🚀 go-pugleaf

Martin Doyle asked:
>                              ....  Is there anything with the new
>ESA versions of these products that makes them any better than the
>old versions?

  Systems Center's April DirectAccess newsletter focuses on the ESA
versions of their software, including lists of enhancements by component
in the VM...../E software.  Most enhancements are support for new
hardware and added options or commands- stuff that could have gone into
the non-ESA versions of the software just as well, at I'll bet less of
a price increase than we're seeing in VM...../E.  Of the VMBACKUP/
VMTAPE/VMARCHIVE/VMSPOOL quartet, the only significant ESA-related
support is in VMBACKUP, which now supports the Shared File System in
CMS 8 and asynchronous CSL calls during SFS backup and restore.  (By
"significant ESA support" I mean stuff that SCI doesn't lump under
the heading "supports VM ESA 1.1".  Please correct me if I'm wrong,
but I have the impression (*not* from direct ESA 1.1 experience) that
VM/ESA 1.1 is not all that different from VM/XA SP 2.1; that's why
I'm not counting "supports ESA" as "significant changes to support ESA").
  From SCI's publicity stuff, I conclude that the marketing division is
using ESA as a convenient cutoff point at which to increase the prices
on their VM....... line.
                       -----------------
  Here's a summarized list of enhancements to VMBACKUP and VMTAPE, from
DirectAccess:

  VMTAPE:
    Hardware:  Supports StorageTek's ICRC drives (part of ACS)


  VMBACKUP:
    New ESA interface support:
      SFS support for CMS 8
      Asych CSL calls
      STABLE and EXCLUSIVE minidisk link modes

    New commands:
      SUBMIT/HOLD to supplement START
      ORDER - change order of waiting backup/restore jobs

    User exit enhancements:
      New exit VMBEXIT5 - pick which tape to use next if VMTAPE's not enabled
      EXITs 1,2 & 3 can now return a whole number as a return code

    Hardware support:
      DASD: 3390-3, 9345
      tape drives: 3490E
      Enhanced Automatic Cartridge Loader (ACL) support

    Misc enhancements:
      Can ask that tapes already written to in current job not be remounted
      Formats a minidisk even if no files are found to be restored
      A job can be restarted with fewer streams than job template specifies