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Frequently Asked Questions

ART: Automatic Restore Testing

Does ART manage my DR tests?
No - but SMARTtsm does (for Windows servers).  

A Disaster Recovery test restores all files from a few nodes, and tests to make sure the business applications are running correctly.

ART restores a few files from all nodes. This sampling technique catches

  • nodes that have never been put on a schedule
  • backups that have been failing for weeks
  • new disk drives added but not seen by TSM

and many other operational / infrastructure problems. But unlike a full DR test, it does not guarantee that you can successfully restore one particular client.

Can ART test all my clients, regardless of Operating System?
Not quite.  Out-of-the-box behavior will test all Unix and Windows, but not Macintosh, Netware, or Z/OS. ART can use ssh to extend its reach to any OS, but that setup takes some effort.
What kind of hardware does ART require?
Anything that supports VMware. A dual-processor Pentium 4 or better recommended. The dual-processor helps performance a lot.  See our prerequisites.
Does it run on VMware Player? VMware Server? VMware ESX?
Yes, yes, and yes.  Player is easiest, if you are not familiar with VMware.  If you use VMware ESX see the instuctions for putting it on your ESX host.
How much does it cost?
Pricing is based on the number of TSM nodes at your site, with volume discounts for large sites.  Request a quote for details. 
How hard is it to install?
There's a 500MB VM to download. If you don't already use VMware at your site, you will have to download VMware Player (free from vmware.com), or get the LiveCD version of ART instead.  Then setting up your TSM server takes 5 minutes, and you're done. Some optional steps (adding a new TSM administrator) may take a little longer.  See the art_install_guide for more details.
Can I get technical support after I buy?
Yes. Support contracts are mandatory the first year and include free software upgrades, access to a support forum, and email response from us between 9 am and 5 pm weekdays (New York time zone). Support contract fees are 10% of the list price for the license.
When will I see results?
It may take a few hours for ART to make a sweep through your entire site, but you'll begin to see test results within minutes.
Where do the restored files live?
They are restored to the ART VM, and deleted immediately after being restored (for security reasons).
How do I install ART on my Macintosh?
Unzip the downloaded .zip file into a folder, rename that folder using a ".vmwarevm" extension, and move the folder to VMware Fusions' Virtual Machines folder.  It will then appear in Fusion's Virtual Machine Library list, where you can select it and click Run.
What are "proxies"?
The ART VM can test most Unix and Windows machines with no additional setup.  But "dsmc" is not cross-platform, so if you need to test  Macintosh, Netware, and some others,  then you must set up an "ssh" connection to a Macintosh (Netware, etc.) machine.  Then ART will use that machine as a "proxy" to run its "dsmc" commands. Let us know if you need to do this, because setup is sometimes difficult.
Why do I get "read-only filesystem" errors?
This may happen on ESX servers for reasons involving SANs.  Restarting the ART VM has always resolved the problem.
How do I change the time zone?
Browse to ART's IP address, log in, and look on the Preferences tab.
ART says "point your browser to http: NOTFOUND".
The ART VM tries to use DHCP to get an IP address.  Since this didn't work for you, go to VMware, VM, Settings (for VMware Player, click Devices, Network) and set the network type from "Bridged" to "NAT", and restart the VM.  If that didn't work, you can give it a static IP address. Still no joy?  We want to know.  Contact support@tsmworks.com.
ART fails to upgrade itself or send its logs to TSMworks.
If the upgrade or send logs features hang or return an error, the most likely cause is that ART is behind a firewall which is preventing it from connecting to the TSMworks servers.  Many sites require outgoing connections to pass through an HTTP proxy.  ART versions greater than 1.3 allow users to specify proxy settings in the "Preferences" tab (you can often find these in your web browser if you don't know them).  If this doesn't resolve the problem, please contact technical support at support@tsmworks.com.
What sites will art attempt to contact through my proxy?
ART will not attempt to access any hosts outside your site unless you tell it to upgrade itself or send your ART logs to TSMworks for support purposes. Both of these functions are accessed through the support tab. Ir oder to upgrade itself ART needs access to the following sites:
  • http://svn.tsmworks.com
  • https://svn.tsmworks.com
  • http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/
  • http://security.ubuntu.com/
The first two locations are for internal ART updates, the latter two are for updates to the host VM.

When you try to send your logs to TSMworks they will go to
  • http://webdav.tsmworks.com
How do I tell ART to schedule sweeps to run automatically?
ART uses Unix's cron utility to schedule sweeps. This feature is not yet available through the web interface, so you will have to log in to the ART VM using ssh (user: art, pass: tsmworks), then run the following command: 
 export EDITOR=nano; crontab -e
This will open a file listing all the scheduled jobs for ART. Usually it will be blank except for a comment line at the top. You will want to add a line with the command field "export PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/bin";/home/art/script/sweeper_daemon". The format of the crontab file is described here. An example entry that would run the sweep at 14:15 (2:15 pm) every Saturday: 
# m h  dom mon dow   command
15 14	*   *   6 export PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/bin";/home/art/script/sweeper_daemon

SMARTtsm: Full DR testing for Windows

Does SMARTtsm manage my DR tests?
Yes, for MS Windows servers like Exchange, Active Directory, MSSQL, Oracle, etc.  (We are looking for a similar solution for Unix-based platforms.)  SMARTtsm does a complete recovery and validation for one server.
Is SMARTtsm just ART with a different license?
No,  SMARTtsm is a completely different product with a different installer and different technology.
How is SMARTtsm licensed?
You will need a SMARTtsm license for each production server you want to test.  For example, if you had one Exchange server, one Active Directory server, and three Oracle servers, you would need five licenses.
What do I have to do to install SMARTtsm?
First, set up a VMware Virtual Machine of the same OS type (Windows 2003, Windows XP, etc.) as the tested machine.  Install the TSM B/A client, and the SMARTtsm product on this VM.  Now you can use this one VM to test all  production servers of that OS type. 
How do I configure  SMARTtsm for the machine I'm testing?
Use the SMARTtsm wizard to specify the production server you're testing, to enter the license for that server, and to configure access to the TSM server,  and validation queries used after the application is running.

 
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