More on backing up your Portal Server

I blogged last week on the importance of backing up your Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server.  I do think it's easy, especially in a z centric environment, to overlook the necessity of backing up this component. 

One reader mentioned that they use the migrate-export script provided by IBM to handle the backup of the TEPS database.  This is certainly a valid way to do it, and if you are unfamiliar with the process here is a link to the doc:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v15r1/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.ibm.itm.doc_6.1%2Fitm_admin_62137.htm

You have other options, as well.  Don't forget about the TACMD command that I've blogged about earlier.  The TACMD provides a mechanism to export things like workspaces to XML, and then importing these components. 

Some interesting upcoming webcast events

There are some interesting webcast events coming up in the next few weeks. 

First there is a new OMEGAMON  related event on October 24th, "Discovery, monitoring and automation for zEnterprise ensemble".   This presentation will cover zEnterprise application discovery with Tivoli Application Dependency Discovery Manager (TADDM), end-to-end visibility with OMEGAMON and Tivoli monitoring, and end-to-end automation with the IBM System Automation family. 

The speaker is Aaron Young of IBM Corporation.  The event is October 24th at 11 AM Eastern time.  Here is a link to register:
http://ibm.co/14D3EmJ

There's another interesting z/OS related webcasts coming up on October 2nd.  "New technologies continue to exploit mainframes: With featured analyst Phil Murphy" .  In this presentation Phil Murphy, of Forrester Research, will discuss System z visibility, control and automation capabilities that enable mobile, big data and cloud to work within an enterprise mainframe environment.

The event is October 2nd at 11 AM Eastern time.
Here is a link to register:
http://bit.ly/19AYckC

Back up your Tivoli Portal

I've encountered a couple situations related to this recently.  The Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server requires a database to store screens and various other information for Portal usage.  In most shops the Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server  (the TEPS) is installed using DB2.  In DB2 there is a database called TEPS that contains this information. 

Like with any database, it is a good idea to have a process in place to back up the TEPS database.  What do you lose if you lose the TEPS database?  Well, you can lose your custom workspaces, along with a lot of other customized information and settings.  What happens if the server group decides to upgrade your TEPS server and does a complete re-install of DB2?  Depending upon how it's done if you don't have a good backup of your TEPS database you may lose valuable customization and information.

How can you backup the TEPS database?  There is a DB2 line command option to invoke the BACKUP command.  Here's a link to the documentation for the BACKUP command:
http://pic.dhe.ibm.com/infocenter/db2luw/v9r7/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.ibm.db2.luw.admin.cmd.doc%2Fdoc%2Fr0001933.html

Note the database you would be backing up is called TEPS.

OMEGAMON and z/OS 2.1 currency support

Looking at going to z/OS 2.1?  When you are ready to make that move, you will want to review the maintenance requirements for OMEGAMON to support z/OS 2.1. 

Here's a link to the documentation for the support requirements for z/OS 2.1:
http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21647512

OMEGAMON support for zAware

I've posted earlier about zAware, and the capabilities of zAware.  Just so you are all aware, OMEGAMON z/OS now provides support for zAware.  Here's an example:

Shared Memory Communication

Shared Memory Communication, SMC-R, is a new innovation on System z that improves performance for sharing data and reduces network overhead in data transmission. SMC-R introduces a new socket via RDMA communication protocol.  RDMA (Remote Direct Memory Access) is an industry standard that enables network adapters to transfer data using direct memory to memory communication, thereby eliminating networking stack overhead.

Workloads that are network intensive or transaction oriented will experience the greatest benefit.  For example, CICS to CICS workload using IPIC (IP interconnectivity) has seen up to 48% reduction in response time and 10% CPU savings in IBM benchmarks.  Other workloads that may benefit include WebSphere to DB2, WebSphere MQ for z/OS, or event FTP.

If you want more information, here's a link:
http://idcp.marist.edu/enterprisesystemseducation/95%20zTidBits%20SMC-R.pdf

Potential Java issues when accessing the Tivoli Enterprise Portal

Recently we have been seeing some customers having Java issues when attempting to access the Tivoli Enterprise Portal.  If the Java certificates are expired it may prevent them from being able to logon to the Tivoli Portal. 

This issue may become more critical when running Java 7.  The increased security in Java 7 may make it more difficult to bypass the issue. 

Here is an IBM Technote on how to get the certificates updated:
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21269613

Also, be aware users may not see any symptoms of their expired certificates, if they have not cleared their java cache recently.  Here is a link to an IBM Technote on bypassing certificate expiration (if using Java prior to Java 7):
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21623865