DEFINE LIBRARY (Define a SCSI library)

Use this syntax to define a SCSI library.

Privilege class

To issue this command, you must have system privilege or unrestricted storage privilege.

Syntax

Read syntax diagramSkip visual syntax diagram
>>-DEFine LIBRary--library_name--LIBType--=--SCSI--------------->

   .-SHAREd--=--No------.  .-RESETDrives--=--No----------.   
>--+--------------------+--+-----------------------------+------>
   '-SHAREd--=--+-Yes-+-'  |                         (1) |   
                '-No--'    '-RESETDrives--=--+-Yes-+-----'   
                                             '-No--'         

   .-AUTOLabel--=--No------------.   
>--+-----------------------------+------------------------------>
   '-AUTOLabel--=--+-No--------+-'   
                   +-Yes-------+     
                   '-OVERWRITE-'     

   .-RELABELSCRatch--=--No------.   
>--+----------------------------+------------------------------->
   '-RELABELSCRatch--=--+-No--+-'   
                        '-Yes-'     

   .-SERial--=--AUTODetect--------.   
>--+------------------------------+----------------------------><
   '-SERial--=--+-AUTODetect----+-'   
                '-serial_number-'     

Notes:
  1. The default value of the RESETDRIVES parameter is conditional. If the SHARED parameter is set to NO, the value of the RESETDRIVES parameter is NO. If the SHARED parameter is set to YES, the value of the RESETDRIVES parameter is YES.

Parameters

library_name (Required)
Specifies the name of the library to be defined. The maximum length of this name is 30 characters.
LIBType=SCSI (Required)
Specifies that the library has a SCSI-controlled media changer device. To mount volumes on drives in this type of library, the server uses the media changer device.
SHAREd
Specifies whether this library is shared with other servers in a storage area network (SAN). This parameter is required when you define a library to the library manager.
YES
Specifies that this library can be shared with other servers. When you specify YES, the library manager server mounts volumes as requested by other servers and tracks drive and volume allocation to other servers.
NO
Specifies that this library cannot be shared with other servers. SHARED=NO is required if the library is controlled by passing commands through a NAS file server.
AUTOLabel
Specifies whether the server attempts to automatically label tape volumes. This parameter is optional. The default is NO.

To use this option, you must check in the tapes with CHECKLABEL=BARCODE on the CHECKIN LIBVOLUME command.

Restriction: If you are defining a library that has drives that are attached to a network-attached storage (NAS) device, you must use the LABEL LIBVOLUME command to label the volumes for this library.
No
Specifies that the server does not attempt to label any volumes.
Yes
Specifies that the server labels only unlabeled volumes.
OVERWRITE
Specifies that the server attempts to overwrite an existing label. The server overwrites existing labels only if both the existing label and the bar code label are not already defined in any server storage pool or volume history list.
RELABELSCRatch
Specifies whether the server relabels volumes that were deleted and returned to scratch. When this parameter is set to YES, a LABEL LIBVOLUME operation is started and the existing volume label is overwritten. This parameter is optional and intended for use with a Virtual Tape Library (VTL).

If you have both virtual and real volumes in your VTL, both types are relabeled when this parameter is enabled. If the VTL includes real volumes, specifying this option might impact performance.

Restriction: If you are defining a library that has drives that are attached to a network-attached storage (NAS) device, you must use the LABEL LIBVOLUME command to label the volumes for this library.
No
Specifies that the server does not relabel volumes that are deleted and returned to scratch.
Yes
Specifies that the server relabels volumes that are deleted and returned to scratch.
RESETDrives
Specifies whether the server preempts a drive reservation with persistent reserve when the server is restarted or when a library client or storage agent reconnection is established. If, for example, a storage agent becomes unavailable but is still holding the path to a drive, persistent reserve allows the server to break the storage agent's reservation and access the drive.

AIX operating systemsWindows operating systemsIf persistent reserve is not supported, the server completes a reset of the path to the target device.

Linux operating systemsIf persistent reserve is not supported, the server is not able to reset the path to the target device.

Support for persistent reservation has the following limitations:
  • If you are using the IBM Spectrum Protect™ device driver, persistent reserve is only supported on some tape drives. See Technote 1470319 for details.
  • If you are using the IBM® device driver, persistent reserve must be enabled at the device driver level. See the IBM Tape Device Drivers Installation and User's Guide for information about driver configuration.
  • If you are using a virtual tape library that is emulating a supported drive, it might not support persistent reserve.

The following table describes the three possible configurations for drives that are attached to NAS devices.

Table 1. Configurations for drives that are attached to NAS devices
Library device configuration The behavior for persistent reserve
The library device is attached to the IBM Spectrum Protect server, and the tape drives are shared by the server and the NAS device. Drive reservation preemption is supported when the NAS device supports persistent reserve and it is enabled. For more information about setting persistent reserve, see the documentation for your NAS device.
The library device is attached to the IBM Spectrum Protect server and the tape drives are accessed only from the NAS device. Drive reservation preemption is not supported. If you enable persistent reserve on the NAS device for these drives and a reservation is set by the NAS device but never cleared, you must use another method to clear the reservation.
The library device is attached to the NAS device and accessed indirectly by NDMP (network data management protocol), and the tape drives are accessed only from the NAS device. Drive reservation preemption is not supported. If you enable persistent reserve on the NAS device for these drives and a reservation is set by the NAS device but never cleared, you must use another method to clear the reservation.
AIX operating systemsWindows operating systems
Yes
Specifies that drive preemption through persistent reserve or target reset are used. YES is the default for a library that is defined with SHARED=YES.
No
Specifies that drive preemption through persistent reserve or target reset are not used. NO is the default for a library that is defined with SHARED=NO. The RESETDRIVES parameter must be set to YES in a clustered environment when SHARED=NO.
Linux operating systems
Yes
Specifies that drive preemption through persistent reserve is used. YES is the default for a library that is defined with SHARED=YES.

No
Specifies that drive preemption through persistent reserve is not used. NO is the default for a library that is defined with SHARED=NO.
Note: A library manager will not be able to break a drive reservation if the system that has the drive reservation is not configured to use persistent reservation.
SERial
Specifies the serial number for the library that is being defined. This parameter is optional. The default is AUTODETECT.

If SERIAL=AUTODETECT, then when you define the path to the library, the serial number reported by the library is used as the serial number.

If SERIAL=serial_number, then the number you entered is compared to the number detected by the server.

Attention: Depending on the capabilities of the device, SERIAL=AUTODETECT might not be supported. In this case, the serial number is reported as blank.

Example: Define a SCSI library

Define a library that is named SCSILIB with a library type of SCSI.
define library scsilib libtype=scsi 
The library requires a path. The device name for the library is:
  • AIX operating systems/dev/lb0
  • Linux operating systems/dev/tsmscsi/lb0
  • Windows operating systemslb3.0.0.0
Define the path:

AIX operating systems
define path server1 scsilib srctype=server desttype=library 
   device=/dev/lb0
Linux operating systems
define path server1 scsilib srctype=server desttype=library 
   device=/dev/tsmscsi/lb0
Windows operating systems
define path server1 scsilib srctype=server desttype=library 
   device=lb3.0.0.0