News End of life for TSMManager for IBM Storage Protect - An era is coming to an end

TSMManager: End of life announced

A few weeks ago, Jan Mortensen (the man behind TSMManager) published the following message:

One brief statement “The support for TSMManager will end on 1 June 2028” marks the end of what is probably the most popular add-on product to the IBM Storage Protect portfolio.

For many IBM Storage Protect users (at that time: IBM TSM - Tivoli Storage Manager, which was the origin to the name TSMManager, then IBM Spectrum Protect and finally changed to IBM Storage Protect in March 2023), TSMManager provided significant user support for daily tasks.

In 1993, TSMManager began its triumphal march in the IBM backup community. What began as a self-help tool - the developer of TSMManager programmed the first versions to better manage his own backup environments - became the de facto Graphical User Interface (GUI) for Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) installations, especially in Europe.

For over 30 years, customers have relied on this pragmatic tool for the administration and monitoring of small and large TSM installations.

What does this mean for customers?

The good news first: TSMManager will not simply be discontinued, but will continue to be usable with a permanent licence until 2099 without incurring any additional costs.

However, no new functionalities will be added and there will no longer be any manufacturer support.

Alternatives to TSMManager

There are alternative solutions that help customers to manage and, above all, monitor complex IBM backup environments more easily.

TSM Facilitator

TSM Facilitator (TFFT) is ideal for experienced IBM Storage Protect administrators looking for a powerful, scriptable command line interface to efficiently manage many servers in a single window - with extensive filtering and automation capabilities, but without the overhead of a graphical user interface.

Backup Eagle

Backup Eagle is primarily a reporting system for IBM Storage Protect (formerly TSM), which also offers some administration support. However, the major advantage of Backup Eagle is its audit-proof reports on the entire IBM Storage Protect infrastructure.

TSMExplorer

TSMExplorer is a modern, web-based solution for managing and monitoring IBM Storage Protect servers. With a centralised, intuitive user interface, it enables monitoring, administration and reporting for multiple IBM Storage Protect servers simultaneously - from any location and across all platforms. The main functions include alerting, performance analysis, remote client management and role-based rights distribution for administrators. The solution makes operation easier for less experienced users in particular and completely replaces traditional console control.

Predatar

Predatar offers a cloud-based monitoring interface with a connected ticket system. The administrative functions are not as strongly represented here as in TSMManager. In addition, the environment can be expanded to include a cleanroom, which can subject backups to automatic recovery tests and checks of the system's operability.

Background End of life and reorientation at IBM

An important reason why Jan Mortensen has decided to discontinue the development of TSM Manager is due to IBM's product orientation for IBM Storage Protect. In the last two years, only security changes, adaptations to new operating systems and bug fixes were incorporated into the IBM Storage Protect releases.

With the introduction of the IBM Storage Defender (in which IBM Storage Protect is included), new functionalities are primarily implemented as part of the IBM Storage Defender Offering. The new cyber-resilient backup platform IBM Storage Defender Data Protect, which is based on the Data Platform introduced by Cohesity as an OEM solution, in detail Cohesity Data Protect and Replica, serves this purpose.

This innovation offers a Software Defined Scale Out architecture that supports cyber resilient requirements such as immutability, modern snapshot backups, mass restore functionalities and security out-of-the-box. In this configuration, IBM Storage Protect serves primarily as S3 storage to enable media disruption outside the Data Protect clusters and to provide a high-performance interface for swapping data to tape libraries.

A look into the future for TSM Manager customers

IBM is realigning its Defender platform with a focus on cyber resilience, threat hunting and clean room functionalities. IBM Storage Protect remains integrated, but is becoming less important in the Defender strategy.

This does not mean that existing IBM Storage Protect installations need to be replaced in the short term or that you need to look for another solution, but in the long term companies will need to consider modernising or re-architecting their backup solution.

The market offers a wide range of exciting alternatives that can support this modernisation.

Today's requirements call for a cyber-resilient architecture, the strict implementation of zero trust and a modern, clear user interface, which current technologies such as Rubrik, Cohesity, Veeam, Commvault, IBM Storage Defender and others already implement.

It is often not necessary to change products:

Today's requirements, like that of Defender, are based on a cyber-resilient, easy-to-administer approach, which current technologies such as Rubrik, Cohesity, Veeam, Commvault, IBM Storage Defender and others already take into account.

Analysing existing architectures and their implementation with regard to a cyber resilience strategy also has the added benefits of being prepared for NIS2 and DORA in key areas. Related business continuity and compliance issues such as emergency manuals are also covered. At Empalis, we have developed a cyber resilience assessment that analyses existing structures in response to customer requests using a gap analysis and provides recommendations for action on this basis.

Read more about cyber resilience assessment in our article on IT security. (German)