IBM Spectrum Protect

IBM® Spectrum Protect™, formerly IBM Tivoli® Storage Manager, is a data protection platform that gives enterprises a single point of control and administration for backup and recovery operations.

It enables reliable, cost effective backups and fast recovery for virtual, physical, and cloud environments of all sizes.

Spend less on data protection and more on innovation

• By switching to IBM Spectrum Protect, you can reduce backup infrastructure costs by up to 53 percent, based on IBM assessments using Butterfly software.
• Incremental “forever” backup operations in conjunction with data deduplication can reduce backup storage requirements up to 95 percent for virtual and physical environments.

Manage and protect data with confidence

• Control virtual, physical, and cloud backup data from a single point, with greater visualization and administrator productivity.
• Monitor system status at a glance by using the IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Center dashboard.
• Take advantage of cloud integration to store data by using one of the following cloud service providers and protocols: Amazon Web Services with Simple Storage Service, IBM Cloud Object Storage with Swift or S3, Microsoft Azure, and OpenStack with Swift using Keystone Version 1 or Version 2.
• VMware administrators can manage backup and restore operations by using familiar user interfaces. There is no need to interact directly with backup servers.
• Convert file and virtual tape library (VTL)-type deduplicated storage pools to IBM Spectrum Protect directory-container storage pools. This automated conversion function enables organizations to take advantage of the space, management, and database improvements in the new storage pools.
• Take advantage of server-side data compression, which adds capacity to IBM Spectrum Protect container pools without adding more storage.

Deploy flexible solutions in any size organization

• IBM Spectrum Protect is highly scalable; a single backup server can protect billions of objects and can ingest, deduplicate, and replicate up to 100 TB per day of new or changed client data.
• Specially priced and packaged entry versions are available for small and mid-sized organizations. These versions are full featured and offer a choice of capacity and component-based license plans.
• Learn more about how to spend less time and money on backups with IBM Spectrum Protect. See the following report, which was published by the Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) lab: ESG Lab Review: IBM Data Protection for Virtual Environments.

New features and other changes are available in the IBM Spectrum Protect™ Version 8.1.7 server:

• Streamline the process of long-term data retention. Government, industry, and business regulations sometimes require the collection and retention of data over extended periods of time. IBM Spectrum Protect Version 8.1.7 introduces new features that streamline the process of long-term data retention. Data that is backed up for operational recovery purposes can be retained to meet long-term data retention requirements without having to store multiple copies of the data on the server.
• Offload data from IBM Spectrum Protect Plus. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is a data protection and availability solution for virtual environments that can offload data to IBM Spectrum Protect for longer term protection and disaster recovery. To streamline the integration of these two products, a new client type is introduced in IBM Spectrum Protect Version 8.1.7.
• Monitor the product with the servermon component. The servermon component is automatically installed and configured as part of the IBM Spectrum Protect Version 8.1.7 server installation. When the IBM Spectrum Protect server is started, the servermon component automatically collects data at regular intervals.
• Learn how to improve system performance by reading the Optimizing Performance guide. The IBM Spectrum Protect Version 8.1.7 documentation set reintroduces the Optimizing Performance guide.
• Remove storage pool protection. With IBM Spectrum Protect Version 8.1.7, you can remove storage pool protection from a directory-container storage pool and preview the removal process.
• Run the configuration wizard without enabling SMB1. IBM Spectrum Protect Version 8.1.7 simplifies the process for using the IBM Spectrum Protect configuration wizard to configure a clustered environment.
• Update the session security value of an administrator ID on managed servers. IBM Spectrum Protect Version 8.1.7 introduces the ability to use the UPDATE ADMIN command to modify the SESSIONSECURITY parameter value of an administrator ID on managed servers.
• Authenticate users with an LDAP server that uses the SSL protocol. With IBM Spectrum Protect Version 8.1.7, you can authenticate users with a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) server that uses the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol. This type of server is known as an LDAPS server.

For more information about product updates and new features, see What’s new.

Tip: Significant security enhancements were introduced in recent releases of IBM Spectrum Protect. For the latest information about security enhancements, see What you need to know before you install or upgrade the product.

New features are available in IBM Spectrum Protect™ Operations Center Version 8.1.7:

• A new way to comply with long-term data retention requirements. You can now meet common requirements for the collection, retention, and eventual deletion of data by creating collections of client backup data. These collections, which are called retention sets, are snapshots of the active backup data for one or more clients. You can define retention rules, which are schedules for collecting backup data for specified clients into retention sets. You can also create retention sets on an ad hoc basis. Data is not re-ingested from the client or copied from server storage to create a retention set. Instead, retention sets consist of data that is already in server storage. The data objects that must be retained are tracked in the server inventory and are not deleted until the specified retention period ends.
• A new client type, called an object client, for offloading data from IBM Spectrum Protect Plus. An object client is an application, in this case IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, that accesses the server by making Simple Storage Service (S3) requests to store and retrieve objects. By defining an IBM Spectrum Protect Plus server as an object client, you enable IBM Spectrum Protect Plus to offload virtual machine copies directly to an IBM Spectrum Protect server.

For more information about these enhancements, see the Operations Center help.

New features and other changes are available in the IBM Spectrum Protect™ Version 8.1.7 backup-archive client:

• Back up virtual machines in a tagged schedule on demand. For operations with Data Protection for VMware, the tagschedule option enables the IBM Spectrum Protect client to invoke an immediate backup operation of all VMware virtual machines (VMs) associated with a specified tagged schedule. For more information about this new method, see Tagschedule.
• Take advantage of the new licensing model for unused backup-archive clients. After you install a backup-archive client, the IBM® License Metric Tool counts the client only if it is connected to an IBM Spectrum Protect server and is used for data operations. Subsequently, that client is always included in license calculations. Clients that are not connected to a server and are not used for data operations are excluded from license calculations.
• Web user interface added to facilitate file-restore operations. With the web user interface feature you can perform file-restore operations on behalf of an end user, without the need to have access to the client web server machine. In contrast with previous file restore features, the new web user interface displays all files (active and inactive) in the browsing panel. Also, it does not overwrite existing files or directories during the restore operation. Instead, it creates a new file or directory with a timestamp added to the original file or directory name. The feature is available as an optional component.

  For more information, see Starting a web user interface session for file-restore operations.

  For more information on Linux x86_64, see Installing the Linux x86_64 client.

  For more information on Windows 64-bit, see Upgrading the Windows client and Silent installation.

• Support for the Debian Ubuntu operating system. In V8.1.7 of IBM Spectrum Protect backup-archive client support is now included for the Debian Ubuntu operating system, on both Linux on Power Systems™ (big endian) and Linux x86_64.
• Maintenance updates. Updates for APARs and other minor updates are provided.

For more information about product updates and new features, see What’s new.

New features and other changes are available in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus V10.1.3:

• Offload to cloud storage. Use cost-efficient cloud storage with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus for long-term data retention both onsite and offsite. Offload copies from the vSnap server are incremental forever and support any of these cloud storage providers.
  • Amazon S3 cloud storage
  • IBM Cloud Object Storage (COS)
  • IBM Cloud Object Storage with retention enabled vaults
  • Microsoft Azure Blob Storage (Hot and Cool Storage Tiers)
  • IBM Spectrum Protect server
  Use instant recovery capabilities for any copies offloaded to the cloud or to IBM Spectrum Protect storage. For more information, see Offload to secondary backup storage.
• Back up and restore Microsoft Exchange databases. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus application support is extended to include Microsoft Exchange Server environments. You can protect all your Exchange databases such as stand-alone or database availability group (DAG) configurations. Back up databases by selecting a service level agreement (SLA) policy, which determines the backup schedule and retention rate. Restore databases on demand or schedule jobs for your needs. Use the granular restore function with the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus Microsoft Management Console (MMC) GUI to restore individual mailbox items. For more information, see Microsoft Exchange Server.
• Back up and restore MongoDB databases. IBM Spectrum Protect Plus application support is extended to include non-sharded MongoDB environments. You can protect MongoDB databases by selecting an SLA policy, which determines the backup schedule and retention rate. You can restore on-demand or schedule jobs to run to an alternative host. Restore options include instant access to support rapid verification and testing, test restore operations to support DevOps, and full restore-to-production operations. This feature extends IBM Spectrum Protect Plus application support to include community and enterprise editions of MongoDB workloads. For more information, see MongoDB. For more information about supported environments, see the MongoDB requirements.
• Enhanced restore capabilities for Db2® restoring to alternative locations. Restore the same databases to the same machine multiple times with different names. When you are restoring multiple copies of the same Db2 databases, you no longer need to use different target machines for each of the restore operations. Restore the same databases to the same machine multiple times if needed. For more information about restoring Db2 databases to alternative locations, see Restoring Db2 databases to an alternative instance.
• Optimize offload to IBM Spectrum Protect. Offload incremental forever replicas from a vSnap server to an IBM Spectrum Protect storage server with container storage pools. The offload operation supports all workloads that are supported by IBM Spectrum Protect Plus. For more information about offload operations, see Offload to secondary backup storage.
• Advanced backup capability. Manage your backup jobs outside of an SLA schedule, with increased capability such as the ability to run partially completed jobs or to run a backup job of a single resource. For more information about managing jobs, see Rerunning a partially completed job, and Backing up a single resource.
• Support is extended. Support in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is extended to include the following environments:
  • Oracle 18c stand-alone configuration
  • Windows 2019
  • vSphere 6.7 Update 1
  • File-level indexing and restore on Windows Server Core platforms 2012, 2016, and 2019
  • OpenLDAP servers

  For more information about system requirements, see Component requirements.

• Enable high availability options for IBM Spectrum Protect Plus. Use VMware and Microsoft HyperV high availability options to support an active-passive high availability configuration for your IBM Spectrum Protect Plus environment. For more information about how high availability options, see How to provide high-availability for the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus server.
• Expire all recovery points of virtual machines and databases. Expire catalog entries associated with a resource from the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus catalog. This cleanup releases space in the catalog and removes the corresponding restore points from recovery screens. For more information, see Deleting IBM Spectrum Protect Plus resources from the catalog.
• Automate deployment of VADP proxies. With the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus open virtual appliance (OVA) installers, VMware vStorage API for Data Protection (VADP) proxies are packaged in vSnap OVA or executable files. This inclusion means that the VADP proxy is installed automatically during the vSnap deployment. A vSnap and VADP proxy appliance server must meet the minimum requirements of both devices. For more information, see Component requirements.
• Improve security with SSH certificates. Use a Secure Shell (SSH) key for credentials and application registration to enhance the security of connections between your resources and IBM Spectrum Protect Plus. In addition to application registration, SSH keys and certificates can be used for file indexing and offload operations. For more information about keys and certificates, see Managing keys and certificates.
• Balance the workload to manage network activity. Global throttling ensures that multiple VADP proxies are optimally used to maximize data throughput. For each virtual machine that is backed up, IBM Spectrum Protect Plus determines which VADP proxy is the least busy with the most available memory and free tasks. For more information, see Managing VADP backup proxies.
• Use custom mount points for instant access restore operations. Specify a mount point prefix when you are restoring your databases from the vSnap repository. When the restore job runs, it uses the specified mount point prefix instead of the default agent prefix. Instant access restore operations are available for all applications on both Windows and Linux operating systems.
• Prioritize data resources to control processing order. In IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, you can assign priorities to your virtual resources to control the order of processing in an SLA policy. Select the resource in the VMware Backup pane, and then set the backup priority in the Priority field. For more information, see Backing up VMware data.
• Throttle network usage during replication and offload operations. Adjust bandwidth usage by using site throttling between vSnap repositories. By throttling workloads, you can help to avoid impact to any critical operations that use the same network. For more information about defining throttling rates, see Changing offload throughput rate.
• Enhance API interactions with Swagger UI. Interact with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus REST APIs by using a Swagger user interface.
• Monitor the status of your IBM Spectrum Protect Plus environment. The enhanced dashboard displays the overall condition of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus workloads. Review protection status, storage capacity, and job status in a single view that helps you to prioritize your workload. To see more details about your jobs, including job logs, go to the navigation pane and click Jobs and Operations > Monitoring > Policy and Job List. For more information about the dashboard, see Product dashboard .
• Use assistive technologies for enhanced accessibility. Keyboard functions and accessibility features are available to help you to navigate the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus user interface.

For more information about product updates and new features, see What’s new.

New features and other changes are available in the IBM Spectrum Protect™ for Virtual Environments: Data Protection for VMware Version 8.1.7:

• Back up VMs in a tagged schedule on demand. The tagschedule option enables an IBM Spectrum Protect data mover to invoke an immediate backup or rebalance of all VMs associated with a specified tagged schedule. Use the -tagschedule option with the backup VM and backup VM -preview commands to back up or rebalance the VMs that are assigned to or associated with a schedule and data mover with specified VMware tags. The -tagschedule option can be used in two scenarios:
  • To run an ad hoc backup. For example, you can run an ad hoc operation to rerun a previously scheduled backup operation.
  • To rebalance the data movers on a tagged schedule. You can use the -VMREBALANCESCHEDULEONLY and -VMREBALANCESCHEDULEPERIOD options to rebalance the data movers on a regular basis.

For general information about this option, see Tagschedule. For detailed information about ad hoc backup, see Using tagschedule for ad hoc backup. For detailed information about rebalancing, see Using tagschedule for rebalancing.

• Take advantage of the improved process for data mover deletion. When you delete data movers remotely, the deletion service now removes services and deletes configuration files that are no longer needed on the data mover machine.
• View improved diagnostics for failed backup operations. All VMs that failed to backup now have an associated error code that can be selected to get more detailed information about why the VM failed to be backed up. You can download an error or schedule log from any data mover from the plug-in GUI for improved search and analysis. For further detail, see the topic on Managing data movers for a vCenter.
• Enjoy improved usability. The following usability enhancements are provided:
  • The plug-in GUI provides improved visibility of backup schedules that are currently in progress.
  • When configuring data protection, you can now select multiple VMs, assign them to a new schedule, delete existing schedules, assign new data movers if they belong to the same schedule, and adjust other backup management settings.
  • Rebalancing data movers in a schedule will now give a preview of the data mover assignments for the next scheduled backup.
  • Web GUI no longer has configuration mode selected by default, except at an initial install.
• Accept certificates for enhanced security for remote data movers. You are prompted to accept security certificates the first time you connect to or monitor remote data movers. Each data mover installation runs on a web service that creates and maintains a self-signed SSL certificate. The certificate secures operations such as interacting with a data mover, monitoring and upgrading. You are presented with the details of the certificate the first time a connection is established and given the choice of accepting or rejecting the certificate. The certificate is then retained to secure future communications on this connection. For instructions, see the topic on Accepting self-signed SSL certificates. To learn about validating the certificate, see Verifying a Data Protection for VMware self-signed web server certificate.
• View more detailed statistics on backup operations. After you back up VMware VMs, you can view enhanced aggregate statistics. The statistics now include information about the transport types that are used for each virtual machine, and how many virtual machines used each transport type. See Backing up VMware virtual machines.
• Take advantage of the new licensing model for unused data movers. After you install Data Protection for VMware, the IBM® License Metric Tool counts the data mover only if it is connected to an IBM Spectrum Protect server and is used for data operations. Subsequently, that data mover is always included in license calculations. Data movers that are not connected to a server and are not used for data operations are excluded from license calculations.

For more information about product updates and new features, see What’s new.

New features and other changes are available in the IBM Spectrum Protect™ for Virtual Environments: Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Version 8.1.7:

• Verify the integrity of a virtual machine backup without restoring its data. You can run an instant access operation to help verify the integrity of a virtual machine (VM) backup without restoring the VM data or disks to the Hyper-V host. The instant access operation creates a temporary VM that you can verify. After you complete the verification, you can remove the temporary VM. You can use the data mover command-line interface, the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console, or Windows PowerShell cmdlets to run instant access operations. For more information, see the following topics:
  • Running instant access operations
  • Running instant access operations from the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console
  • Verify the integrity of a VM backup with cmdlets
  • Vmrestoretype
  • Vmautostartvm
  • Restore VM
• Use parallel processing to help enhance the performance of restore operations. Use the vmmaxrestoresessions, vmmaxrestoreparallelvms, and vmmaxrestoreparalleldisks options to optimize restore operations for VMs. For more information, see the following topics:
  • Optimizing restore operations
  • Restoring multiple virtual machines in parallel (optimized restore)
  • Vmmaxrestoresessions
  • Vmmaxrestoreparallelvms
  • Vmmaxrestoreparalleldisks
• Preview restore operations. You can use the -preview parameter with the restore vm command to preview the results of a restore operation without restoring VMs. For more information, see the following topics:
  • Restore VM
  • Preview virtual machine restore operations
• Include or exclude VM disks during restore operations. Use the following parameters with the restore vm command to include one or more VM disks (VHDXs) when you restore a VM:
  • Include: vmname:vhdx=disk_location
  • Exclude: vmname:-vhdx=disk_location

  For more information, see Restore VM.

• View more details for active tasks in the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console. To help you better understand the context of data protection operations, detailed information about active tasks is shown in the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console. For more information, see the following topics:
  • Tasks table
  • Task Details
• Access diagnostic information from the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console. To help resolve issues with Hyper-V operations, you can access detailed error information from the Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V Management Console for diagnostics purposes. For more information, see the following topics:
  • Task Details
  • PowerShell cmdlets for Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V
• Take advantage of the new licensing model for unused data movers. TAfter you install Data Protection for Microsoft Hyper-V, the IBM® License Metric Tool counts the data mover only if it is connected to an IBM Spectrum Protect server and is used for data operations. Subsequently, that data mover is always included in license calculations. Data movers that are not connected to a server and are not used for data operations are excluded from license calculations.

For more information about product updates and new features, see What’s new.

New features and other changes are available in the IBM Spectrum Protect™ HSM for Windows Version 8.1.7:

• Recall enhancements. In V8.1.7 the recall operation is now much faster and will not time out. By using Server Message Block (SMB), which allows systems within the same network to share files, migrated files start copying immediately, and you do not need to wait until the recall operation is complete. If the application that opens the file uses this feature, it can read or display the content of the file while the remaining parts of the file are being recalled. For more information, see Recall modes.

For more information about product updates and new features, see What’s new.

New features and other changes are available in the IBM Spectrum Protect™ for Space Management Version 8.1.7:

• New HSM options. With this release, and the new hsmrpcport option, you can control which port is used to distribute recalls amongst the HSM client nodes. It also allows you to configure HSM communication across a firewall. For more information, see Configuring IBM Spectrum Protect for space management client communication across a firewall. In addition, the new hsmrecallbufferalignment and hsmrecallbuffersize options are added to control handling of buffers for recalling files, and to increase performance.

New features and other changes are available in the IBM Spectrum Protect™ Snapshot for Windows Version 8.1.7:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2019. With IBM Spectrum Protect Snapshot Version 8.1.7, Windows Server 2019 is supported.
• Microsoft Exchange Server 2019. With IBM Spectrum Protect Snapshot Version 8.1.7, Exchange Server 2019 is supported.
• Mailbox Restore Browser support for Exchange 2016 and Exchange 2019. Browse and restore individual mailbox items by using the Mailbox Restore Browser. This feature is now supported on Exchange Server 2016 and Exchange Server 2019. For more information, see Configuring your system for mailbox restore operations (Exchange 2016 and later).

For information, see What’s New.

New features and other changes are available in the IBM Spectrum Protect™ Version 8.1.7 backup-archive client for Mail: Data Protection for Microsoft Exchange Server Version 8.1.7:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2019. With Data Protection for Microsoft Exchange Server Version 8.1.7, Windows Server 2019 is supported.
• Microsoft Exchange Server 2019. With Data Protection for Microsoft Exchange Server Version 8.1.7, Exchange Server 2019 is supported.
• Mailbox Restore Browser support for Exchange 2016 and Exchange 2019. Browse and restore individual mailbox items by using the Mailbox Restore Browser. This feature is now supported on Exchange Server 2016 and Exchange Server 2019. For more information, see Configuring your system for mailbox restore operations (Exchange 2016 and later).
• Mount read/write backup on XIV device. You can now mount a read/write backup on an XIV device without modifying the backup.

For more information about product updates and new features, see What’s New.

New features and other changes are available in the IBM Spectrum Protect™ for Databases: Data Protection for Microsoft SQL Server Version 8.1.7:

• Support for Windows 2019 is added. In Data Protection for SQL Server V8.1.7, the SQL always on availability group (AAG) backup query displays the name of the original server where the snapshot is created during the backup operation. For more information, see Data Protection for Microsoft SQL Server updates V8.1.7.

For information, see What’s New.

Media Gallery

Documentation

IBM Knowledge Center

• V8.1.0 IBM Knowledge Center

Blueprints

• IBM Spectrum Protect Blueprints

Technotes

• Tivoli Storage Manager Supported Operating Systems
• IBM Tivoli Storage Manager Supported Devices for Linux
• IBM Tivoli Storage Manager Supported Devices for AIX, HP-UX, Solaris, and Windows
• Latest IBM Spectrum Protect Server and Client Downloads – Fix Packs and Interim Fixes
• IBM Spectrum Protect Server-Client Compatibility and Upgrade Considerations

White papers

• Best practices for recovering Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8
• Best practices for recovering Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7, and Windows Vista
• ESG Lab Review: IBM Data Protection for Virtual Environments

Redbooks

• IBM Tivoli Storage Manager as a Data Protection Solution
• Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments: Data Protection for VMware Solution Design Considerations

IBM Spectrum Protect Customer Feedback Programs

IBM is looking for customers and business partners to provide feedback on IBM Spectrum Protect offerings in order to influence future enhancements and improve the product experience. IBM is trying to better meet the needs of its customers through our early interaction programs. We have three program offerings:

• Beta program: Participants will be given access to pre-released code and asked to provide focused input related to the time-to-value and overall user experience.
• Early Access Program (EAP): Participants are invited to quarterly sessions to provide feedback on potential future designs.
• Sponsor User program: Selected participants will be chosen to work closely with the design and development teams to improve new enhancements.

If you are interested in a more direct interaction with the Spectrum Protect development, consider registering for one of these programs:

• To request enrollment in the beta program, submit the IBM Spectrum Protect Beta sign-up form
• To request enrollment in the EAP program, submit the IBM Spectrum Protect EAP sign-up form

Sponsor users are selected from the beta and EAP programs.

Note: Because new features and functionality are unannounced, the material presented throughout these programs will be classified IBM Confidential and participants will be required to accept a standard legal agreement that has been approved for use within IBM Software Group at IBM before acceptance into the beta and/or EAP programs.