Setting up Fibre Channel tape failover for IBM Spectrum Protect

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Tip: The product now known as IBM Spectrum Protect was named IBM Tivoli® Storage Manager in releases earlier than Version 7.1.3. To learn more about the rebranding transition, see technote 1963634.

Review the information for your product release:

• IBM Spectrum Protect V8.1
• IBM Spectrum Protect V7.1
• Tivoli Storage Manager V6.3

See also the general guidelines.


IBM Spectrum Protect V8.1


For information about setting up Fibre Channel tape failover for IBM Spectrum Protect V8.1, see Fiber tape failover.

Restriction: You can install an IBM Spectrum Protect V8.1.1 server on the Microsoft Windows Server 2016 operating system. However, you cannot configure the IBM Spectrum Protect V8.1.1 server in a clustered environment on the Windows Server 2016 operating system.

IBM Spectrum Protect V7.1

For information about setting up Fibre Channel tape failover for IBM Spectrum Protect V7.1, see Fiber tape failover.


Tivoli Storage Manager V6.3

The following table describes the hardware and software tested for use with Tivoli Storage Manager V6.3 fiber tape failover:

Operating system	Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit)
Fibre Channel adapter	QLogic QLE2462 with a Storport driver
Fibre Channel tape library and drives	IBM or other vendor Fibre Channel directly attached tape and library devices

For the latest list of supported devices, see IBM Spectrum Protect Supported Devices for AIX®, HP-UX, Solaris, and Windows®.

General guidelines for Fibre Channel failover that apply to Tivoli Storage Manager V6 and IBM Spectrum Protect V7 and V8

Ensure that the same level of Windows is installed on all computers in the cluster.

To meet the minimum requirements for failover, ensure that one of the following components is installed on the Windows system:

• Directly attached Fibre Channel tape or library device from IBM
• Directly attached Fibre Channel tape or library device from another vendor

The preferred method is to install both a Fibre Channel adapter and a Fibre Channel tape library or drive on the Windows system. If you install a Fibre Channel adapter, it must use a Storport driver. A miniport driver does not work. The logical unit number (LUN) reset function that is used to clear the tape device reservation functions only with a Storport driver. However, if you are using persistent reservation, you can install a Fibre Channel adapter without the Storport driver because the LUN reset function is not required.

If you are using persistent reservation, ensure that you select a tape drive that supports persistent reservation for all clusters within the system. For IBM tape drives, see the IBM Tape Device Drivers Installation and User's Guide. For more information about persistent reservation, see technote 1470319.

Tip: In case of a failover in a clustered environment, the server tries to open an available drive. If the drive is locked, the server tries to break the persistent reservation.