iTech Solutions Group Blog

How to Calculate and Estimate of the Amount of Data On a Tape Cartridge

Posted on June 24, 2020

Run the DSPTAP *LABELS command to *PRINT. To determine how much save/restore data is on a cartridge, add all the file lengths and multiple by (block length less 4096). This gives you how many bytes are written to the tape.

Posted in: IBM i Tech Tips
Tagged with: ibm backup and recovery, IBM i, ibm i backup, ibm i backup and recovery, ibm i tape library, Virtual Tape Library

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IBM i Virtualization Enhancements

Posted on April 28, 2020

It’s been my favorite enhancement of this latest round of Technology Refreshes (TR) for 7.3 and 7.4. Partially because it was my request to IBM for this enhancement. So, let me tell you something about that. A while ago we needed an enhancement to IBM i for virtualizing tape libraries. I put in a Request For Enhancement (RFE) into IBM stating I wanted to share a tape library between IBM i partitions while using IBM i hosting IBM i. Currently, we can share a tape drive between partitions without moving…

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Five Reasons IBM i Shops Are Considering VTL Solutions

Posted on September 24, 2019

It’s plain and simple. You must execute backups daily. No excuses! It’s not just about being able to recover in a disaster; you also need to be able to recover a file that is accidentally overwritten or deleted. If you have high availability and you think you don’t need to back up every day, you really should reconsider your strategy. Replication ensures that your target and source data are in sync, but if you delete a record or several records you need, you can’t get them back with replication. Backups…

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Moving a Physical Adapter via HMC using Classic GUI vs. Enhanced+ GUI or HMC V8R8.7.0 and higher version

Posted on February 26, 2019

Manually Moving the PCI Fiber Channel Adapter/IOA from Partition B to Partition A Note: Not shown in this process/steps, you will need to check and vary off, if needed, the resource using the physical adapter on Partition B, (i.e., tape library, tape drive), and then vary on the resource that will use the physical adapter on Partition A. Using the Classic GUI Sign into the HMC V7 Sign in OR Sign into the HMC V8 (V8R8.3.0 through V8R8.6.0) Check Classic (V8R8.6.0 final support for Classic GUI) Sign In In the…

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Questions to Ask Yourself When It Comes to Backup and Recovery

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When people talk to us about backup and recovery, one of the most common questions is “how often should I be doing a full system save?” Given we’re about to install PTFs or upgrade the OS, my response is always, “when was your last full system save?” What I do next is show them the QSAVSYS data area to at least find out exactly when the last SAVSYS (Save System, or Go Save option 22) was done. Now, this isn’t proof positive that a Go Save option 21 was taken…

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6 Steps to Help Back Up Your Data During Hurricane Season

Posted on September 10, 2018

This is a special edition of our newsletter due to Hurricane Florence, and our regular monthly newsletter will be delivered in 2 weeks. If you haven’t subscribed, join 15,000 other IBM i professionals by subscribing here. On Thursday of this week, we are bracing for Hurricane Florence to hit the Carolinas with massive flooding and wind damage up and down the eastern seaboard of the United States. Right after that, we have Hurricanes Isaac and Helene currently forming in the Atlantic, their direction is still indecisive. It’s hurricane season. Of…

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iTech Solutions Group Blog

How to Calculate and Estimate of the Amount of Data On a Tape Cartridge

IBM i Virtualization Enhancements

Five Reasons IBM i Shops Are Considering VTL Solutions

Moving a Physical Adapter via HMC using Classic GUI vs. Enhanced+ GUI or HMC V8R8.7.0 and higher version

Questions to Ask Yourself When It Comes to Backup and Recovery

6 Steps to Help Back Up Your Data During Hurricane Season

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