Hardware Changes

In the course of using libraries and drives, you might need to either replace devices because of wear and tear, or add devices because of upgrade requirements. These replacements or additions must also be established within the MediaAgent so that the data stored in these libraries can be accessed after such additions or replacements.

Update the Firmware for Libraries and Drives

Verify and ensure that the firmware version that you wish to upgrade to is supported by MediaAgent.

Contact your software provider to obtain the list of firmware versions supported for the device.

1. Verify and ensure that no jobs are in progress or scheduled to occur when the firmware is upgraded.

2. Note the current Operating System level mapping of devices regarding SCSI access path and address.

3. Stop the MediaAgent Services in all the MediaAgents that use the library.

4. Upgrade the firmware on the library based on guidelines provided by the hardware vendor.

5. Verify and ensure that the device comes back online correctly at the device level as instructed by the hardware vendor. Perform the necessary test operations that may be specified by hardware vendor.

6. Verify and ensure that the devices are visible to the operating system. Redetect the devices and compare the SCSI access path and address information noted in Step 2.

7. Start the MediaAgent Services in all the MediaAgents that use the library.

8. Once the devices come back online in the CommCell Console, run a test backup to see whether the devices function correctly.

Change the MediaAgent (Host) Associated with a Library

Use this procedure when you attach the library to a different MediaAgent.

1. Detach the library from the old MediaAgent computer and attach it to the new MediaAgent computer.

2. Check and verify that the library and drives are visible to the operating system in the new MediaAgent computer.

   For a more detailed explanation on verifying the driver configurations, see Driver Configurations.

3. Display the Expert Storage Configuration window.

   Select only the old and new MediaAgents in the Select MediaAgents dialog box.

4. Click OK in the Information prompt.

   This prompt is displayed as the library is not yet configured in the new MediaAgent.

   The system displays the library configured under the old MediaAgent.

5. Right-Click the library controller and then choose Change Host.

6. Select the name of the new MediaAgent to which the library is currently attached.

7. Click Yes in the confirm prompt.

8. Click OK in the Information prompt.

9. Right-click the DrivePool and then choose Change Host.

10. Select the name of the new MediaAgent to which the library is currently attached.

11. Click Yes in the confirm prompt.

12. Click OK in the Information prompt.

    The system displays the library configured under the new MediaAgent.

13. From the Start Menu, click Select MediaAgents.

    In the Select MediaAgents dialog box, select the name of the MediaAgent to which the library is currently attached.

14. Detect the devices as described in Device Detection.

    Once the detection process is complete, the devices should be displayed with configured, detected status.

    The Library tab provides the physical view of the devices (library and drives).

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

Update the SCSI Address of a Configured Library

1. Open the Process Manager window in the MediaAgent machine in which the SCSI addresses have been changed.

2. Stop and Restart the MediaAgent Service in all the MediaAgents that use this library.

   • If the library has a serial number, the SCSI addresses will be automatically updated in the CommServe database.

   • If the library has no serial number, manually update the SCSI address in the Library Properties and Drive Properties dialog boxes, available in the Expert Storage Configuration window.

Add New Slots to a Configured Library

The new slots added must be available in the library.

1. Display the Expert Storage Configuration window.

2. Select all the MediaAgents that share the library in the Select MediaAgents window and click OK.

3. Detect the devices as described in Device Detection.

4. Configure the library as described in Configuring Devices.

Replace a Library

You can replace an existing library with a new library without deconfiguring the existing library.

• The new library should have the same drive type.

• The number of drives in the new library must be the same or more.

• Deconfigure the drives.

  From the Expert Storage Configuration window, right-click the drive you wish to deconfigure and then click Deconfigure. Click Yes in the confirmation prompt that appears.

  The drives that were deconfigured appear with the not configured status, as shown in the sample image.

1. Exit the Expert Storage Configuration window.

2. Shut down the library and the MediaAgent computer attached to the library.

3. Replace the existing library with the new library.

4. Physically remove the media from the old library and insert them into the new library.

5. Power on the library and reboot the MediaAgent computer.

6. Check and verify that the library and drives are visible to the operating system.

   For a more detailed explanation on verifying the driver configurations, see Driver Configurations.

7. Display the Expert Storage Configuration window.

   Select the MediaAgent attached to the library in the Select MediaAgents dialog box.

   The drives in the library appear as empty drive slots.

8. Detect the devices as described in Device Detection.

1. Click OK in the error message which indicates that the library could not be detected.

   The detected library and drives appear.

2. Right-click the library controller associated with the old library and then select Properties.

3. From the Library Controller Properties window click the Modify button.

   Note the following in the Device Confirmation dialog box:

   • The Device information contains the serial number of the old library.

   • The serial number for the new library along with other library information is displayed below the replacement option.

4. Click and highlight the new library and then click OK.

5. Click Yes in the confirmation prompt.

6. The Library Controller Properties window gets updated with the SCSI Address of the new library.

   Click OK.

   The new library information appears.

7. Perform an exhaustive detection of devices as described in Detect Devices Using Exhaustive Detection.

   All the drives will be detected appear with a detected status in the Expert Storage Configuration window.

8. Configure the library as described in Configuring Devices.

   In the Configuration dialog box, select the Library and all drives option, to configure the library.

   The Library tab provides the physical view of the devices (library and drives).

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

Update the Library Serial Number

Method 1: Preferred Method

You can update the serial number of an existing library without deconfiguring the library.

1. Display the Expert Storage Configuration window.

   Select the MediaAgent attached to the library in the Select MediaAgents dialog box.

2. Detect the devices as described in Device Detection.

1. Click OK in the error message which indicates that the library could not be detected.

   The detected library and drives appear.

2. From the Library tab, expand Library Controller and right-click the <library controller> associated with the library and then select Properties.

3. From the Library Controller Properties window click the Modify button.

   Note the following in the Device Confirmation dialog box:

   • The Device information contains the serial number of the old library.

   • The new serial number for the library along with other library information is displayed below in the replacement option.

4. Click and highlight the library with the new serial number and then click OK.

5. Click Yes in the confirmation prompt.

6. The Library Controller Properties window gets updated with the new serial number.

   Click OK to save the information.

7. Perform an exhaustive detection of devices as described in Detect Devices Using Exhaustive Detection.

   The library and drive should appear with a detected status in the Expert Storage Configuration window.

Method 2: Alternate Method

By default the library will be marked offline if there is a mismatch in the serial number. This is because the library serial number is checked when the library handler is initialized. If necessary, when you are absolutely certain that the specific library serial number is changed, you can skip the serial number checks so that the library is not marked offline.

1. From the CommCell Browser, locate the MediaAgent in which the library is configured.

2. Right-click the MediaAgent, and then click Properties.

3. Click the Additional Settings tab.

4. Click Add.

5. In the Name box, enter bSkipLibrarySerialNumberCheck.

   The Category and Type details are populated automatically.

6. Type 1 in the Value box.

   Value 1 indicates that the serial number check should be skipped.

7. Click OK.

Add a Same Drive Type

The new drive must be similar to the drive types already available in the library.

1. Shut down the library and the MediaAgent computer attached to the library and replace the existing drive with the new drive.

2. Power on the library and reboot the MediaAgent computer.

3. Check and verify that the replaced drive is visible to the operating system.

   For a more detailed explanation on verifying the driver configurations, see Driver Configurations.

4. Display the Expert Storage Configuration window.

   Select the MediaAgent attached to the library in the Select MediaAgents dialog box.

5. Detect the devices as described in Device Detection.

The new drive will be displayed with the not configured, detect success status.

1. Configure the library as described in Configuring Devices.

   In the Device Configuration dialog box, choose the Do Exhaustive Detection Now option.

   The status of the drive changes to configured.

Add a Compatible Drive Type

1. Shut down the library and the MediaAgent computer attached to the library and add the new drive.

2. Power on the library and reboot the MediaAgent computer.

3. Check and verify that the newly added drive is visible to the operating system. For a more detailed explanation on verifying the driver configurations, see Driver Configurations.

4. Display the Expert Storage Configuration window.

   Select the MediaAgent attached to the library in the Select MediaAgents dialog box.

5. Detect the devices as described in Device Detection.

The new drive will be displayed with the not configured, detect success status.

1. Right-click the library with the mixed drive types, and then choose Add MasterDrivePool.

   A Master Drive Pool is created for the library.

2. Right-click the newly created Master Drive Pool, and then choose Add DrivePool.

3. From the Select MediaAgent dialog box, select the MediaAgent to which you wish to associate the drive pool and then click OK. A Drive Pool is created in the Master Drive Pool.

4. Drag and drop the new drives into the new Drive Pool. If you have multiple drives, ensure that all the drives within this drive pool are of the same type.

5. Repeat steps 6 to 9 if you have another drive type in the library.

6. Configure the library as described in Configuring Devices.

7. Optionally rename the Master Drive Pools and Drive Pools in the library with appropriate names, to avoid confusion.

8. Create Spare Media Groups and import the appropriate media into the scratch pool. For a detailed explanation of this step, see Library with Mixed Drive Types - Post Configuration Considerations.

Automatically Detect Replaced Drives

1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click the library for which you wish to enable the option to automatically detect replaced drives, and then click Properties.

2. Click the Drive tab.

3. From the Attributes region, choose Enable Auto Drive Replacement when new device is detected during Mount to enable this option. (Clear this check box to disable this option.)

4. Click OK to save the changes.

NOTES

• This is recommended method for replacing compatible drives because it provides a one-touch solution for replacing drives.

• In some cases the system may not automatically detect the new drives. For example, if the library does not support drive serialization, if the drive is not replaced with a compatible drive type, if the library is attached to a Solaris MediaAgent, and so on. In such cases, refer to one of the following sections for steps to replace drives:

  • "Replace a Drive with the Same Drive Type"

  • "Replace a Drive with the Compatible Drive Type"

  • "Replace a Drive With the Same Drive Type in the SAN DDS Environment"

  • "Replace a Drive With a Compatible Drive Type in the SAN DDS Environment"

Replace a Drive with the Same Drive Type

You can replace a drive with the same drive type to an existing library, without deconfiguring the library.

The new drive must be similar to the drive types already available in the library.

1. Shut down the library and the MediaAgent computer attached to the library and replace the existing drive with the new drive.

2. Power on the library and reboot the MediaAgent computer.

3. Check and verify that the replaced drive is visible to the operating system.

   For a more detailed explanation on verifying the driver configurations, see Driver Configurations.

4. Display the Expert Storage Configuration window.

   Select all the MediaAgents that share the library in the Select MediaAgents window.

5. Detect the devices as described in Device Detection.

1. Click OK in the error message which indicates that the library could not be detected.

   The old drive which was removed is displayed with the not configured, not detect - device not found status, while the newly detected drive is displayed as a stand alone drive.

2. Right-click the library controller associated with the old library and then select Properties.

3. From the Drive Properties window click the Modify button.

   Note the following in the Device Confirmation window:

   • The Device information contains the serial number of the old drive.

   • The serial number for all the drives available in the library are displayed below the is the following device option.

4. Click and highlight the new drive and then click OK.

   Verify and ensure that you select the appropriate serial number associated with the newly replaced drive.

5. Click OK in the confirmation prompt.

   The Drive Properties window box gets updated with the Serial Number and SCSI Address of the new drive.

6. Click OK.

   The new drive is replaced in the Expert Storage Configuration window.

7. Perform an exhaustive detection of devices as described in Detect Devices Using Exhaustive Detection.

Replace a Drive with the Compatible Drive Type

You can replace a drive with a compatible drive type to an existing library without deconfiguring the library.

The following process creates a new drive pool for the drives that are replaced with a compatible drive type. Since the number of configured drives in a drive pool cannot be smaller than the largest number of streams used by any storage policy that accesses that drive pool, verify and if necessary reduce the number of streams in storage policy copies to be equal to the number of functional drives in the drive pool.

For example, assume that a drive pool containing four drives is accessed by a four stream storage policy. If you wish to replace one of the drives with a compatible drive type, you must first reduce the four-streamed storage policies to three-streams.

1. Deconfigure the drive that want to replace.

   From the Expert Storage Configuration window, right-click the drive you wish to deconfigure and then click Deconfigure.

   Click Yes in the confirmation prompt that appears.

2. Shut down the library and the MediaAgent computer attached to the library and replace the existing drive with the new drive.

3. Power on the library and reboot the MediaAgent computer.

4. Check and verify that the replaced drive is visible to the operating system.

   For a more detailed explanation on verifying the driver configurations, see Driver Configurations.

5. Display the Expert Storage Configuration window.

   Select the MediaAgent attached to the library in the Select MediaAgents dialog box.

6. Detect the devices as described in Device Detection.

   The new drives appear as a StndAln library with the not configured, detect success status. The Master Drive Pool and Drive Pool are automatically added.

1. Drag the new Master Drive Pool from the StndAln library and drop it into the previously configured library.

2. Repeat the previous step if you are replacing more than one drive in the library.

3. Configure the master drive pool.

   Right-click the master drive pool you wish to configure and then click Configure.

   Click Master drive pool and all drives in the Configuration prompt that appears.

4. Optionally rename the Master Drive Pools and Drive Pools in the library with appropriate names to avoid confusion.

5. Create Spare Media Groups and import the appropriate media into the scratch pool. Re-associate some of the storage policy copies with the Spare Media Group. For a detailed explanation of this step, see Direct-Attached Libraries - Advanced.

Replace a Library in the SAN DDS Environment

You can replace an existing library with a new library without deconfiguring the existing library in a SAN DDS environment.

• The new library should have the same drive type

• The number of drives in the new library must be the same or more

• Deconfigure the drives only.

  From the Expert Storage Configuration window, right-click the drive you wish to deconfigure and then click Deconfigure.

  Click Yes in the confirmation prompt that appears.

• Deconfigure all the fail over library controllers, except one.

1. Exit the Expert Storage Configuration window.

2. Shut down all the devices (library, routers and switches) and the MediaAgent computers attached to the library.

3. Replace the existing library with the new library.

4. Physically remove the media from the old library and insert them into the new library.

5. Power on the library and reboot all the MediaAgent computers and any other devices that may apply (e.g. routers and switches in a SAN environment.)

6. Check and verify that the library and drives are visible to the operating system.

   For a more detailed explanation on verifying the driver configurations, see the Driver Configurations.

7. Display the Expert Storage Configuration window.

   Select the MediaAgent that has the configured library controller, in the Select MediaAgents windows.

   The drives in the new library are displayed as empty drive slots, in the Expert Storage Configuration window.

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

1. Click OK in the prompt with the message Cannot detect library.

   The new library with the drives are displayed with the not configured status in the Expert Storage Configuration window.

2. Right-click the library controller associated with the old library and then select Properties.

3. From the Library Controller Properties windows click the Modify button.

   Note the following in the Device Confirmation windows:

   • The Device information contains the serial number of the old library

   • The serial number for the new library along with other library information is displayed below the is the following device option.

4. Click and highlight the new library and then click OK.

   Click OK in the confirmation prompt.

   The Library Controller Properties window gets updated with the SCSI Address of the new library.

   Click OK.

5. Configure the drives in the MediaAgent.

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

   From the Select MediaAgents window, select all the MediaAgents that share the library.

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

   Make sure that the Automatically create DDS Drivepools option is selected in the Detect Library window.

8. Click OK in the Information prompt that appears.

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

9. Configure the library as described in Configuring Devices.

   In the Configuration window, select the Library and all drives option to configure the library.

Add a Same Drive Type in the SAN DDS Environment

You can add a similar drive type to an existing library in the SAN DDS environment.

The new drive must be similar to the drive types already available in the library.

1. Shut down the library and the MediaAgent computer attached to the library and replace the existing drive with the new drive.

2. Power on the library and reboot the MediaAgent computer.

3. Check and verify that the replaced drive is visible to the operating system.

   For a more detailed explanation on verifying the driver configurations, see Driver Configurations.

4. Display the Expert Storage Configuration window.

   Select the MediaAgent attached to the library in the Select MediaAgents dialog box.

5. Detect the devices as described in Device Detection.

Make sure that the Automatically create DDS Drivepools option is selected in the Detect Library dialog box.

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

1. Right -click the master drive pool and then select Configure.

2. In the Configuration dialog box, choose the MasterDrivePool and all drive option.

3. Click OK in the Confirm prompt asking you whether you would like to configure the devices without exhaustive detection.

   The new drive will be displayed with the configured status.

Add a Compatible Drive Type in the SAN DDS Environment

You can add a compatible drive type to an existing library in the SAN environment without deconfiguring the library.

1. Shut down the library and the MediaAgent computer attached to the library and replace the existing drive with the new drive.

2. Power on the library and reboot the MediaAgent computer.

3. Check and verify that the replaced drive is visible to the operating system. For a more detailed explanation on verifying the driver configurations, see Driver Configurations.

4. Display the Expert Storage Configuration window.

5. In the Select MediaAgents dialog box, select any one of the MediaAgents that share the library.

6. Detect the devices as described in Device Detection.

   Do not select the Automatically create DDS Drivepools option in the Detect Library dialog box.

The new drive will be displayed as a StndAln library with the not configured status. The Master Drive Pool and Drive Pool are automatically added.

1. Drag the newly created Master Drive Pool from the StndAln library and drop it into the previously configured library (In the example, STK 9730 19).

2. Configure the master drive pool as described in Configure the Master Drive Pool.

3. Click OK in the Confirm prompt asking you whether you would like to configure the devices without exhaustive detection.

4. The master drive pool, with the new drive is configured for the MediaAgent.

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

   From the Select MediaAgents dialog box, select all the MediaAgents that share the library.

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

   Make sure that the Automatically create DDS Drivepools option is selected in the Detect Library dialog box.

1. Click OK in the Information prompt that appears.

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

2. Configure the master drive pool, as described in Configure the Master Drive Pool.

   The master drive pool is configured for the library with the new drive.

3. Optionally rename the Master Drive Pools and Drive Pools in the library with appropriate names, to avoid confusion.

4. Create Spare Media Groups and import the appropriate media into the scratch pool. Reassociate some of the storage policy copies with the Spare Media Group. For a detailed explanation of this step, see Library with Mixed Drive Types - Post Configuration Considerations.

Replace a Drive with the Same Drive Type in the SAN DDS Environment

You can replace a drive with the same drive type to an existing library without deconfiguring the library in the SAN DDS environment.

The new drive must be similar to the drive types already available in the library.

1. Shut down the library and the MediaAgent computer attached to the library and replace the existing drive with the new drive.

2. Power on the library and reboot the MediaAgent computer.

3. Check and verify that the replaced drive is visible to the operating system.

   For a more detailed explanation on verifying the driver configurations, see Driver Configurations.

4. Display the Expert Storage Configuration window.

   Select all the MediaAgents that share the library in the Select MediaAgents window.

5. Detect the devices as described in Device Detection.

Make sure that the Automatically create DDS Drivepools option is selected in the Detect Library window.

1. Right-click the drive that you wish to replace and then select Properties.

2. From the Drive Properties window, click the Modify button.

3. The following Device Confirmation window is displayed.

   Note the following in the Device Confirmation window:

   • The Device information contains the serial number of the old drive.

   • The serial number for all the drives available in the library are displayed below the is the following device option.

4. Click and highlight the new drive and then click OK.

1. Click OK in the confirmation prompt.

   The Library Controller Properties window gets updated with the Serial Number and SCSI Address of the new drive.

2. Click OK.

   The new drive is replaced in the Expert Storage Configuration window.

3. Repeat steps 6 to 11 to replace the drive in all the MediaAgents that are configured to access the library.

4. Perform an exhaustive detection of devices as described in Detect Devices Using Exhaustive Detection.

5. Configure the library as described in Configuring Devices.

   • In the Configuration window, select the Library and all drives option to configure the library.

   This sample image displays the tree after the configuring the library.

Replace a Drive with a Compatible Drive Type in the SAN DDS Environment

You can replace a drive with a compatible drive type to an existing library in the SAN environment, without deconfiguring the library.

• The following process creates a new drive pool for the drives that are replaced with a compatible drive type. As the number of configured drives in a drive pool cannot be smaller than the largest number of streams used by any storage policy that accesses that drive pool, verify and if necessary reduce the number of streams in storage policy copies to be equal to the number of functional drives in the drive pool.

  For example, assume that a drive pool containing four drives is accessed by a four-stream storage policy. If you wish to replace one of the drives with a compatible drive type, you must first reduce the four-streamed storage policies to three-streams.

1. Deconfigure the drive from all the MediaAgents that share the library.

   From the Expert Storage Configuration window, right-click the drive you wish to deconfigure and then click Deconfigure.

   Click Yes in the confirmation prompt that appears.

2. Follow the procedure, Add a Compatible Drive Type in the SAN DDS Environment.

Library with Mixed Drive Types - Post Configuration Considerations

1. From the CommCell Console, create Spare Media Groups in the library containing the mixed drive types.

   • If all of the drives use the same type of media, move some of the media into the Spare Media Group.

   • If the drives use different media types, move all the media of a compatible type into the corresponding scratch pool.

     You may have to physically inspect the media in the library to determine the media type.

2. Optionally, use appropriate names for the scratch pools to avoid confusion.

3. From the CommCell Console, create new Storage Policy Copies with proper naming conventions for easier identification, or re-associate existing Storage Policy Copies to use the appropriate scratch pools. This will ensure that the appropriate media is used in the respective drive.

4. Whenever you import new media, physically inspect the media to determine the media type.

   Perform one of the following steps, depending on whether the automatic media discovery option is enabled or disabled in the library:

   • If the automatic media discovery option is enabled, move the respective media to the appropriate scratch pool from the Default Scratch Pool.

   • If the automatic media discovery option is disabled, discover the respective media to the appropriate scratch pool.

   • Verify and ensure that you select the appropriate scratch pool when you delete the contents of a media using the Delete Contents option.