Friday I updated a clients TSM server from 5.3.2.1 to 5.3.6.0. All did not go well and a database restore was required. I'm losing confidence in TSM's stability on the Windows platform but that discussion is for another day. Once the update was complete and reported back as successful (I know) I started up the service and the problems began. What I should have done was fire up dsmserv.exe so I could see exactly what was happening and confirm the update had been successful. Whenever you make any changes to the TSM server, apply and fix pack or interim update, it's worth firing up dsmserve.exe rather than the service so you can see exactly what is and is not working.

This does not just apply to TSM server updates, the same can be said for all software walks of life. If making changes to a PHP page on a production server and you have suppressed the errorlog to report issues on the page, it may be worth tuning this on before you make the change and then review any potential issues afterwards. It's easy to do these things without taking the necessary precautions as it's easier to act now and think later. If you're anything like me you'll need a few slip ups and site downs before it really sinks into your mind 'what can I do to reduce the risk of my next action?' We're all human

Cheers
Ryan Partington