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Welcome to the July 2008 issue of the Mainstar z/OS eLetter! This eLetter delivers up-to-date technical news, tips, and techniques on vital z/OS® disaster recovery and data management topics.
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Articles
A Message from Doug Bryan, VP of Sales & Marketing for Mainstar
Just about every time I talk to a Mainstar customer, one word is sure to come up: integration. People don't just want their software to work - they also want to make sure that it will function perfectly with their existing systems. That's why we are constantly creating new products that allow organizations to use our software as effectively as possible. I invite you to read a recent white paper by Ron Haupert that highlights our integration with SAP, and to learn more about how Mainstar users can automate and simplify Linux management on z/VM.
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Mainstar Solutions for SAP Systems Using DB2 for z/OS
By Ron Haupert, Rocket Software
SAP is a business-critical application that allows enterprises to integrate and automate diverse business management processes - and many SAP implementations use dedicated DB2 for z/OS database management systems to support their application data. Because SAP applications are so important, they require a highly available support infrastructure to reduce potential problems caused by creating test application environments or by performing normal database maintenance procedures, as well as to minimize application outages caused by infrastructure failures.
Mainstar offers three products that promote high availability and simplify DB2 administration functions for SAP in z/OS environments. These products can be used independently or synergistically to create DB2 system backup, recovery, disaster recovery, and DB2 cloning solutions on behalf of the SAP application.
- Database Backup and Recovery for DB2 (DBR for DB2)
- Volume Clone and Rename (VCR)
- ast Table Refresh for DB2 (FTR)
Database Backup and Recovery for DB2 on z/OS is a backup and recovery solution designed specifically to simplify and speed up backup and recovery processing for SAP application environments that use the mainframe as their foundation. DBR for DB2 implements a system backup methodology that uses storage-based fast-replication to perform its backup and restore functions. Backups created using DBR for DB2 are completed in seconds (or less) without using host CPU or I/O resources and without affecting the SAP application. DBR for DB2 speeds up recovery processes by coordinating and parallelizing storage-based restore operations with DB2’s recovery operations; as a result, system backups created using DBR for DB2 can be used to recover DB2 systems as a unit or to recover groups of related objects representing applications. DBR for DB2 generated system backups can also be used to transform DB2 disaster recovery methodologies into a tape-based DB2 disaster restart solution.
Volume Clone and Rename provides DB2 system cloning automation and is used to create SAP application test environments in a speedy and resource-efficient manner. The DB2 system cloning automation process uses storage-based fast-replication to replicate SAP production data to a set of test storage volumes. Volume Clone and Rename conditions the test storage volumes and changes the dataset names to allow the volumes and their datasets to be integrated into a cloned DB2 system. DB2 systems can be cloned from a running DB2 system or they can be cloned from DBR for DB2 generated system backups. Both cloning methods support highly available SAP systems while creating test SAP environments quickly and effectively.
Fast Table Refresh for DB2 provides rapid DB2 table and index space cloning and refresh operations within or across DB2 systems. It automates, simplifies, and speeds DB2 table space cloning and refresh procedures and can leverage storage-based fast-replication facilities. FTR can be used to refresh DB2 table and index spaces residing in cloned DB2 systems generated from a production SAP environment. It can be used to reduce the number of times DB2 systems are cloned by refreshing only those table and index spaces that needs to be refreshed rather than cloning the full DB2 system. FTR is a selectable option for the VCR product.
Click here to read complete article.
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Automating and Simplifying the Management of Linux on z/VM
Running Linux guests on z/VM is increasingly widespread as enterprises leverage this platform to bring new workloads to the mainframe. One of the major benefits of running Linux on z/VM is the ability to create new guests as needed, without requiring further investment in additional servers, floor space, power resources, etc. And commonly, those who are asked to perform these tasks are Linux staff with little z/VM knowledge and z/VM staff with little Linux knowledge. For both of these groups, managing Linux guests on z/VM introduces a new learning curve, increasing the risk of error and the time required.
Automating the guest provisioning process and management can speed the transition without sacrificing accuracy. With Provisioning Expert, it’s easy to take advantage of Linux and the technology within z/VM. The configuration and creation of many Linux guests requires minimal effort and z/VM knowledge. The processes involved in configuring, creating, managing, and updating Linux guests is repeatable and controllable, and the user interface is easy to understand and use.
Please visit our website at www.mainstar.com for a brief demo of Provisioning Expert for Linux on z/VM.
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Join Us @ SHARE in San Jose
Don't miss SHARE in San Jose, August 10-15, at the San Jose Convention Center!
Please stop by booth #423 to sign up to win an American Express Gift Card! We look forward to seeing our customers and colleagues in San Jose, and we invite you to attend presentations where Mainstar team members will be speaking:
Tuesday, August 12
12:15 PM Simplifying Linux on the Mainframe under z/VM - Lunch & Learn
4:30 PM Session #3035 - Managing and Auditing Your DFSMShsm Environment using IBM Tivoli Advanced Audit for DFSMShsm
Wednesday, August 13
6:45 AM Got the IMS System and Database Cloning Blues? - Breakfast & Learn
8:00 AM Session #3013 - DFSMS Basics: ICF Catalog Management
Thursday, August 14
8:00 AM Session #3044 - Simplifying ICF Catalog Management with Tivoli Advanced Catalog Management for z/OS
Friday, August 15
9:30 AM Session #3098 - I'm Sorry; Your Data Can't Be Recovered! How to Avoid this Using Tivoli Advanced Backup and Recovery for z/OS
R.S.V.P. for the Lunch & Learn and Breakfast & Learn at the Mainstar Booth or send an email to dougb@mainstar.com
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What our lawyers make us say:
This eLetter is provided for informational purposes only. The
information contained in this document represents the current view of
Mainstar Software Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of
publication. Because Mainstar must respond to changes in market
conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part
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INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT
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All Rights Reserved. Mainstar Software Corporation is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Rocket Software, Inc.
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