HP Software manual Working with Tape Libraries, Installation and Configuration

If there is some other problem with the device or the controller, the warning icon will not disappear. You must identify and correct the problem yourself. Then you must restart both Data Protector Express and the Data Protector Express service. When Data Protector Express restarts, it will initialize the device driver again. Check the Devices view to see that the devices are now properly working and that they no longer display the warning icon. Any duplicate or old devices that are offline can be deleted from the Catalog view.

Working with Tape Libraries

Tape libraries automate tape media handling which, in conjunction with the Data Protector Express backup schedules, allows hands-off backup operations. A tape library contains one or more tape drives, some number of storage slots for tape media, and, in some cases, import/export slots to add or remove media from the library.

Data Protector Express support for tape libraries allows you to automate and consolidate backup in network environments and manage media efficiently. Data Protector Express has a built in media rotation schemes to help take advantage of the features of your library. Data Protector Express tape library support includes managing media using barcodes, using the on-board memory in some tape cartridges, such as Ultrium Memory in Cartridge, and user-configurable tape media load ports (mail slots).

NOTE: Always manage your tape media from the Data Protector Express interface. Your tape library may provide a front panel that allows you to carry out various media management tasks but if you use this for media operations the Data Protector Express catalog will not have the up-to-date media location information. For this reason, front panel media operations will require time-consuming inventory processes to update the catalog.

NOTE: If your library supports multiple tape devices and you want to use a specific device, you must select that device to use it. If you select the library, Data Protector Express will use the first available device in the library it finds.

Installation and Configuration

If the tape library is installed correctly, Data Protector Express will automatically detect the tape library. When detected the tape library is added as an available device to the Data Protector Express catalog.

Once you have installed Data Protector Express, expand the Devices view to locate the tape library. Note how the components of the tape library are displayed so that you can see how many devices (tape drives), import-export Slots (mail slots) and storage slots are associated with the library.

Devices

The tape drives in a tape library are viewed and managed in the same way as stand-alone tape drives.

Storage Slots

The Storage Slots folder displays the number of available slots. Each slot may contain blank (new) media, media containing Data Protector Express data, or media containing unknown (non-Data Protector Express) data. Data Protector Express inventories the media in the slots and displays the information about the media and its status in the view. This allows you to view all kinds of media, not just the media used by Data Protector Express, but you will not be able to select non-Data Protector Express media for a backup or restore job.

NOTE: It can take a long time to inventory the tape media in a tape library, which is why Data Protector Express usually performs a "light inventory" rather than running an identify job on all the slots in a loader. See the "Inventory Process" section below for more information.

32 Working With Devices