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STK Libraries Attached to an ACSLS Server - Configuration

Before You Begin

Preconfiguration Tasks on the ACSLS Server Computer

Perform the following tasks in the ACSLS Server or STK Library Attach on Windows:

  • Verify the guidelines provided in STK Libraries Attached to ACSLS Server - Prerequisites.

  • Verify that the ACSLS server is online and the STK library is functioning. See the STK/ACSLS documentation for instructions about how to verify the status of the ACSLS server/STK library.

  • On the ACSLS server, create a separate scratch pool in the library for the exclusive use of the CommCell to which the MediaAgents that you want to configure are attached.

    The MediaAgent uses a designated ACSLS scratch pool as its working media pool. Make sure that the designated scratch pool contains all of the media that will be used by the MediaAgent. (See also: Best Practices for STK Libraries Attached to ACSLS Server). See the STK/ACSLS documentation for instructions about how to create the scratch pool and move the media to the scratch pool.

  • Move the necessary tapes into this scratch pool or use the Volume Range in the Library Properties to add the necessary tapes.

Preconfiguration Tasks on the MediaAgent Computer

Direct-Attached Library Configuration

In a direct-attached library configuration, only Windows and Solaris MediaAgents can be configured to use the StorageTek library that is controlled by an ACSLS server.

Configure a StorageTek Library Using ACSLS Server as a Direct-Attached Library

  1. On the ribbon in the CommCell Console, click the Storage tab, and then click Expert Storage Configuration.

  2. Detect the devices that are controlled by MediaAgents that will access the library as described in Detect Devices.

    The system detects the drives and displays them as a stand-alone library in the Expert Storage Configuration window.

  3. On the Expert Storage Configuration dialog box, click the Start menu, choose Add, and then select IP Library from the shortcut menu.

  4. In the Add IP Library dialog box, enter the following:

    • MediaAgent: The name of the MediaAgent.

    • Library Type: The IP library type. (ACSLS)

    • Server Name: The host IP address of the ACSLS server.

    • Work Pool Number:

      • If the library is controlled by the ACSLS server, enter the work pool number that is associated with the work pool that was created for the system in the ACSLS server.

      • If the library is controlled by the STK Library Attach on Windows, the work pool number should be 0.

    • Volume Range: The ascending barcode ranges of volumes that are available in the specified work pool. Use a dash to specify a range and commas to delimit ranges. For example: 000065-000165,000167,000170-000199.

    • Vendor: The manufacturer of the library. (STK)

    • Model: The library model. (ACSLS)

    • Description: Enter a description of the library (optional).

    • DriveCount: The number of drives in the library.

  5. Click OK.

    The system detects the library.

  6. If you want to modify the library properties, right-click the library, and select Properties.

    In the Library Properties dialog box, you can change the following property:

    Alias: The user-defined name for the library. This is the name that appears in the CommCell Console for the library. We recommend that you give each library a descriptive name as its Alias for easier system administration.

  7. Click OK.

  8. Select the MasterPool from the StandAln library, and then drag and drop it on the STK ACSLS library.

    The devices appear in the library tree with the detection status not configured, detect success.

  9. If you are not sure of the drive serial number and ACSLS drive ID mapping, you can use the ACSLSTool to query and learn the drive locations within the ACSLS library. For more information on the tool, see ACSLSTool.

    If necessary, use the following command on the ACSLS Console to display the drives and their corresponding serial number:

    display drive * -f serial_num

    Text similar to the following appears:

    2007-01-27 13:57:01 Display Drive
 Acs   Lsm   Panel    Drive Serial_num 
 0     0     2        0     CX803S1909
 0     0     2        1     CX803S1939
 0     0     2        2     CX803S1959
 0     0     2        3     CX803S1979
 0     0     2        4     CX803S2259

  10. In the Select Drive IDs dialog box, select the most likely drives or all the available drives.

  11. In the Select Drive IDs dialog box, select the most likely drives or all of the available drives.

    This process can take several minutes to complete.

  12. Right-click the drive, and then click Properties.

  13. In the Drive Properties dialog box, verify that the Drive Serial Number matches the Drive ID.

  14. Configure the library as described in Configuring Devices.

    The devices appear as configured, detect success.

    The Library tab provides the physical view of the devices (library and drives). You can validate the physical drive configuration by selecting Validate, from the drive, drive pool or library level.

    The Data Paths tab provides a logical view of the data path used to access the devices - library, master drive pool, drive pool, drive.

Post Configuration Considerations

If there are multiple mail slots in the library, you must specify the CAP ID that is associated with the mail slot that will be used for importing and exporting media. See Specify the CAP ID for Importing and Exporting Media.

If you add a drive to the library, you might need to increase the drive slot count, see Advanced - Increasing the Drive Slot Count for ACSLS IP Libraries.

DDS Configuration

In the DDS configuration, all of the MediaAgents can be configured provided that you have at least one Windows or Solaris MediaAgent. (This MediaAgent is referred to as the primary MediaAgent in this topic.)

This topic describes how to configure the STK library that is attached to the ACSLS Server as a direct-attached library.

Configure a StorageTek Library with DDS

  1. On the ribbon in the CommCell Console, click the Storage tab, and then click Expert Storage Configuration.

  2. In the Select MediaAgents dialog box, select the name of the MediaAgent in which you have installed either the StorageTek’s Library Attach for Windows,or the ACSLS Client Service.

  3. Follow steps in the "Direct-Attached Library Configuration" section on this page to configure the library and drives in the primary MediaAgent.

  4. From the Expert Storage Configuration dialog box, click the Start menu and choose Select MediaAgents.

  5. Select the following MediaAgents:

    • The MediaAgent in which the library is already configured.

    • Another MediaAgent in which you want to configure the library using DDS.

  6. Detect the devices that are controlled by MediaAgents that will access the library as described in Detect Devices.

    The system detects the drives and automatically displays them with the DDS setup in the Expert Storage Configuration dialog box.

  7. Configure the Master Drive Pool. Make sure that the drive pool and drives are configured.

  8. Repeat this procedure to configure another MediaAgent in the DDS setup.

Post Configuration Considerations

Configuring STK Libraries with Multiple LSMs

This topic describes how to configure the STK libraries with multiple LSMs (Library Storage Module) attached to the ACSLS server.

Because of the unique nature of this kind of library, the goal of this configuration is to eliminate sharing resources across LSMs. Each LSM is configured as a logical library. This procedure configures an LSM as a virtual library. You must configure all of the LSMs in the library.

Configure a StorageTek Library Using ACSLS Server (Direct-Attached Library or SAN-DDS Configuration)

  1. On the ribbon in the CommCell Console, click the Storage tab, and then click Expert Storage Configuration.

    Note

    You cannot configure a StorageTek library attached to ACSLS server from the Expert Storage Configuration window displayed during the MediaAgent installation.

  2. Detect the devices as described in Device Detection.

    The devices are displayed in the library tree with detection status not configured, detect success in the Expert Storage Configuration dialog box.

  3. If the system detects the drives and displays them as a stand-alone library in the Expert Storage Configuration dialog box, perform the steps described in the "Configure Drives Displayed as Stand-Alone Drives" section on this page.

  4. If you want to modify the library properties, right-click the library and select Properties.

  5. From the Library Properties dialog box, you can change the following property:

    Alias: The user-defined name for the library. This name is displayed in the CommCell Console for the library. We recommend that you give each library a descriptive name as its Alias, for easier system administration.

  6. When you are satisfied with your changes, click OK.

  7. Configure the library as described in Configuring Devices.

Configure the Library with DDS

  1. From the Expert Storage Configuration window, click the Start menu and choose Select MediaAgents.

  2. Select the following MediaAgents:

    • The MediaAgent in which the library is already configured.

    • Another MediaAgent that you want to configure the library using DDS.

  3. Detect the devices that are controlled by MediaAgents that will access the library as described in Detect Devices.

    The system detects the drives and automatically displays them with the DDS setup in the Expert Storage Configuration dialog box.

  4. Configure the Master Drive Pool. Make sure that the drive pool and drives are configured.

  5. Repeat this procedure to configure another MediaAgent in the DDS setup.

Post Configuration Considerations

Consider the following after configuring all the LSMs as a virtual library:

Creating Storage Policies

Recommended Method

When a library is configured, the system automatically creates a storage policy. In the case of libraries with multiple LSMs, a storage policy is created for each of the LSMs configured as a library.

  • Use one of these storage policies and associate all the subclients using the library to this storage policy.

  • Add the data paths for each LSM in the library as alternate data paths in this storage policy. A data path for each LSM implies all possible MediaAgents that have visibility to the drives in that LSM. (Review Alternate Data Paths (GridStor) for additional information.)

The advantages to this configuration method is that when there is failure in any one of the LSMs , data protection operations will automatically use the resources in the other LSM. Thus this configuration minimizes the impact of a robot failure in any one of the LSMs. In addition only one storage policy must be configured (and maintained) resulting in easier administration.

The data might become scattered across several tape cartridges within the library. However, the system can keep track of all the data and automatically restore data from the appropriate tape cartridge. In addition, the MediaAgent software provides several methods to reconsolidate the data. This is discussed in the Best Practices section for Alternate Data Paths (GridStor).

Other Methods

  • Configure all the storage policies associated with each of the LSMs with alternate data paths in each of these storage policies. These alternate data paths must point to all other MediaAgents that have visibility to the drives in that LSM. Make sure to set the criteria for selecting alternate data paths as When resources are busy or offline. (Load balance (Spill and fill) between Data Paths is applicable only in the case of load balancing.) The advantage to this method is that data associated with each storage policy is limited to the LSM to which the storage policy is associated. (Data is less scattered than in the previous method.)

    However, you must configure and maintain multiple storage policies in this method.

  • Configure all the storage policies associated with each of the LSMs with no alternate data paths. The disadvantage here is that when one LSM fails, all backups to that LSM would fail.

  • If there are multiple mail slots in the library, you must specify the CAP ID that is associated with the mail slot that will be used for importing and exporting media. See Specify the CAP ID for Importing and Exporting Media.

  • If you have mixed drive types in a LSM, consider the guidelines provided for Libraries with Mixed Drive Types.

Configure Drives Displayed as Stand-Alone Drives

Perform the this procedure if the system detects the drives and displays them as a stand-alone library in the Expert Storage Configuration window.

  1. From the Expert Storage Configuration dialog box, click the Start menu, choose Add and then click IP Library.

  2. In the Add IP Library dialog box, enter the following information:

    • MediaAgent: The name of the MediaAgent controlling the library.

    • Library Type: The IP library type. (ACSLS)

    • Server Name: The host IP address of the ACSLS server.

    • Work Pool Number: The work pool number associated with the work pool created for the system in the ACSLS server.

      As you configure a library for each LSM, make sure to specify the appropriate work pool number that is associated with the LSM.

    • Volume Range: The ascending barcode ranges of volumes available in the specified work pool. Use a dash to specify range and commas to delimit ranges. For example: 000065-000165,000167,000170-000199.

    • Vendor: The manufacturer of the library. (STK)

    • Model: The library model. (ACSLS)

    • Description: An optional field into which you can enter a description for the library

    • Drive Count: The number of drives in the library.

  3. When you are finished, click OK.

    The system detects the library and displays the library information in the Expert Storage Configuration dialog box.

  4. Right-click a stand-alone drive and choose the Move To option.

  5. In the Move to the Empty Drive Slot dialog box click the drive number to which you want to move the stand-alone drive.

  6. Click OK.

  7. Click Yes in the confirmation prompt for moving the drive to the empty slot.

  8. Repeat this procedure to move all of the other associated stand-alone drives to the appropriate drive slots in the library tree.

    The devices appear in the library tree with detection status not configured, detect success in the Expert Storage Configuration dialog box.

  9. Right-click the drive and then click Properties.

  10. In the Drive Properties dialog box, select the correct ACSLS Drive ID to match the Serial Number of the physical drive in the library.

  11. Verify the drive serial number and obtain the corresponding drive ID, before selecting the drive ID in this dialog box.

  12. To assist in this mapping operation, use the following ACSLS command on the ACSLS server to map the Serial Number to the ACSLS Drive ID:

    • To obtain the serial number of a specific drive: display drive <ACSLS Drive ID> -f serial_num

    • To obtain the serial number of all drives: display drive * -f serial_num

      Note

      If the list of the ACSLS drive IDs is not populated, verify and ensure that the ACSLS Client Service is running.

  13. Match the ACSLS Drive ID and drive Serial Number for all of the drives within each LSM in the library.

  14. If you are not sure of the drive serial number and ACSLS drive ID mapping, you can use the ACSLSTool to query and learn the drive locations within the ACSLS library. For more information on the tool, see ACSLSTool.

  15. Select the most likely drives or all the available drives in the Select Drive IDs dialog box.

    This process can take several minutes to complete.

  16. From the Library Properties dialog box, you can change the following property:

    Alias: The user-defined name for the library. This name is displayed in the CommCell Console for the library. We recommend that you give each library a descriptive name as its Alias for easier system administration.

  17. When you are satisfied with your changes, click OK.

  18. Configure the library as described in Configuring Devices.

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