Virtual TapeServer 8.0 Supplemental Installation Guide

Enabling BMA Integration and Migration

Through integration with a backup management application server, you can read and write

files to and from Virtual TapeServer (VTS). You can then enable VTS to export, or “migrate”,

virtual tapes to physical tapes using an attached external tape device. On upgraded servers,

you can configure the hsm_ parameters in the configuration file to enable migration, which is

described in this chapter.

Note You can also configure stacked export jobs if capacity is licensed, which is described in

the Configuration Guide.

To enable migration, you must install a backup management application (BMA) client on the

VTS server, which run the Linux operating system. The BMA treats VTS as a UNIX host on

the enterprise network. Virtual tapes are then exported to the tape library managed by the

BMA server according to policies set by the BMA administrator. Refer to BMA documentation

for instructions and more information.

After installing and configuring the BMA, you must configure the Event Management Service

(EMS) on VTS. This is done using the VTS web interface. And you must configure the hsm_

parameters as described in this chapter.

To automatically migrate tapes, you can configure the VTSPolicy command on the VTS server

to automatically export tapes. You can also manually initiate stacked exports by clicking the

Migrate button on the Virtual Media - Operation page. A BMA client must be installed and

configured on the VTS server to enable manual migration. You can use an external tape

device attached during installation, or you can attach a device as described in the

Configuration Guide.

The BMA server can migrate virtual tapes using the following methods:

• The BMA administrator creates a backup job on the BMA server and schedules it to run

on the BMA client. The BMA server manages the entire process and maintains a database

of the backup files including a list of physical tapes to which the data was written. The

BMA server also controls the tape library.

If VTS deletes or erases a virtual tape, the BMA administrator must restore the virtual

tape, when necessary. If Tivoli Storage Manager is used, the mount request is queued on

VTS until the data is recovered by the BMA server from physical tape if the server

requests access to a virtual tape that was erased or deleted.

• VTS can request that the BMA server perform a backup or restore. This request is

generated when you manually initiate a migration. This request is issued using the BMA

command-line interface. VTS generates the BMA command request, executing it on the

VTS server. The BMA client will request services from the BMA server, which may be

located on the VTS server or on a remote server. The BMA server then identifies the tape

to back up or restore and instructs the tape library to perform the operation.