Erase Spare Media operation ensures that old data from tape libraries cannot be recovered once the media is recycled and overwritten. This is done by writing EOD (End of Data) at the beginning of the tape (in the first byte) and the DSS (Data Set Separator) pattern written to the end of the tape to overwrite the existing data.
You can run the Erase Media operation only on spare media. Erasing media involves the following tasks:
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Marking spare media as erasable.
You can mark the spare media from either the storage policy copy level or at the library level. The media associated with the storage policy copy is marked when the media is aged recycled.
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Running the Erase Spare Media operation on multiple media groups or on a specific media group in a tape library.
The Erase Spare Media operations includes:
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Quick Erase:
Data remains on the media, but it cannot be read or restored. The OML (On-Media-Label) is overwritten with a new OML to indicate the erased status. Use Quick Erase, to logically remove data quickly and when you must keep the media onsite.
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Full Erase:
All data is physically erased from the media. The process takes a longer to complete than Quick Erase. Full Erase is suitable in the following scenarios:
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You want to move media to an offsite location.
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You must remove all data to meet compliance regulations.
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You want to delete sensitive data.
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The Erase Spare Media operation does not erase the following data from the erasable media:
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Data associated with another CommCell, if the When it is from different CommCell option to overwrite media is cleared. (Media Usage tab of the Library Properties dialog box).
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Data written by other applications, if the When Content Verification Fails option to overwrite media is cleared. (Media Usage tab of the Library Properties dialog box).
Once media is erased, data cannot be retrieved using Media Explorer.
You can also define alerts for the Erase Spare Media operation and use these alerts to monitor Erase Media jobs that are running in the CommCell.
Related Tasks
Erasing All Spare Media Marked as Erasable
Erasing Specific Spare Media Marked as Erasable