Manage unattended backups using Robot/SAVE and your AML.

The IBM TS3500 can automatically load, unload, and eject tape volumes to provide an automated backup solution for IBM i servers. Yet, how many people can actually run this hardware unattended? Do your operators still start the process manually? Do they have to manually determine how to eject tapes and which tapes are available for daily backups?

An operations team has to make a lot of decisions for an automated media librarian (AML) device (also referred to as an automated tape library [ATL] or a silo.) They have to make sure they send media offsite, load unexpired volumes, and inventory what's been used. You're not automated just because you have one of these units.

Automated Backups

Robot/SAVE backup and recovery software helps you automate backups with devices like the TS3500. It can inventory, mount, unload, and eject tapes and run any backup scripts. You use Robot/SAVE's easy-to-fill-in panels to create the backup and recovery rules, so you don't have to be a programmer or system administrator.

For example, on the Automated Media Library Device Maintenance panel (Figure 1), you enter the drives associated with the AML.

Figure 1: Set Up a TS3500 AML in Robot/SAVE. (Click images to enlarge.) 

It's Easy

Robot/SAVE interfaces with all of the common industry-supported IBM i devices, including virtual tape drives. It even offers a menu option for ejecting and loading tapes (Figure 2).

When you run an IBM i backup command, such as SAVLIB, Robot/SAVE catalogs it, updates its history, and reports the activity. You can see when tapes were used and what's on each tape. Robot/SAVE also tracks when the tape will expire or be used next. And it can share this information across partitions.

Figure 2: The Automated Media menu makes it easy to manage your tape devices.

Automation Makes Recovery Painless

The most important part of any backup is to be able to restore your data. Robot/SAVE has a step-by-step restoration report you can use when you need to restore a file, a library, or an entire system. Robot/SAVE also offers an online, guided restoration procedure that tells you exactly which volumes you need.

For years, Robot/SAVE has helped customers pass hot site tests and audits. And it has helped them automate backups that use AMLs, ATLs, silos, or other devices. Try Robot/SAVE FREE for 30 days and see how easy backup and recovery can be. Learn more about Robot/SAVE by clicking here. Also, check out Help/Systems' other offerings in the MC Showcase Buyer's Guide.

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Tom Huntington is Executive Vice President of Technical Solutions at HelpSystems, and has been with the company for nearly 30 years. He works with business alliances, acquisitions and large customer relationships and ensures that the HelpSystems software works with other major software and hardware vendors worldwide.

Tom often speaks on enterprise scheduling, security, automation topics, IBM i technology, and the HelpSystems products, and hosts technical presentations on a variety of automation topics. He is the author of the HelpSystems IBM i Marketplace Survey and has written articles on automated operations, security, cloud computing, and business intelligence for leading trade journals and newsletters. He was named an IBM Champion in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 for over three decades of advocation and thought leadership on the IBM i platform.

Contact Tom at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..