Configuring drives with persistent naming for IBM devices on AIX

Resolving The Problem

The IBM Tape Device Drivers Installation and User's Guide has detailed information on configuration of persistent naming with the IBM device driver on AIX. In chapter 2, "AIX Tape and Medium Changer device driver", see the "Persistent Naming Support" section.

After persistent naming is configured, the goal is to identify the WWN or the serial number of the device and its name so that you can use this information when defining paths on the Tivoli Storage Manager server. Identify the persistent names associated to the IBM devices by using the lsdev command. For example :

# lsdev -Cc tape
3584rmt0 Available 01-08-02 IBM 3580 Ultrium Tape Drive (FCP)
3584rmt1 Available 01-08-02 IBM 3580 Ultrium Tape Drive (FCP)
3584smc0 Available 01-08-02 IBM 3584 Library Medium Changer (FCP)
vtl1rmt0 Available 01-08-02 IBM 3580 Ultrium Tape Drive (FCP)
vtl1rmt1 Available 01-08-02 IBM 3580 Ultrium Tape Drive (FCP)
vtl1smc0 Available 01-08-02 IBM 3584 Library Medium Changer (FCP)


Identify the serial number of the device by using the lscfg command. For example :

# lscfg -vl 3584rmt0
3584rmt0 U5791.001.992029A-P1-C01-T1-W5005076300426C02-L0 IBM 3580 Ultrium Tape Drive (FCP)

Manufacturer................IBM
Machine Type and Model......ULT3580-TD2
Serial Number...............1110027758
Device Specific.(FW)........73V1


You can also find the serial number of the device by using the itdt inquiry command that is provided by the IBM Tape Diagnostic Tool. For example :

# ./itdt -f /dev/3584rmt0 inquiry 80
Issuing inquiry for page 0x80...
Inquiry Page 0x80, Length 14
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F 0123456789ABCDEF
0000 - 0180 000A 3131 3130 3032 3737 3538 [.Ç..1110027758 ]
Exit with code: 0


After you identify the persistent name and its associated serial number, you can use this information to define the DRIVE path with the appropriate persistent name. Run the QUERY DRIVE F=D command on the Tivoli Storage Manager server. For example :

tsm: MYTSM>q drive f=d
Library Name: 3584LIB
Drive Name: 3584-DRV0
Device Type: LTO
...
WWN: 5005076300026C02
Serial Number: 1110027758

In this case, drive 3584-DRV0 is the drive with serial number 1110027758. When defining a drive path for storage agent or library client for library sharing, use the persistent name when defining the drive path. For example :

define path MYAGENT 3584-DRV0 srct=server destt=drive library=3584LIB device=/dev/3584rmt0