Offsite and onsite movement of retention volumes

If you copy retention set data to tape, you can move the tape volumes from an onsite library to an offsite vault. After the retention set is copied to tape and the tape volume is removed from the tape library, you can track the movement of the volume offsite and onsite.

After the retention set data is copied to tape, the data in primary storage can be deleted according to backup policies. The retention set then exists only on its tape volumes, which must be handled and stored securely to ensure that the retention data can be restored, if necessary. For secure storage, tape volumes can be taken to offsite vaults, which are designed to provide long-term, secure storage.

A tape volume that contains data for one or more retention sets is called a retention volume. You can track the movement of the volume as it moves from one location to another by using the Operations Center. You can also use the MOVE RETMEDIA command. For more information, see MOVE RETMEDIA (Track the onsite and offsite movement of retention storage pool volumes).

Tip: Depending on how finely your organization wants to track a volume's movements, your organization might skip some optional media states. You can avoid going through all media states by specifying the TOSTATE parameter on the MOVE RETMEDIA command to name a specific destination state.

The following table describes the media states that a volume can have while it moves from location to location. The physical location of a volume is known at each state.

Table 1. Retention volume media states
Current volume media state	Volume location	Description
MOUNTABLE	Onsite, checked into library	The volume is checked into the library. While the volume's Filling state is not Full, retention set data can be written to the volume. Volumes in this media state might be moved to one of the following destination media states for the following reasons: NOTMOUNTABLE, COURIER, or VAULT The volume is full and is being moved to an offsite vault for long-term storage. The media state of the volume is changed to NOTMOUNTABLE, COURIER, or VAULT media states. These three media states track the movement of a tape volume as it is taken to an offsite vault. When you move from the MOUNTABLE media state to the NOTMOUNTABLE, COURIER, or VAULT media state, the server checks the volume out of the library. RESTOREONLY Data on the volume is needed to restore data to a client. The volume was moved from the MOUNTABLE media state to the RESTOREONLY media state to restore retention set data. The volume remains in the library but its access mode is changed to read only.
NOTMOUNTABLE (optional state)	Onsite, checked out of library	The volume is ready to be sent to an offsite vault for long-term storage. This media state is one of three states (along with the COURIER and VAULT states) that track the movement of a tape volume as it is taken to an offsite vault. Your organization might skip the NOTMOUNTABLE media state. Volumes can instead be moved directly from the MOUNTABLE media state to the COURIER or VAULT media states.
COURIER (optional state)	In transit to offsite vault	The volume is being moved to an offsite vault and to the VAULT media state. This media state is one of three states (along with the NOTMOUNTABLE and VAULT states) that track the movement of a tape volume as it is taken to an offsite vault. Your organization might skip the COURIER media state. Volumes can instead be moved directly from the MOUNTABLE or NOTMOUNTABLE media states to the VAULT media state.
VAULT	Offsite	The volume is in an offsite vault for long-term storage. You can retrieve the data if it is needed to restore a retention set or if all of its data is expired. Volumes can be moved to the VAULTRETRIEVE, COURIERRETRIEVE, or ONSITERETRIEVE media states.
VAULTRETRIEVE (optional state)	Offsite	The volume is in an offsite vault and is ready to be brought back onsite. Empty volumes can be brought onsite and reused. For empty volumes, the server detects that the volume contains only expired data and automatically places the volume in the media state VAULTRETRIEVE. Filling or Full volumes can be brought onsite for data restoration. For volumes in a Filling or Full state, you must specify the TOSTATE=VAULTRETRIEVE parameter setting on the MOVE RETMEDIA command. Restriction: You cannot set a volume to the VAULTRETRIEVE media state by using the Operations Center. Volumes can be moved to the COURIERRETRIEVE or ONSITERETRIEVE media states.
COURIERRETRIEVE (optional state)	In transit from offsite to onsite	The volume is being moved onsite from an offsite vault. This media state is one of two states (along with the ONSITERETRIEVE state) that track the movement of a tape volume as it is brought back onsite. Your organization might skip this media state. Volumes can instead be moved directly from the VAULT or VAULTRETRIEVE media state to the ONSITERETRIEVE media state.
ONSITERETRIEVE	Onsite, not yet checked into library	The volume was retrieved from an offsite vault. It is onsite and can be checked into the library either for data restoration or tape reuse. A volume can be brought back onsite to be reused when all of the retention sets that contain data on the volume expire. To reuse the volume, you must check it into the library by using the CHECKIN LIBVOLUME command. If the volume was originally a scratch volume, moving it to the ONSITERETRIEVE media state returns the volume to scratch status. Volumes in this media state might be moved to one of the following destination media states for the following reasons: RESTOREONLY The volume must be checked into the library so retention set data can be restored to a client. To check in the volume, you move the volume to the RESTOREONLY media state. By using the Operations Center, you can move a volume from the ONSITERETRIEVE media state directly to the RESTOREONLY media state. If you use the command line, the following restriction applies: Restriction: By using the MOVE RETMEDIA command, you cannot move a volume from the ONSITERETRIEVE state directly to the RESTOREONLY state. You must issue the CHECKIN LIBVOLUME command, which adds the volume to the library and also changes the volume's media state to RESTOREONLY. NOTMOUNTABLE, COURIER, or VAULT The volume was retrieved from the offsite vault, but its data does not need to be restored to a client. The volume can be returned to the offsite vault. The destination media state in this case would be NOTMOUNTABLE, COURIER, or VAULT depending on how finely your organization wants to track a volume's movements.
RESTOREONLY	Onsite, checked into library	Retention set data can be restored from the volume. To ensure that the volume can be used only for data restoration, its access mode is read only. Volumes in this media state might be moved to one of the valid destination media states for the following reasons: NOTMOUNTABLE, COURIER, or VAULT The retention set data was restored and the volume can now be returned to the offsite vault. The destination media state in this case would be NOTMOUNTABLE, COURIER, or VAULT, depending on how finely your organization wants to track a volume's movements. MOUNTABLE The retention set data was restored and the volume can now be returned to the offsite vault. Your organization uses scripting to automatically move volumes that are full and in the MOUNTABLE media state to the offsite vault. In this case, an administrator might change the volume to the MOUNTABLE media state to use the scripting to move the volume back to the offsite vault. The volume was moved from the MOUNTABLE media state to the RESTOREONLY media state to restore retention set data. The retention set data was restored, and the volume is moved back to the MOUNTABLE media state to continue filling the volume with new data. Tip: When a volume in a RESTOREONLY state is moved to MOUNTABLE state, its access mode remains as read only. You must enable the volume for read/write operations manually by issuing the UPDATE VOLUME command and specifying the WHEREACCESS=READWRITE parameter setting.