Re: BRMS: System save only

[Loyd Goodbar <loyd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 02 Jan 2002 16:30:19 -0600, Brad Jensen <brad@elstore.com> wrote:

>> BRMS provides, among a boatload of reports, a restoration plan from a system
>> perspective. I haven't looked at it in detail. But it can print just about
>> every configuration setting on the system that you could desire.
>
>You mean ont he AS/400, not the tape library?

Yes, it looks like it can print virtually everything from the AS/400 level
(system values, subsystem descriptions, device descriptions, etc etc) required
to configure a similar box. However, if this information is saved (save
config, save security), you do not need to print the paper.

One reason we experienced increased tape usage is (I think) BRMS stores its
configuration and volume database on a separate tape during backup.

BRMS can print a "how to recover your system" guide that basically says
install the OS, install BRMS licensed program and PTFs. Run BRMS and tell it
to restore its configuration from tape. Tell BRMS to restore the system. The
recovery guide remembers the last tape you used to save security, user
profiles, etc etc. so it basically tells you the tapes it needs to restore the
system.

One of our plans is to take our tapes, recovery guide, and installation CDs to
an offsite AS/400 (hopefully on loan from a BP) and restore our system. It
would be a nice confidence booster to say, yes, we have a book to tell us how
to recover our system, and yes, it works!

>> None of this means we could not have made something similar on our own; but 
>at
>> what cost? The cost of BRMS is easily offset in the number of weeks? months?
>> it would take us to duplicate functionality and reliability.
>
>I'm not familiar with the cost of BRMS. Wha's it look like? Is
>it tiered?

We're still in the 70 day tryout period. Our ballpark quote is about $2400. I
don't know if it's tiered or not, but $2400 doesn't buy many programmer hours.

Loyd
--
"Why, you can even hear yourself think." --Hobbes
"This is making me nervous. Let's go in." --Calvin
loyd@blackrobes.net  ICQ#504581  http://www.blackrobes.net/