LTO Tape Libraries

3581 LTO Tape Libraries

These tape drives are shipped in Random mode. If the user is not going to use a Tape Management application like Backup, Recovery and Media Services (BRMS), it is advisable to change the mode of the drive to sequential mode first.

Cartridges can be loaded in the drive by one of the following ways: LOAd dRV or START SEQ. If a user selects LOAd dRV and if an *UNLOAD is specified for the ENDOPT parameter on the SAVxxx, RSTxxx, DSPTAP, or CHKTAP commands, the volume will not unload and load the next volume.


3582 and 3573 (with LTO3 LVD or HH drives) LTO Tape Libraries

When using 3582 or TS3100 or TS3200 tape libraries in random mode or library mode and both drives are connected to a single host using separate IOAs, the tape drive resources will be pooled under a single tape library (WRKMLBSTS):

TAPMLB01      VARIED ON
 TAP14        OPERATIONAL            ALLOCATED
 TAP15        OPERATIONAL            UNPROTECTED
TAPMLB02      VARIED OFF

However, if there are two cartridges mounted, a user might not see two cartridges in a mounted status when running the WRKTAPCTG or DSPTAPSTS command. The reason is because the IOPs do not communicate with each other and the 3582 does not signal to the IOP that the inventory between the drives has changed. There are two separate media mover tasks and inventories, one for each IOP. The individual drive tasks, each in its respective IOP, know what is mounted. However, the DSPTAPSTS or WRKTAPCTG commands do not necessarily reflect what is mounted in the drive that is not associated with the TAPMLBxx device description that is being used.

The IBM System i products do not perform physical re-inventories to the tape due to performance problems. The actual tape operations work because each drive knows what is mounted in itself. However, the DSPTAPSTS, WRKTAPCTG, and DSPTAPCTG commands might not always show accurate information. This will not occur if the drives are connected using a single IOA, using a SAN switch, or daisy chained on a SCSI IOA.

Status of Cartridges When Tape Library Is Attached to Multiple Hosts

When a 358x or TS3xxx tape library is attached to multiple systems and an ADDTAPCTG or ADDMLMBRM command is run on one host, the status and category of the cartridge will change to *NOSHARE, *SHARE400, or a user-defined category (if BRMS is not being used). On the other hosts connected to the 358x tape library, the status of the cartridge will not change. An ADDTAPCTG or ADDMLMBRM command must be run on each host for this to change to take effect.

Ejecting Volumes from 3582, 3583, 3584, 3573 (TS3100/TS3200), and 3576 (TS3310) Drives

When ejecting volumes from these tape libraries, the status of the cartridges will change to an EJECTED status. Volumes will remain in an EJECTED status until they are physically removed from the tape library and a DSPTAPSTS or WRKTAPCTG command is run. If there are multiple systems connected to the same tape library, the commands must be run on each system after the cartridges have been removed. It is important to note that the cartridges should not be returned to the drive or I/O station until after the command is complete and the status changed to *INSERT.