Help/Systems Streamlines IFS Backups with Robot/SAVE 12

November 1, 2011 Alex Woodie

Help/Systems yesterday unveiled a new version of its popular backup and recovery tool for IBM i. Robot/SAVE 12 introduces more granular backups of the IFS that the company says will save customers time and resources. The new release also brings new restore and reporting features for IFS content.

Robot/SAVE is arguably the most popular third-party backup and recovery and media management utility in the IBM i marketplace. For organizations that seek more capabilities than can be provided by IBM‘s backup utility, BRMS, Robot/SAVE is often at the top of their list.

The capability to perform granular saves of IFS content headlines the new version. Help/Systems says that other backup products often require the organization to back up the entire IFS, which wastes time and resources, because many areas of the IFS doesn’t often change.

With Robot/SAVE 12, Help/Systems gives users the capability to create groups of IFS directories that brings more fine-grained control over which areas of the IFS need to be backed up on a regular basis, and which do not. For example, the new IFS grouping feature will allow users to back up only the parts of the IFS that store critical Domino or SAP data.

Version 12 also brings new restore capabilities to the IFS with its new Restore IFS Group (RBSRSTIGRP) command. Users can use the utility’s object archive to select individual IFS directories and files to restore, the company says.

New IFS reporting features have also been added to the product. The new IFS Group Report lists all the IFS Groups defined on the IBM i system or partition, summarizes their contents, and displays relevant backup information, the company says, while the new IFS Group Archive Report allows a user to specify an IFS Group and a date range, and lists all IFS objects that were backed up during that time.

Robot/SAVE is one component of Help/Systems Robot suite of systems management software. The software integrates directly with several other Robot products, including Robot/SCHEDULE, Robot/ALERT, and Robot/REPORTS. The integration enables organizations to set up their backups to run regularly, without human intervention, and with the knowledge that the system will be able to adapt to minor problems on its own, and notify administrators of major events that require human intervention.

Pricing has changed since the last new version of Robot/SAVE was unveiled, when licenses for the software cost between $7,300 and $67,500. The price has come down a bit, according to Help/Systems, but the company elected not to provide more details. For more information, see the vendor’s website at www.helpsystems.com.

Robot/SAVE Picks Up Where Bad Backups Leave Off

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Do the Math When Looking at IBM i Hosting for Cost Savings

COVID-19 has accelerated certain business trends that were already gaining strength prior to the start of the pandemic. E-commerce, telehealth, and video conferencing are some of the most obvious examples. One example that may not be as obvious to the general public but has a profound impact on business is the shift in strategy of IBM i infrastructure from traditional, on-premises environments to some form of remote configuration. These remote configurations and all of their variations are broadly referred to in the community as IBM i hosting.

“Hosting” in this context can mean different things to different people, and in general, hosting refers to one of two scenarios. In the first scenario, hosting can refer to a client owned machine that is housed in a co-location facility (commonly called a co-lo for short) where the data center provides traditional system administrator services, relieving the client of administrative and operational responsibilities. In the second scenario, hosting can refer to an MSP owned machine in which partition resources are provided to the client in an on-demand capacity. This scenario allows the client to completely outsource all aspects of Power Systems hardware and the IBM i operating system and database.

The scenario that is best for each business depends on a number of factors and is largely up for debate. In most cases, pursuing hosting purely as a cost saving strategy is a dead end. Furthermore, when you consider all of the costs associated with maintaining and IBM i environment, it is typically not a cost-effective option for the small to midsize market. The most cost-effective approach for these organizations is often a combination of a client owned and maintained system (either on-prem or in a co-lo) with cloud backup and disaster-recovery-as-a-service. Only in some cases of larger enterprise companies can a hosting strategy start to become a potentially cost-effective option.

However, cost savings is just one part of the story. As IBM i expertise becomes scarce and IT resources run tight, the only option for some firms may be to pursue hosting in some capacity. Whatever the driving force for pursing hosting may be, the key point is that it is not just simply an option for running your workload in a different location. There are many details to consider and it is to the best interest of the client to work with an experienced MSP in weighing the benefits and drawbacks of each option. As COVID-19 rolls on, time will tell if IBM i hosting strategies will follow the other strong business trends of the pandemic.

When we say do the math in the title above, it literally means that you need to do the math for your particular scenario. It is not about us doing the math for you, making a case for either staying on premises or for moving to the cloud. There is not one answer, but just different levels of cost to be reckoned which yield different answers. Most IBM i shops have fairly static workloads, at least measured against the larger mix of stuff on the public clouds of the world. How do you measure the value of controlling your own IT fate? That will only be fully recognized at the moment when it is sorely missed the most.

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