Considerations for using virtual tape libraries
There are some considerations for defining a library as a virtual tape library (VTL), including enhancements for performance and setup of your hardware.
About this task
Defining a VTL to the IBM Storage Protect server can help improve performance because the server handles mount point processing for VTLs differently than real tape libraries. The physical limitations for real tape hardware are not applicable to a VTL, affording options for better scalability.
You can use a VTL for any virtual tape library when the following conditions are true:
- There is no mixed media involved in the VTL. Only one type and generation of drive and media is emulated in the library.
- Every server and storage agent with access to the VTL has paths that are defined for all drives in the library.
VTLs are compatible with earlier versions of both library clients and storage agents. The library client or storage agent is not affected by the type of library that is used for storage. If mixed media and path conditions are true for a SCSI library, it can be defined or updated as LIBTYPE=VTL.