Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations, Version 6.1.2

Planning groups of users

Determine which users have similar needs, and organize these users into groups.

Before you begin

You need some knowledge of the applications, network issues, and business processes of the Tivoli® Storage Manager FastBack for Workstations users.

About this task

Keep in mind that group membership is not static. If you find that the original groups needs to change, you can move clients from one group to another.

However, if you move a client to a group that uses a different storage target, existing backup copies cannot be restored by the client.

Procedure

  1. Consider the backup protection needs of the users. Consider the following items:
    • What file types need to be continuously protected?
    • Are there some files that should be excluded from protection? (This can save storage and network resources).
    • Do some folders need to be vaulted?
    • How much space is needed for backup copies on the user's computer and on a remote storage device?
    • What mail programs need to be protected?
    • What other files need to be protected on a schedule?
    • Will the administration folder be unique for each group, or will several groups share the same administration folder?
    • When files are transferred to remote storage, do they need to be encrypted or compressed?
    • When files are transferred to remote storage, what are appropriate restrictions on file size and transfer rate?
  2. As you consider the protection needs, note which users have the same or similar needs. Users that have similar needs can be managed as a group.

Example

As an example, assume a small business with the following teams.

You decide to organize the end users by the teams listed, with two exceptions:

Each of these teams has different data-protection needs. All members within a group have the same data-protection needs, and can be served by the same data-protection configuration.

What to do next

When you have decided how to organize the users, you are ready to create the groups.