TSM is a network-based backup service available to faculty, staff, and graduate students. All office computers configured by the WWS Computing Services Office have TSM installed and configured to run once a week.  These backups will be monitored regularly by Computing Services.  As of February 2008, TSM on home machines and laptops not directly connected to the campus network will not be monitored by WWS Computing Services.  The user will receive monthly notices of the backup status of these machines.

Backup Notes/Limitations:

• A successful back up is dependent upon the machine being powered up and connected to the internet. The TSM back up client can not back up files such as local email folders in Outlook (.pst files) if they are open and in use on the computer. To ensure that all of your files are backed up regularly, please close all applications, log off and keep the computer powered on when you leave for the day.
   
• Laptop back ups will not occur when the machine is in standby mode or hibernating.   
• Due to DeSC Power Management restrictions, the schedule to keep office machines awake is from 6:00 pm on Saturday to 12:00 pm on Sunday. DeSC computers will be backed up during this time period.  The computer’s two hard drives with RAID mirroring will be the primary defense against loss of data and files due to hardware failure along with Windows Shadow Copy which protects against accidental file deletion
   
• The default back up configuration excludes certain system folders, temporary Internet Files and temporary directories. See TSM Usage and Charging Policy for more information.
   
• Users can check the status of backup, by looking at schedule log, located at
  c:\Program Files\Tivoli\TSM\baclient\dsmsched.log

Backup Service Options:

There are two backup options, Complete and Personal. Windows Vista computers participating in DeSC are configured with mirrored hard drives and receive personal backups.  All other computers will receive a Personal backup at no charge or may receive a Complete backup for a charge of $5.00/month. At the time of installation, a WWS Computing Services technician will discuss the options with the user and determine the appropriate backup method.

• Personal Data Backup
  Personal work documents will be backed up at no charge and with no limit on size. The definition of personal documents will be based on the location of the documents, for example the "My Documents" and "\usr" folders on a Windows system, "or /Users" on a Mac OS X system.  Definitions of "personal data" directories by operating system
   
• Complete System Backup
  For those systems that need backup service beyond the personal documents directories, a complete backup option is available for a fee of $5.00 per month. This complete backup service encompasses all directories on all disk volumes, with the exception of a few such as Temporary Internet Files and other similarly temporary directories. See TSM Usage and Charging Policy for more information.

As an alternative or in addition to using OIT’s TSM service, consider storing important files on a network drive which is backed up centrally or via removable storage (i.e. USB drive).

If you would like to receive a status report regarding your TSM backup, please email the WWS Help Desk and you will be added as a contact for the node.

OIT's TSM Frequently Asked Questions