This article aims to provide checks to ensure that your client is configured correctly to communicate with the TSM Servers across the network. You have most likely been directed here as you are experiencing issues when entering the TSM client.

Example Symptoms

You will be experiencing one or more of the following error messages when starting the TSM client:

  • Error message "ANS2610S TCP/IP communications failure between the client and the server machine."
  • Error message "TCP/IP invalid host name."
  • Error message "ANS1252W The Server you are connected to does not support this function":
    Figure 1.
  • Message "Do you wish to continue for purposes of local backupset restore?":
    Figure 2.
  • TSM Client has Backup, Archive and Retrieve options greyed out
    Figure 3.

1. Checking the basics

First things to check are the basics....therefore please check the following:

  1. Can you access other services such as the internet? e.g. http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk or http://www.google.co.uk

    Obviously if you are reading these instructions online you can access the internet, although they may have been sent to you in PDF format for troubleshooting purposes

    • If yes then please proceed to the next question
    • If no, then there is a problem local to your machine or to your local network. Network connectivity is essential to being able to use the TSM Client software and this issue needs to be resolved before progressing with the TSM troubleshooting. Below are some suggestions that may assist:
      • Check that your network cable is plugged in
      • Check that there a lights showing on your network connection
      • Reboot your machine to completely refresh your connection settings
      • Contact your Local IT Support Officer who will be able to assist further
  2. Is your computer physically connected to the Oxford University network? This does not usually include being connected to the Oxford University via the VPN Service - Backups over VPN are only available as part of the HFS VPN Backup Service, other HFS service connections are blocked.
    • If Yes, then please proceed to the next question
    • If No, the backup service will only work when you are physically connected to the Oxford University network. Please connect to the Oxford University network and try again.
  3. Is your TSM Node locked?

    If your TSM node is locked then you will not be able to communicate with the servers until it is unlocked, to check your nodes status do the following:

    • Go to the TSM Self-Registration Home Page
    • Select the node you are trying to use and from the drop down list provided choose [View Client Information]
    • If your nodes Locked status is Yes then you will need to contact the Help Center to get this unlocked.
    • If your nodes Locked status is No then also check the Last Password Change date, if the date shown is over a year ago then your password may have expired and will need to be changed. To do this..
      • Click on TSM Home Page button
      • Select the required node and from the drop down list provided choose [Change Client Password] and follow the on screen instructions to reset the nodes TSM password.
      • Once reset, try the TSM Client again (you will need to close and reopen)
    • If you are still having issues then please proceed onto the next section.

2. Which server should your node be connecting to?

In order for us to check the client configuration we need to find out which of the TSM servers your node should be connecting to, to do this follow these instructions:

  1. Browse to the TSM Self-Registration Home Page
  2. In the drop down box next to the Registered TSM Client, click on [View Client Information] - Please note that not all clients will report to the same server and therefore if you are troubleshooting more than one client you will need to find the details of each clients server
    Figure 4.
  3. You will see a screen similar to the one below, make note of the Server reference details
    Figure 5.
  4. This server reference relates to a physical server name as shown in the table below, please make a note of the corresponding Server name, IP Address and Port number from the table below and also make a note of the full Nodename of your client as we will use these to check the client configuration:
    Server ReferenceServer NameIP AddressPort
    OX_HFS_B1dsmb1.ox.ac.uk163.1.219.11500
    OX_HFS_B2dsmb2.ox.ac.uk163.1.219.22500
    OX_HFS_B3dsmb3.ox.ac.uk163.1.219.31600
    OX_HFS_B4dsmb4.ox.ac.uk163.1.219.42600
    OX_HFS_B5dsmb5.ox.ac.uk163.1.219.51700
    OX_HFS_B6dsmb6.ox.ac.uk163.1.219.62700
    OX_HFS_B7dsmb7.ox.ac.uk163.1.219.71800
    OX_HFS_B8dsmb8.ox.ac.uk163.1.219.82800
    OX_HFS_B10dsmb10.ox.ac.uk163.1.219.152900
    OX_HFSdsma.ox.ac.uk163.1.219.92000
    OX_HFS_VPNdsmvpn.ox.ac.uk163.1.219.103200

3. Checking the TSM Client Configuration - Graphical User Interface

Now that we have the required server details we can check the TSM Client Configuration through the TSM client itself - if your preference is to view the client settings through a text editor then use the Checking the TSM Client - OPT File instructions

  1. Open the TSM Client
  2. Acknowledge the error messages and open the TSM Client Software
  3. Within the TSM Client click on [Edit] and then select [Client Preferences]
  4. By default you will see the General Preferences screen displayed
    Figure 6.
  5. Check that the Nodename shown on screen is exactly the same as the Nodename you noted down earlier
  6. If the Nodename was different to the one you noted down, change it within the TSM Client and click Apply and then OK to confirm.
  7. Now from the options down the left hand side click on Communication
    Figure 7.
  8. Now check that the following settings are correct against those you noted down for your node:
    • Communication Method = TCP/IP
    • Server Address = Your Server name
    • Server Port = Your Server Port
    • Admin Port = Your Server Port(this should be the same as the TCPPORT)
  9. If any of your TSM settings were different to those noted down, change them within the TSM Client and click Apply and then OK to confirm.
  10. Close down the preferences editor and then close the TSM Client Software, now try going back into the TSM Software and see if the same error messages are received

Problem now resolved?

If the error messages still appear and/or if the client was set-up correctly and no changes were made please review the Network Connectivity Troubleshooting Guide

4. Checking the TSM Client Configuration - OPT File

Another way to check the client is configured correctly is to check the DSM.OPT file, this should produce the same results as using the GUI as shown above but may be preferable to some users: If you prefer to use the GUI Interface then go back to those instructions.

  1. Ensure that the TSM Client is not running
  2. Browse to the location of the DSM.OPT file (c:\program files\tivoli\tsm\baclient\)
  3. Double click on the dsm.opt file, by default Windows will not recognise the file type so when prompted select [select a program from list] and click OK
    Figure 8.
  4. From the list of programs chose notepad and click OK
    Figure 9.
  5. The dsm.opt file will open in the notepad application
    Figure 10.
  6. Check that the following settings are correct against the details you noted down earlier:
    • Nodename = Your Nodename
    • TCPServerAddress = Your Server Name
    • TCPPort = Your Server Port
    • TCPADMINPORT = Your Server Port (this should be the same as the TCPPORT, although this entry may not be visible in the dsm.opt file)
  7. If any items were incorrect and have been changed click on [File], [Save] and then close down the file.
  8. Now try going back into the TSM Client and see if the same error messages appear

Problem now resolved?

If the error messages still appear and/or the client was set-up correctly and no changes were made please review the Network Connectivity Troubleshooting Guide