Operating Tape Libraries

See also.

For instructions how to add or edit tape libraries, see the following sections:

• Adding a Tape Library
• Adding a Standalone Tape Drive
• Editing a Standalone Tape Drive
• Adding a SAN tape Library
• Editing a Tape Library (SAN or non-SAN)
• Adding a Tape Library Device

From DPX version 4.16, tape libraries can be operated through the web interface.

The available operations are:

• Tape library inventory scan
• Tape export
• Tape import
• Registering tape in DPX

Note.

Since the operations are performed by robotic parts physically moving inside the tape library, they might take some time to complete.

Inventory Scan

The INVENTORY pane indicates the tape library connectivity status. Hover over the colored dot to display the status as a tooltip.

The Last scan date informs the user when was the last time DPX syncronized the tape library content with the mediapool content to ensure all tapes are usable and being tracked.

Click the Scan button to manually trigger tape library scan and update the displayed data.

If auto scan is enabled, DPX scans all tape libraries to update their status according to the interval set (default: 1 day).

See also.

To change tape library auto scan setting, see Tape Library Settings

Importing Tapes

To import tape media to the library slots:

Import one

• Hover over the desired tape and click the Import to icon, then select Standard slots if importing a regular tape, or Cleaning slots if importing a cleaning tape.

Import many

• Select checkboxes next to the desired tape media, then click the Import selected to icon, then select Standard slots if importing regular tapes, or Cleaning slots if importing cleaning tapes.

The selected tape(s) will show in the Slots pane with appropriate status.

Registering Tapes

1. Hover over the desired tape and click the Register icon to launch the Register dialog window.

2. Specify the details required for registering the tape media.

Media pool: Specify the media pool the tape media will be registered within. Use the Add media pool button in the drop-down, to create a new media pool.

Capacity: Native storage capacity of the media volume(s). Enter a number, then select a unit of measure: gigabytes (GB) or terabytes (TB).
DPX uses this field to estimate free space on a media volume, but this field does not affect the amount of data DPX can actually store on the media volume.

Maximum passes: Enter a number recommended by the manufacturer (for example, 500). After the specified number of read/write passes, DPX no longer requests the media volume for backups and will not accept it if it is mounted for backup. It is still available for restores.

3. Click Register
   After a while, the media volume will be relabelled as New.
   You might need to wait a while or rescan the inventory in order for the change to be visualized.

Note.

For multiple media selection, the registration setting will be the same for all media. To specify different settings for each media, register them individually rather than in a bulk operation.

Exporting Tapes

In the SLOTS pane, hover over the desired tape and click the Export icon. The tape will disappear from the Slots pane and will shortly reappear in the Import/Export Ports pane.

Tip.

To perform Register or Export operation on multiple tape media, select the tape media using checkboxes in the leftmost column and select the desred operation in the upper right corner of the Slots pane. The and will display as applicable for the selection.