplication and node replication, verify that the duplicate identification processes can finish before the start of node replication. This sequence ensures that you are taking full advantage of data deduplication.
• Keep your Tivoli® Storage Manager software up to date. Go to the IBM® Support Portal at http://www.ibm.com/support/entry/portal/ and search for fix packs that might be useful to apply to your server, clients, or both.
• Keep other software and hardware products in your environment up to date. For software and hardware products in your environment other than Tivoli Storage Manager, review service levels and firmware periodically and update them as needed. Completing such a review every six months is a typical goal. However, review and apply security fixes monthly or as needed (for example, on an emergency basis).