Real-time Software Engineering Limited

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RoSE_STEM  has given Stratus users the full tape library management functionality normally available with mainframe tape library systems. With the decrease in cost of high capacity disks, more and more data is being stored on Stratus computers. This data is often of a critical, extremely important nature and, as with any computer system, must be backed-up. RoSE_STEM gives you the ability to standardise your back-up procedures in a reliable way to enable you to know when and where your data was backed-up.

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When combined with automated or robotic devices, RoSE_STEM offers you the ability to have a completely operatorless backup and retrieval system for your entire Stratus based file and data set. tape.jpg RoSE_STEM provides full control over tape devices and tape volume handling. RoSE_STEM maintains databases of tape libraries and saved objects. The saved object database allows reports to be generated showing when a particular object was saved and to which volume that save was written. Using its database, the RoSE_STEM product can immediately identify which volume to mount in order to restore a particular object. RoSE_STEM supports all tape writing operations for backup together with the relevant reading for retrieval operations:- save, write_tape, dump_disk, dump_sql etc. Furthermore, all of the tape operations are 100% compatible with the standard operating system equivalents.

Automation of Tape Jobs

robotarmRegularly performed tape jobs can be configured in a database. The configuration will include all of the necessary tape writing parameters and a list of the data to be saved. The tape job will be given a name which will be used to submit that job without having to remember any of the configured parameters.

The submission of jobs can be performed manually or may be put in the operating system batch queues for automated execution. When this facility is combined with one of the supported robotic devices, all of your backups can be done without operators.

Support For All Secondary Storage Media

3c5tRoSE_STEM can be used with 1/2" tape drives, 3480 and DAT drives with or without stackers, 8mm Exabyte™ drives. RoSE_STEM can also control Exabyte™ tape robots and StorageTek™ Silos for completely automated backup environments.

RoSE_STEM is 100% compatible with standard VOS tapes formats and commands.

Restoring Files

To successfully and speedily restore a file the following information must be readily available:
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  • The volumes to which the object was last saved
  • When the object was last saved
  • The current location of the volume
  • The tape settings, format and density information
RoSE_STEM uses its database to establish this information and then initiate the restoration without any further user input. When an object has been saved multiple times, the user can select which version of that object is to be restored. Individual objects or complete directories can be restored using this very powerful and often priceless functionality.

STEM_NET - DAT saves to V-Series

If you have a requirement to read VOS format DAT save tapes that you created on your Continuum(s) on your new V-Series modules then STEM_NET solves that issue.

Our solution utilizes our mature tape library management product, RoSE_STEM and a new adjunct product STEM_NET. This will allow users to restore DAT tapes in VOS save format created on a Continuum ( or XA/R) module to V-Series, from a DAT tape drive connected to a PC running MS Windows 95 or later. This is done using bespoke software we have written for MS Windows, which then transfers the data from the DAT tape over IP to communicate with a STEM_NET process on VOS in conjunction with RoSE_STEM.

The PC will require a SCSI or USB DDS DAT tape drive either internal or external .These drives are readily available and are plug and play.

Using STEM_NET we can restore VOS DAT Save Tapes made on Continuum to the V-Series at the same speed as you can natively restore to Continuum.

RoSE_STEM - With Encryption

RoSE_STEM With Encryption, including 3 DES and AES, is available as an NOW and is in production use at several sites on V-Series.

You can also use RoSE_STEM With Encryption on Continuum, but we question whether it will be usable due to the time overhead. In general we therefore only recommend RoSE_STEM With Encryption on V-Series.

We have a full series of options for key management built into RoSE_STEM as follows:-

            (i)     User configured key, stored clear and visible
            (ii)  
  User configured key, stored not visible
            (iii) 
  RoSE_STEM dynamically generated key, stored clear and visible
            (iv) 
  RoSE_STEM dynamically generated key, stored not visible

 The infrastructure is in place to implement other options at user request.

 There is no hardware involved in our solution at all.

 


More about RoSE_STEM
  • Multi-volume Storage Environment
  • Operator Interface
  • User Interface
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http://www.rose.co.uk/stem.htm