Page Comparison

Version

Enterprise

BRMS Enterprise allows administrators to monitor backup operations for their BRMS systems from a central site called an Enterprise Hub. The systems being monitored by the Hub are called Enterprise Nodes. The Enterprise Network is comprised of Nodes that can be stand-alone BRMS systems, part of a BRMS Network or any combination of stand-alone and BRMS Networked systems. Configuration and management of the Nodes are handled through the Hub and does not impact the existing operations of traditional BRMS Networks.

The Hub can monitor Node backup activity in several ways:

• Reporting
  • Reports generated by BRMS commands
    • Display Log for BRM (DSPLOGBRM)
    • Print Report using BRM (PRTRPTBRM)
    • Start Maintenance for BRM (STRMNTBRM)
    • Start Recovery using BRM (STRRCYBRM)
  • Manually run or scheduled
  • Store on the Hub
  • Optionally stored on the Node  
  • Email
  • Email notifications for report errors
• Display status for backup control group runs
• Display connectivity status
• Display and filter the BRMS log

Enterprise function that is not available in IBM i 7.1 PTFs:

• Auto refresh of the Hub’s node status (dashboard)
• Failed Control Group View to identify backup problems faster
• Q1ABRMENT subsystem that runs Enterprise function independent of the traditional Q1ABRMNET subsystem

IBM Navigator for i enhancements

• Redesigned how policies are handled by IBM Navigator for i to be more consistent with green screen. 
• The global policy properties panel has been redefined with the following panels:
  • Archive policy (*ARCPCY)
  • Backup policy (*BKUPCY)
  • Recovery policy (*RCYPCY)
  • Retrieve policy (*RTVPCY)
  • System policy (*SYSPCY)
• Property panels will display values resolved from policies
• Auxiliary storage pools (ASP) can be used for object selection in Control Group and Save Item wizards
• Media pool (class) can be updated on the Volume Properties screen
• All objects from a library can be omitted from a backup
• Support manual and scheduled movement of media
• Confirmation message on the Add Media Wizard
• All save history can be marked for duplication
• Support right-to-left languages for reports

Backup enhancements

• Allow setting spool file expiration dates during backups
• BRMS object lists indicate whether to include or exclude objects during backups
• BRMS object lists can select objects using the object attribute
• Support the Asynchronous bring (ASYNCBRING) parameter on integrated file system backups to improve performance
• Support the Abnormal end delay time (ABNENDDLY) parameter on End Subsystem (ENDSBS) to force restricted state
• Support the Queue data (QDTA) parameter to backup the contents of queue objects
• Support the Sort by (SORT) parameter to allow sorting backups by library size
• Support the Update history (UPDHST) parameter to prevent object updates during backups
• Use creation date for incremental backups of spooled files
• Online domino backups with new Weekly Activity types
• Control groups defined for parallel backup operations will dynamically change to serial backups for control group entries that require serial backups
• Support auxiliary storage pool (ASP) value * for backup operations, * includes the system ASP, user ASPs and independent ASPs in the current job’s ASP group
• Allow retry of backups to Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) when TSM failures occur
• Automatically IPL the system if subsystems cannot be started after a restricted state backup
• Allow auto-restart when Start Backup using BRM (STRBKUBRM) ends abnormally
• Support media and save item expiration dates after the year 2038
• Enhanced tape library selection based on resources and media
• Support saving to save files located on independent storage pools (IASP)
• Automatically omit system libraries QPTFOBJ1 and QPTFOBJ2 from backups

Recovery enhancements

• Support the Restore list of libraries  (RSTLST) parameter on the Restore Library using BRM (RSTLIBBRM) command to restore objects using a BRMS object list
• Support the Show deleted libraries (SHWDTLLIB) parameter on the Start Recovery using BRM (STRRCYBRM) command to omit deleted libraries from recovery report
• Support the List (LIST) parameter on the Restore Object using BRM (RSTBRM) command to restore objects using names contained in a stream file generated by a Domino Server for Domino Attached and Object Service (DAOS)  objects
• Support the Volume summary order (VOLSUMORD) parameter on the Start Recovery using BRM (STRRCYBRM) command to sort volumes based on create date
• Support up to 12 parallel media files for fast positioning during restores, only 4 are supported in releases prior to IBM i 7.2
• Information added to the recovery report for the Update TCP/IP Information (UPDTCPINF) command
• Information added to the recovery report for the Configure Device ASP (CFGDEVASP) command
• Information added to the recovery report for  turning off Flashcopy

Media services enhancements

• Volume selection reuses media more efficiently
• Support *RESET as a Duration in a move sequence for a move policy to reset the move pattern to the first move sequence when new data is written to the media
• Support multiple values for the From location (LOC) parameter on the Move Media using BRM (MOVMEDBRM)  command to process movement for more than one location
• Support the Submit batch options (SBMOPT) parameter on the Duplicate Media using BRM (DUPMEDBRM) command to run media duplication in batch and indicate the number of media files to be produced
• Support the Data compaction (COMPACT) parameter on the Duplicate Media using BRM (DUPMEDBRM) command to indicate whether data compaction should be used on target media
• Support generic names for the File group (FILEGRP) parameter on the Duplicate Media using BRM (DUPMEDBRM) command
• Increase the number of volumes to 1000 for message BRM1553 sent from the Duplicate Media using BRM (DUPMEDBRM) command
• Support of LTO5 and LTO6 tape devices
• Support of Virtual Optical Library
• Support the Move marked for duplication field for move policies to allow media that is marked for duplication to be moved
• Support the Initialize media on expiration field for media classes to indicate that media should be initialized after it is expired, this is particularly useful for virtual media technologies so that storage can be freed when media is not being used
• After a response is provided for an inquiry message, tape media that was previously rejected by the job will be available for selection

BRMS network enhancements

• Support the Relational database (*RDB) value for the Communication method field in the network policy network group, this allows Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDN) to be used for BRMS communications through RDB entries
• Formatting improvements to the report generated by the Audit system media (AUDSYSMED) parameter on the Start Maintenance for BRM (STRMNTBRM) command

Install enhancements

• Performance improvements to the *RUNPRDINZ value for the Option (OPTION) parameter on the Initialize BRMS (INZBRM) command

Maintenance enhancements

• Support more specific object level detail for the Remove media information (RMVMEDI) parameter on the Start Maintenance for BRM (STRMNTBRM) command and the Object level detail (OBJDTL) parameter on the Remove Media Info from BRM (RMVMEDIBRM) command
• Change media owner for expired media when the owning system is not in the BRMS network
• Support the *BATCH value for the Reorganize BRMS database (RGZBRMDB) parameter on the Start Maintenance for BRM (STRMNTBRM) command to improve STRMNTBRM performance

Miscellaneous enhancements

• Support in system policy to control flight recorder size for first failure data capture.
• Support the BRMS flight recorder size field in the system policy to aid with BRMS problem determination
• Support *CTLGRPSTAT value for the Report type (TYPE) parameter on the Print Report using BRM (PRTRPTBRM) command for additional backup report information
• Enhance the Display ASP Information (DSPASPBRM) and Work ASP Information (WRKASPBRM) commands to indicate that independent auxiliary storage pool (IASP) information is unknown, if an IASP is varied off.

Version 7.1 

Graphical interface enhancements

• Support for the IBM Systems Director Web browser environment.
• Scheduling support for IBM Systems Director Navigator for i Web browser environment.
• High Availability independent auxiliary storage pools enhancement.
• Enhanced e-mail notification to support multiple e-mail addresses.
• Enhanced the BRMS log to provide the option to filter on control groups.
• BRMS maintenance feature in the Backup Policy now allows the user to run movement, expire partial volume sets and reorganize BRMS database files.
• Note: BRMS graphical interface refers to both the IBM i® Navigator BRMS plug-in and the IBM Systems Director Web environment BRMS plug-in.

Recovery enhancements

• New outfile support parameters have been added on the BRMS restore commands as well as the BRMS recovery policy.
• New *COMPATIBLE special value has been added for the Allow object differences parameter on BRMS restore commands.
• A new parameter Saved auxiliary storage pool (SAVASP) has been added on the BRMS restore commands to provide better control on the selection of which library or object was saved.
• On the work with object displays the "Objects saved" columns have been increased to support more than 999,999 objects.
• New Recovery report enhancements:
  • The "Verify System Information" step in the recovery report has been updated to include new instructions to use the Update System Information (UPDSYSINF) command.
  • The "Recover User Profiles" step in the recovery report, under the "Attention" section where the user is instructed what restore defaults to use, the user is asked to use *COMPATIBLE now for the Allow object differences prompt.
  • On the Start Recovery using BRM (STRRCYBRM) command, a new parameter Recovery element override has been added to allow the user to override specific sections on the recovery report.
  • Note: Currently only system data can be overridden with this new parameter.
  • The objects saved column on the recovery report has been increased to support more than 999,999 objects.

Media services enhancements

• Better handling of non-BRMS media when a customers inventory has a mixed media pool of BRMS media and non-BRMS media.
• Increased protection on backups saved to virtual media that have not been saved off to physical media.
• The Print Media Movement (PRTMOVBRM) command now includes media scheduled to move and media that are at the beginning of the media rotation.

Advanced Feature enhancements

• A new High Availability enhancement has been added for independent auxiliary storage pools.

Network enhancements

• Increased management of media information between the BRMS networked systems has been added.

Install enhancements

• For new installs of BRMS, the *SYSGRP control group will now have a new BRMS IFS list that contains all the IBM directory information.
• A new BRMS IFS list named QALLUSRLNK will be created on install. This list will have all of the IFS directory information except /QIBM/ProdData and /QOpenSys/QIBM/ProdData.

Version 6.1 

BRMS GUI

• Support for the IBM® Systems Director Navigator for i® Web browser environment.
• Ability to create and manage media policies (previous releases hid media policies).
• Support for DVD, CD-ROM, optical libraries, and virtual optical devices.
• Support for file or object level backup of Linux® or Windows® guest operating systems.
• Backup policy and archive policy renamed as backup control group and archive control group.
• Ability to manage and select media policies from the Backup Control Group and Archive Control Group Wizards, and from the Properties page.
• Backup control group and archive control group properties support for restoring and saving private authorities.
• Backup control group and archive control group properties support for disk pools and generic libraries.
• Backup and archive control groups properties support for software encryption, including tape libraries and stand-alone tapes.
  NOTES:
  • Save file encryption and optical media encryption are not supported.
  • If you are using encrypted independent auxiliary storage pools (ASPs) and want to have the data remain encrypted when you save them to tapes, you need to use the software encryption function provided in the backup and archive control groups to encrypt the data; otherwise, the data will be decrypted when you save them to tapes.

• Global policy properties support for restore operations from alternate media, use of SNA networking, and management of restricted state interfaces.

• Ability to balance media ownership to match the required number of media needed by systems within the BRMS network (network systems must be running IBM i 6.1 or later).

NOTE: BRMS graphical interface refers to both the IBM i™ Navigator BRMS plug-in and the IBM Systems Director Navigator for i Web environment BRMS plug-in. Enhancements to the BRMS functions are listed in the following sections.

Backup enhancements

• Ability to view and print backup statistics report to monitor backup activities.
• Capability to encrypt the data saved to removable media for both backup and archive activities.
• Ability to save specific objects across many libraries generically.
• Ability to save private authorities at an object level.
• Ability to override the device, parallel resources, media class, move policy, and media retention that is set in a control group at the time when running the backup control group.
• Ability to select the type of parallel save you would like to have run with a specific entry in a control group.
• Support for FlashCopy® environment.
• Support for missing object control groups for integrated file system objects.
• Support for multiple job save-while-active function.

Recovery enhancements

• Support for point-in-time recovery for objects using remote journals.
• Better journal management needed for recovery.
• Ability to restore private authorities at an object level.
• Capacity to determine what full or incremental save operations need to be restored.
• Ability to sort the saved items in a certain priority order in a recovery report so they will not be forced to recover alphabetically.
• Ability to exclude one or more locations in the recovery report.

Media services enhancements

• Support for automatic duplication, which allows you to immediately duplicate data from a save operation to other media using multiple devices.
• Ability to balance the number of scratch volumes owned by each system in a BRMS network.
• Support for the media append rules to select based on the most current expiration date.
• Move Media retention capability, which enables you to move media to a location where it is needed, and then after a specified amount of time, move back to its original location without affecting its movement schedule.
• Media status marked with *INZ (Initialize), *EXP (Expired), and *ACT (Active).

Hierarchical Storage Manager (HSM) enhancements

• Ability to copy archive and backup control groups to remote systems.

Device enhancements

• Tape Library 35xx and TS3400 enhancement, which synchronizes media status of tape library to all systems in BRMS network.
• Support for DVD/optical devices. BRMS provides you with a single interface to manage all the removable media storage devices.

Network enhancements

• Ability to choose the network communication method.
• Support for IPv6 TCP/IP interfaces.
• Support multiple TCP/IP interfaces, including virtual and physical interfaces.

Install enhancements

• Ability to preserve the current print files attributes and create new print files when upgrading BRMS.

New BRMS APIs

• Create Control Group (q1aCrtCg)
• Create Control Group Based On (q1aCrtCgBO)
• Delete Control Group (q1aDltCg)
• Add Control Group Entry (q1aAddCgE)
• Remove Control Group Entry (q1aRmvCgE)
• Add Control Group Entry Object Omit (q1aAddCgEO)
• Remove Control Group Entry Object Omit (q1aRmvCgEO)
• Create List (q1aCrtLst)
• Delete List (q1aDltLst)
• Add List Entry (q1aAddLstE)
• Remove List Entry (q1aRmvLstE)

Version V5R4M0 

BRMS for V5R4M0 continues to extend existing capability and provide new functions for improving automation, minimizing backup windows, and providing additional backup, recovery, and media management flexibility.

Enhancements include:

• Duplication of history items
• Improved duplication media and device error recovery
• Virtual tape devices and virtual media
• Support for IBM Data Retention (DR) 450 and DR 550 servers
• Native save/restore of spooled files
• New system spooled file management using expiration
• Parallel save/restore of Integrated File System (IFS)
• New backup options and improved system recovery
• Electronic messaging using e-mail
• More BRMS IBM i Navigator client functions
• BRMS integration with SAN for FlashCopy solution

Version V5R3M0 

V5R3 provides the following new and enhanced functions that make BRMS more powerful and easier to use.

BRMS Server:

• Optimized incremental save-while-active backup of libraries
• Remote duplication of media using the BRMS Network feature
• Reclamation of fragmented media
• Enhanced expiration of volumes in a media set
• Integrated backup and recovery of objects saved with pending transactions
• Restricted state TCP/IP and aliasing for the BRMS Network feature
• Saves of spooled files on independent auxiliary storage pools
• Library, object and folder omits for individual backup control groups
• True restricted state saves in batch
• Additional BRMS Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) client functions
• Better integration with TSM/PASE (Portable Application Solutions Environment)
• Still more System Recovery Report improvements
• Improved install times and reduced storage requirement

The BRMS IBM i Navigator client continues to improve functions for managing your backups, media, backup history, and recoveries using a highly accessible GUI.