Storage Protect

The IBM Storage Protect Model Context Protocol (MCP) server enables natural language administration of IBM Storage Protect systems through AI-powered automation. Transform complex command-line operations into simple conversational interactions.

Table of Contents

• Prerequisites
• Installation
  • Installation Guide Reference
• Configure MCP Client
• Environment variables
• Sample Prompts
• Reporting Issues and Feedback
• Contributing Code
• Disclaimer

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Prerequisites

• IBM Storage Protect server
• Administrator credentials with appropriate permissions
• Access to the server instance user account (typically tsminst1)
• Python 3.10 or higher (Python 3.11 recommended)
• pip package manager

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Installation

Installation Guide Reference

The detailed installation procedures are in docs/guides/install-guide.md, which includes:

• Quick Install (Recommended - Wheel Package)
• Windows Installation

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Configure MCP Client

MCP client configuration examples for both Linux and Windows are in docs/guides/configure-guide.md.

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Environment variables

Required Variables

Variable	Description	Example
SP_ADMIN_ID	IBM Storage Protect administrator ID	admin
SP_ADMIN_PASSWORD	IBM Storage Protect administrator password	password123

Optional Variables

Variable	Description	Default	Example
TCPSERVERADDRESS	Storage Protect server address	-	sp-server.example.com
SP_SERVER_PORT or TCPPORT	Server port number	1500	1500
SP_DSMSERV_PATH	Path to dsmserv executable	-	/opt/tivoli/tsm/server/bin/dsmserv
SP_SERVER_INSTANCE_DIR	Server instance directory	-	/tsminst1
SP_SERVERMON_PATH	Path to servermon executable	-	/opt/tivoli/tsm/server/bin/servermon
SP_SERVERMON_XML_DIR	Directory for servermon XML files	-	/tmp/servermon
SP_INSTANCE_USER	TSM instance user (required for dsmserv commands)	-	tsmsvr01

IBM Storage Protect instance user configuration

The SP_INSTANCE_USER environment variable is critical for running dsmserv commands. This variable specifies the IBM Storage Protect instance user account that the MCP server uses to execute dsmserv commands.

Why it's required: Without the SP_INSTANCE_USER variable, dsmserv commands fail with library loading errors. You must run the dsmserv executable as the IBM Storage Protect instance user (typically tsmsvr01) to properly load required shared libraries. The MCP server wrapper uses the su command to switch to the specified instance user when executing dsmserv commands.

Example error when SP_INSTANCE_USER is not set:

/usr/bin/dsmserv: error while loading shared libraries: libdb2.so.1: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

Configuration Example

# Required variables
export SP_ADMIN_ID=admin
export SP_ADMIN_PASSWORD=mypassword

# Optional variables
export TCPSERVERADDRESS=sp-server.example.com
export SP_SERVER_PORT=1500
export SP_DSMSERV_PATH=/opt/tivoli/tsm/server/bin/dsmserv
export SP_SERVER_INSTANCE_DIR=/tsminst1
export SP_SERVERMON_PATH=/opt/tivoli/tsm/server/bin/servermon
export SP_SERVERMON_XML_DIR=/tmp/servermon
export SP_INSTANCE_USER=tsmsvr01

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Sample Prompts

For example prompts and longer task-oriented prompt patterns, see docs/example/sample-prompts.md.

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Reporting Issues and Feedback

For issues, questions, or feature requests, open an issue in the repository.

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Contributing Code

Contributions are welcome through Pull Requests. Complete the following steps to contribute:

1. Fork the repository and create a new branch for your feature or bug fix
2. Make your changes by following the existing code style and conventions
3. Test your changes thoroughly to ensure that they work as expected
4. Submit a pull request with a clear description of your changes
5. Sign the Developer's Certificate of Origin (DCO) by adding your name and email address to the DCO.md file in your pull request

Note: Submit your first Pull Request against the Developer's Certificate of Origin (DCO) located at DCO.md by using your name and email address.

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Disclaimer

This software is provided "as is" without any warranties of any kind, including, but not limited to, warranties related to installation, use, or performance. IBM is not responsible for any damage, charges, or data loss incurred with the use of this software. You are responsible for reviewing and testing any scripts you run thoroughly before you use them in any production environment. This content is subject to change without notice.