TSM setup for environment with two different tape technologies.

[ggitlin]

Hello TSM gurus,

I have a TSM 5.1 server running on Solaris 9, connected to Storagetek L700 library. I have two different type of drives in the library: IBM LTO (1) and Storagetek 9940 (four of each type).
Traditionnaly the company was only using LTO drives (the Storagetek 9940s were never configured).
I am trying to define the Storagetek 9940 drives to the same TSM environment that't using the IBM LTO drives.
I defined the new device class, two 9940 tape storage pools (primary and copy), new policy under existing domain and the new management class that writes to the primary 9940 tape storage pool as it's default destination.
Now, I can not seem to label new 9940 tapes and check them into the library as scratch.
When I enter:
label libv <silo name> search=bulk labels=barcode checkin=scratch
I asks me to fill the convenience I/O with LTO (???) tapes and reply to the request number, which I do.
I tried this process with one tape (just as a test) and the library took the tape and put it somewhere, but the labelling/checkin process failed. The tape was never put back into convenience I/O slot.
I can not see the tape mounted (q mo) and can not find it in the library inventory (q libv).
My question is: Is TSM capable of running one environment with two different tape technologies and how to configure it? Should the library be "partitioned" in any way? What happened to my tape?
Appreciate any suggestions...
Greg, AIX/TSM admin.

 

[LED888]

Greg,

With the STK L700, and we have two different tape drive
LTO Gen1 and STK 9940. Its not that TSM can not use both type within the same library it is the format that the
LTO Gen1 writes vs the STK 9940 format. If both drives writes in the same format, both drives can be used with out any problems.

When we run the lable libv command to lable the tape and the library happen to use the LTO. When a scratch tape is needed and when the tape is read by the STK 9940 it does not recognize the format.

Solution:

1. Physically partition the library.
If we are not sure how to do this, check the library manual or contact harware support for the library.

2. With TSM define another library with the LTO drives or the with the STK 9940 tape drives.

The reason why 'label libv <silo name> search=bulk labels=barcode checkin=scratch' failed. I suspect that there is a label already present on the tape, if this is the case add the paramter overwrite=yes with the label libv command.

Good Luck,
Sias

 

[LED888]

Just realized, when we partition the library within the TSM Sever we would have to define a new library since the os will think that we have two library.

Basicly the library need to be partition to be able to use the two different tape drives.

-Sias

 

[comtec17]

This would be a good time to inquire STK on their ACSLS product.