11/10/2008

AIX Performance Tuning

Tech Note

Copyright © 2008 Data Domain, Inc.

The instructions provided in this document by Data Domain are for customer convenience and
are not warranted or supported by Data Domain. Data Domain expects users to customize
installation of third-party software for use at a particular site, but Data Domain is not responsible
for the usability of third-party software after installation.
Data Domain, the Data Domain logo, and Global Compression are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Data Domain, Inc. All other trademarks used or mentioned herein belong to their
respective owners.

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Table of Contents
1 Introduction............................................................................................................................. 3
2 Referenced or Helpful Documents.......................................................................................... 3
3 Network Option Tuning Parameters ....................................................................................... 3
4 TSM ........................................................................................................................................ 4

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1 Introduction
This document provides tuning parameters for the AIX operating system that improve
performance throughput when deploying with a Data Domain system. It also provides
information about how to tune performance through the Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM).

Note: Consult the AIX performance tuning document for more details.

2 Referenced or Helpful Documents

• AIX 5L Practical Performance Tools and Tuning Guide
• Data Domain Operating System User Guide

3 Network Option Tuning Parameters

For Data Domain system interoperation, specify the following network option tuning parameters.

Note: With network option tuning, indiscriminately using buffers that are too large can reduce
performance.

tcp_sendspace=131072
tcp_recvspace=131072
rfc1323=1
sb_max=1048576

The network option tuning parameters may be set via the command line, but then the settings are
reset at reboot. To change the settings permanently, either use SMITTY to change the values of
these options or edit the startup file /etc/rc.net and add commands to redefine the values in the
file.

Using the command line

#ifconfig en0 tcp_recvspace 131072 tcp_sendspace 131072
tcp_nodelay 1

Modifying /etc/rc.net
Open the file /etc/rc.net for editing, enter the following commands, and save the file.

# /usr/sbin/no -o tcp_sendspace=131072
# /usr/sbin/no -o tcp_recvspace=131072
# /usr/sbin/no -o rfc1323=1
# /usr/sbin/no -o sb_max=1048576

Note: Re-mount the Data Domain share for the changes to take effect.

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Using SMITTY
Select the following options to change the network option values:

Smitty > Performance & Resource Schedule > Tuning Kernel & Network Parameters > Tuning
Network Option Parameters > Change/Show Current Parameters

4 TSM
Specify the settings in this section to perform the necessary performance tuning of a TSM server
that communicates with a Data Domain system.

Note: The recommended settings are global and affect more than just Data Domain system
operations.

1. Under the TSM installation directory, find and edit the file dsmserv.opt.

a. Set the values as shown:

BUFPoolsize 262144
LOGPoolsize 512
TXNGroupmax 256
MOVEBatchsize 1000
MOVESizethresh 2048
TCPWindowsize 128
USELARGEBuffer yes
TCPNODELAY yes

b. If the client has physical memory of 1 GB or more RAM, find the NPBUFFERSIZE
section and change the size from the default of 8 to a value of 128.

NPBUFFERSIZE 128

2. Stop and restart the TSM services to activate the changes.

3. In each client’s TSM installation directory, find the dsm.sys file on UNIX-based systems or
the dsm.opt file on Windows-based systems, and set the values as shown:

TCPBUFFSIZE = 128
TCPWINDOWSIZE = 128
RESOURCEUTILIZATION 2
TXNBYTELIMIT 25600
LARGECOMMBUFFERS yes
memoryefficientbackup no
TCPNodelay yes