Volumes

View capacity and status information for storage pool volumes.

The Volumes page is accessible from the Storage Pools page and from the Tape Devices page. The table shows the volumes that are in use or available for use by the selected storage pool or the selected tape library. Some information is shown only when you are viewing volumes for a tape library, and some information is shown only for certain types of storage pools.

The following actions and information are available:

Move Media (retention storage pools and copy storage pools)

Use this action to change the Media State property of one or more volumes. The Media State property helps you track volumes as they are moved from location to location. If data must be restored, you can use this tracking information to locate the tape volumes that contain the data. Before you make Media State property changes by using the Operations Center, determine whether your organization uses scripts to automate move-media actions and, if so, what actions are scripted. You must understand your organization's schedules and scripts to ensure that you do not interfere with the regular actions that they automate.

Stage Volume and Check Status (off-premises cloud-container storage pools and cloud-based retention storage pools)

Cloud storage providers offer different storage classes with different cost and data availability tradeoffs. Archival storage classes, such as the S3 Glacier storage class, offer less expensive storage for data that is accessed infrequently. Because the tradeoff for the less-expensive storage is less-timely access to the data, the server cannot perform certain actions on volumes that are in archival storage. For example, the server cannot restore or fully audit cloud volumes while the volumes are in archival storage. For actions that required access to cloud volumes, the volumes must first be retrieved from archival storage and placed into the cloud provider's standard storage class. The process of retrieving a cloud volume for archival storage is called staging. Use the Stage Volume action to stage a selected volume. Staging the volume places it into standard storage and converts it to a readable state for 3 days. During that time the server can restore or audit the volume. Because the process of staging a volume can take hours, you can view the status of the volume by using the Check Status action. By using the Check Status action, you can determine if a volume was staged, is being staged, cannot be staged because it is not in cloud archive storage, or is in cloud archive storage and can be staged.

Check Out (tape devices)

Use this action to remove one or more tape volumes from the server inventory of an automated library. Only tape volumes that are already checked into storage pool or tape library are available for check-out processing.

Check In (tape devices)

Use this action check in tape volumes to an automated tape library. The server does not use any volumes that physically reside in an automated library until the volume is checked in. You can check in empty tape volumes as scratch volumes, which you can use to satisfy any request to mount a scratch volume. You can also check in tape volumes as private volumes, which you assign to a server and use to satisfy a request to mount that particular volume by name.

Update (retention storage pools, copy storage pools, and tape-based primary pools)

Use this action to change the access mode or location information for selected tape volumes.

The access mode of a volume determines whether the volume is mountable for read or write operations. By using the Update action, you can select a new access mode from a list. The list shows only the access modes that are valid for the selected volume based on its current access mode and other volume characteristics. For example, only volumes that are in primary storage pool can be changed to the access mode destroyed. If you select multiple volumes, the list shows only the access modes that are valid for all selected volumes.

A volume's location is a string value that you specify to provide information about a tape volume's physical location. For example, if a tape volume is in an offsite vault, you might specify the name of the company that provides your physical storage services.

For more information, see the descriptions of the Access Mode and Location columns.

Status (retention storage pools, copy storage pools, and tape-based primary pools)

Status is shown only for tape volumes and is usually based on the availability requirements of its current media state. For mountable tape volumes, normal status means that the volumes can be accessed for read or write operations as needed. Warning and error states can be triggered when the access mode of a mountable volume would prevent read or write operations or if mount operations would fail.

To view an explanation of a warning or error state, hover over the Warning () or Failed () status value in the Status column. To view server messages about the volume in the Activity Log pane, select the volume row in the table. To obtain more information about a server message, hover over the message number in the Activity Log pane.

The following states can be shown:

Normal: The volume has the expected access mode for its media state. Mountable tape volumes can be accessed for read/write operations as needed. The access mode of mountable volumes is read/write, and volumes are checked into the library.
Warning: The volume's access mode might not correspond with its media state. If you are viewing volumes for a tape library, a private volume might be unusable because it is not assigned to a storage pool. The following conditions trigger warnings:
- The volume has an access mode of read-only, which does not correspond with its current media state. Only when a volume is in the media state RESTOREONLY, ONSITERETRIEVE, or NOTMOUNTABLE is a corresponding access mode of read-only expected. If a volume is in the MOUNTABLE media state, the expected access mode is read/write. The access mode of the volume might be read-only because the volume was moved from the RESTOREONLY media state to the MOUNTABLE media state. A volume in the RESTOREONLY media state is in the library for data restoration operations only, so its access mode is read-only. When a volume in the RESTOREONLY media state is moved to the MOUNTABLE media state, its access mode remains as read-only.
  To change the volume's access mode to read/write, select the volume and click Update.
- A private volume is not assigned to a storage pool and does not have a usage history. This warning is shown only if you are viewing volumes for a tape library. A private volume that is not assigned to a storage pool is not usable. It cannot be selected for scratch mounts, nor can it be used by a storage pool. This warning might indicate that the volume was a scratch volume that encountered an error during mount processing. When the server is unable to mount a scratch volume due to an error, such as a mislabeled volume or unreadable label, the server makes the volume a private volume. The server makes the volume a private volume to prevent it from being selected for future scratch mounts. To determine how a volume got into this state, select the volume and view any server messages that were issued for the volume in the Activity Log pane. In the Activity Log pane, hover over the message numbers to display documentation about the messages. After you resolve any volume errors reported in the activity log, you can make the volume usable by assigning it to a storage pool or making it a scratch volume. To assign the volume to a storage pool, use the UPDATE VOLUME command. To make the volume a scratch volume, use the UPDATE LIBVOLUME command.
Critical: The volume might contain corrupted data or the tape device might be faulty. The following conditions trigger critical errors:
- The volume's access mode was read/write, but the server was unable to complete a write operation. For this reason, the volume was placed in an error state. This error state might indicate that the server was unable to access the tape drive, that the tape drive is faulty, or that the volume contains corrupted data. Because the server was unable to write to the volume, the server automatically changed the volume's access mode to read-only.
  To diagnose the error, select the volume and view any server messages that were issued for the volume in the Activity Log pane. In the Activity Log pane, hover over the message numbers to display documentation about the messages. Depending on the message, this documentation might include a detailed explanation of the message and suggested actions that you can take to resolve errors.
  
  To change the volume's access mode back to read/write, select the volume and click Update.
- The volume has an access mode of unavailable, which does not correspond with its current media state. Only when a volume is in the media state NOTMOUNTABLE is a corresponding access mode of unavailable expected. An administrator can set the access mode to unavailable to prevent the server from attempting to mount the volume, or the server can set the access mode to unavailable following a failed operation. For example, reclamation processing might be unable to reclaim one or more files on the volume because of read errors, or because the files are marked damaged. When reclamation processing cannot reclaim one or more files on the volume, the volume is marked unavailable so it cannot be chosen for reclamation again.
  To diagnose the error, select the volume and view any server messages that were issued for the volume in the Activity Log pane. By examining the messages, you can determine why the volume's access mode was set to unavailable. If an administrator explicitly set the access mode to unavailable, contact the administrator to determine whether you can reset the access mode. If the server automatically set the access mode to unavailable, hover over the message numbers in the Command Builder to display documentation about the messages. Depending on the message, this documentation might include a detailed explanation of the message and suggested actions that you can take to resolve errors.
  
  To change the volume's access mode, select the volume and click Update.
- The volume's access mode is read-only or read/write, but the volume is not checked into the library. Because the access mode is read/write, the server might attempt to mount the volume. If the server attempts to mount the volume, the mount request fails. Either check in the volume or change the volume's access mode. To check in the volume, issue the CHECKIN LIBVOLUME command. To change the volume's access mode, select the volume and click Update.
Tape access problems that raise critical errors are often temporary and do not represent a problem with the tape volume. For example, a temporary network connectivity problem might raise a critical error because the server cannot access the tape device to complete a write operation. In these cases, resetting the volume's access mode to read/write makes the tape volume available again. Other critical errors reveal more serious problems with the tape device or volume. Based on the volume messages in the activity log, examine the tape volume and device for more serious problems. If problems persist, and you determine that the volume is permanently damaged you can remove the volume from your production environment. The following guidelines describe how to remove a volume based on the type of storage pool:
- If the volume is in a primary storage pool, you can change its access mode to destroyed. This access mode is used to identify a volume to be restored by using the RESTORE STGPOOL or RESTORE VOLUME command. After all files on a destroyed volume are restored to other volumes, the destroyed volume is automatically deleted from the database.
- If the volume is in a copy storage pool, you can use the DELETE VOLUME command to delete the volume. Before you delete the volume from a copy storage pool, you can use the MOVE DATA command try to move its files to another volume in the copy storage pool. The next time the primary storage pool is backed up to the copy storage pool after the volume is deleted, the server re-creates the files that were deleted.
- If the volume is in a retention storage pool, you can use the DELETE VOLUME command to delete the volume. Before you delete the volume from a retention storage pool, you can use the MOVE DATA command try to move its files to another volume in the retention storage pool. If any of the files that were deleted from the volume are still available in primary storage, they are re-created when the retention storage pool's associated retention-copy storage rule runs. However, files that cannot be moved by the MOVE DATA command or re-created from primary storage are lost.
History: The only information that is available about this volume is recorded in the volume history for the server. The following columns show volume history information:
- The History Type column shows the volume type, as specified by its active record in the server's volume history.
- The History Date column shows the date and time that the volume's active record was recorded in the volume history.
- The Server column shows the server whose volume history contains the volume's active record.
The volume might have volume-history records on more than one server. If the volume has volume-history records on multiple servers, only the information for the server volume history that was most recently updated for the volume is shown. For more information about the volume history on a server, issue the QUERY VOLHISTORY command.

If the Volumes page shows many volumes with this status value, consider deleting outdated information from the server's volume history. Pruning the volume history can improve the performance of certain server operations. When the server opens a volume, the server might check the volume history table in the server database to determine whether the volume is already being used. If the table is large, it can take a long time to search. Other sessions or processes, such as backups and other processes that use multiple sequential volumes, can be delayed due to locking. Another reason to delete records from the volume history is to reuse volumes that were previously used for export or database backup. You cannot reuse an obsolete export volume or database backup volume until you delete its volume record from the volume history.

By using the DELETE VOLHISTORY command, you can delete volume history records that are no longer needed. When you are using the DELETE VOLHISTORY command, you must be careful to delete only records for volumes that are obsolete. For example, you must ensure that you do not delete volume history records for export volumes or database backup volumes unless you want to return the volumes to scratch status.

Access Mode

For volumes that do not have read/write access, one of the following states is shown:

Read-only: Client nodes and server processes cannot write new files to the volume.
Unavailable: Files that are stored on the volume cannot be accessed. The server does not attempt to mount the volume.
Offsite: The volume is stored at an offsite location from which it cannot be mounted. To determine the location of the volume, you can use the QUERY VOLUME command.
Destroyed: The volume is designated as permanently damaged and is eligible for restore by using the RESTORE STGPOOL command. Only volumes in primary storage pools can be in this state.
After all files on a destroyed volume are restored to other volumes, the server automatically deletes the destroyed volume from the database.

You can manually change the access mode of a volume, or the server can change the access mode based on what happens when it tries to access a volume. To change the access mode of a volume, select the volume and click Update.

% Reclaimable (sequential-access storage pools)

Shows the amount of space that can be reclaimed because data expired or was deleted. If you use thresholds to manage reclamation, this value is compared to the reclamation threshold for the storage pool to determine if reclamation is necessary.

Reclaimable space includes empty space within aggregates.

This information is not shown for container-copy storage pools.

For container-copy storage pools, reclamation runs automatically when data is protected to the storage pool. As an alternative, you can run reclamation manually by using the RECLAIM parameter of the PROTECT STGPOOL command.

For retention storage pools, offsite reclamation is not supported. To reclaim space on a retention volume, the volume must be checked into the library. If your organization is securing retention volumes in an offsite vault, and you want to reclaim unused space on the volumes, the volumes must be brought back onsite. If reclamation is started for a retention storage pool, the server issues messages for each offsite volume that cannot be reclaimed. You might want to prevent automatic reclamation when you are storing volumes offsite. To prevent automatic reclamation from occurring, set the retention threshold of the retention storage pool to 100%. You can then monitor the % Reclaimable column values to determine whether to bring volumes back onsite and manually start reclamation for the storage pool. To track the volumes as they are brought back onsite, use the Move Media action. To manually start reclamation, from the Storage Pools page, use the Reclaim action.

Online (random-access storage pools)

Shows the availability state of the volume. To change the availability state, use the VARY command.

Times Mounted (sequential-access storage pools)

For tape volumes, the number of times that the server opened the volume for use. The number of times that the server opened the volume is not always the same as the number of times that the tape volume was physically mounted in a drive. After a volume is physically mounted, the server can open the same volume multiple times for different operations, for example for different client backup sessions.

Media State (retention storage pools)

Shows the current media state for a tape volume. A volume's media state helps you identify its current location as it is moved from your onsite library to an offsite vault, and then back onsite for either data restoration or tape reuse. A volume's media state is a logical designation that is related to the volume's physical location. More detail about the volume's actual physical location might be provided in the Location column. One of the following media states is shown:

MOUNTABLE: The volume is checked into the library for read/write operations.
NOTMOUNTABLE: The volume is onsite, but checked out of the library.
COURIER: The volume is being moved to an offsite vault.
VAULT: The volume is in an offsite vault for long-term storage.
VAULTRETRIEVE: The volume is ready to be moved back onsite from an offsite vault.
COURIERRETRIEVE: The volume is being moved back onsite from an offsite vault.
ONSITERETRIEVE: The volume was retrieved from an offsite vault. It is back onsite can be checked into the library to restore data from the volume.
RESTOREONLY: The volume is checked into the library to restore data from the volume.

Location

A string that provides information about a tape volume's physical location. For example, the name of an offsite vault where the volume is being stored. An administrator can specify a location string when updating a volume's media state. Some default location strings are associated with certain media states and are automatically assigned to a volume when it is moved into those media states. You can set the default location text for the NOTMOUNTABLE, COURIER, and VAULT media states by using the following server commands:

To specify default location text for the NOTMOUNTABLE media state, use the SET DRMNOTMOUNTABLENAME command.
To specify default location text for the COURIER media state, use the SET DRMCOURIERNAME command.
To specify default location text for the VAULT media state, use the SET DRMVAULTNAME command.

If no location string is shown for a particular volume, of if the location information is not accurate, you can update it. To update the Location string for a volume, select the volume and click Update.

History Type

The volume type, as specified by its active record in the volume history. One of the following types is shown:

BACKUPFULL: Full database backup volume.
BACKUPINCR: Incremental database backup volume.
BACKUPSET: Client backup set volume.
DBSNAPSHOT: Snapshot database backup volume.
EXPORT: Export volume.
RPFILE: Recovery plan file object volume created assuming full and incremental database backups.
RPFSnapshot: Recovery plan file object volume created assuming snapshot database backups.
STGDELETE: Deleted sequential access storage pool volume.
STGNEW: Added sequential access storage pool volume.
STGREUSE: Reused sequential access storage pool volume.

Activity Log

Use the Activity Log pane to view server messages that were issued about a volume. When you select a row in the table, the Activity Log pane shows messages for the selected volume. In the Activity Log pane, hover over the message numbers to display documentation about the messages. Depending on the message, this documentation might include a detailed explanation of the message and suggested actions that you can take to resolve errors. To view more messages from the activity log, use the QUERY ACTLOG command.

For more information about managing storage pool volumes or about using IBM Spectrum Protect commands, see the IBM Spectrum Protect documentation.