TSM CLIENT INSTALLATION FOR MAC OS X

Use this procedure to install the TSM (Tivoli Storage Manager) backup client for Mac OS X. The procedure for Mac OS 9 is very similar.

Step 1. See the TSM introduction for instructions on starting the service and getting your TSM node name and password. The node name refers to the machine that will be backed up and is generally the first part of the name of the machine -- the "nnn" part of "nnn.xxx.uky.edu" -- and you must have the node name to configure your backup client. (Note that there is generally a fee for using TSM.) You will also need to have a userid and password with administrator privileges on the Mac you will be using.

Step 2. Get the TSM Client installer from the web server here. It will be downloaded and should be unpacked automatically by your web browser using Stuffit Expander or other utility program. The resulting program is called TSM Installer. The download is about 6.8 megabytes.

Step 3. Run TSM Installer and choose Easy Install. You should install TSM in your Applications folder. The result is a new folder within Applications called Tivoli Storage Manager v5.1.

Step 4. From the Tivoli Storage Manager folder run the application TSM Mac X Backup. Note that there is also a version for Mac OS 9 called TSM Backup. Be sure to run TSM Mac X Backup! You will be prompted for a userid and password with administrator privileges on the Mac and the TSM Client Configuration Assistant will start automatically. Create a new preferences file. In most cases you will be able to use the default settings, but several items must be supplied.

Step 5. Fill in the name of the TSM server: ukccserver

Step 6. You must also fill in the IP address of the server: backups.uky.edu Leave the port set to the default, 1500.

Step 7. Next you will fill in your TSM node name, which you obtained in advance (see step 1).

Step 8. You can specify the areas to be backed up using the domain list and include or exclude items with the include/exclude list. The default backup domain includes all local files systems on the Mac, which is generally what is needed. There are several items which should be added to the include/exclude list to speed up backups:

  Exclude.dir ...:Cache
  Exclude.dir ...:iCab Cache
  Exclude.dir ...:Explorer:Temporary Files
  Exclude.dir ...:private:var:tmp
  Exclude.dir ...:private:var:vm

(This list is incomplete!)

Step 9. Finish and you will be in the TSM client. You can do a full backup to verify that your setup is correct. A full backup of a typical Mac OS X system will include several gigabytes of data and will take several hours, depending on the speed of the machine, the network capacity, and the actual amount of data included. While most machines will still be usable while a backup is in progress, you will certainly be able to tell that something is going on and the machine will at the least become a little sluggish.

Step 10. The TSM Client for Mac OS X does not yet correctly support scheduled backups. The instructions here are not yet correct. To have the machine backed up automatically on a regular schedule you will need to run the TSM Mac X Scheduler Daemon. (A "daemon" is a Unix background task. "Daemon," a largely archaic spelling of "demon" and pronounced the same way, is here used in the sense of an indwelling spirit.) In the TSM client preferences you should set the Scheduler Polling Query Schedule Interval to 4 hours.

To run the TSM Mac X Scheduler Daemon automatically you can go to System Preferences (in the Apple menu), to the Login preferences and add it to the Login Items.

Step 11. As soon as you have an opportunity you should change your TSM password from the initial setting. Use the "Change Password" function of the Utilities menu of the TSM Mac X Backup client.

If you don't want to enter your TSM password each time you run the TSM client you can have it store your password using the Password Generate feature. See the Authorization item in the Preferences. Note that this then allows anyone with access to your machine to perform backups or restores of your files.

TSM uses a userid (node name) and password to authenticate your computer and authorize access to your files. Passwords are not sent in clear text form over the network. However, the data being backed up (or restored) is sent over the network in clear form and it is saved on disk and tape on the TSM server and in an offsite location in clear form.

Known Problems. There are several known problems with TSM or the TSM Mac OS X client. Here are a few of them. Consult "Mac X TSM Readme.txt" for more.

• Files with names longer than 32 characters cannot be backed up and they are logged in the error log when encountered. (A typical Mac OS X installation can include several hundred such files.)
• Files with names containing characters not in the Mac Roman code page cannot be backed up and they are logged in the error log when encountered. (A typical Mac OS X installation can include several such files.)
• When restoring or retrieving files with the REPLACE=NO option existing files will not be overwritten, but existing directories will. Use the FILESONLY option with the restore or retrieve to leave existing directories intact.