Support for the IBM TS1155 (IBM 3592 Generation 5 Archive 3592-55F model) Tape Drive

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Support is available for IBM TS1155 (3592 Generation 5 Archive 3592-55F model) tape drives on the IBM AIX, Linux, and Microsoft Windows operating systems beginning with IBM Spectrum Protect Version 8.1.2.

The following table lists uncompressed capacities for IBM TS1155 or 3592 Generation 5 Archive drives. Two of the media types, JC and JK, are also used by Generation 4 drives, but the Generation 5 capacities are larger.

IBM 3592 Generation 5 Archive capacities for AIX, Linux, and Windows
	JL tapes	JD tapes	JZ tapes
Uncompressed	3 TB	15 TB	15 TB
Tip: Compressed capacity is not estimated for 3592 Generation 5 Archive format tapes. Use the ESTCAPACITY parameter when you define or update the device class to tune the compressed capacity to match the actual data compression ratio. For more information, see UPDATE DEVCLASS (Update a 3592 device class).

IBM 3592 Generation 5 Archive drives support the following features and formats:

• IBM Spectrum Protect application-managed encryption on all open platforms
• Rewriteable and Write Once Read Many (WORM) media formats
• Append-only mode

Device Class Information:
To use the new hardware with IBM Spectrum Protect, define a device class that specifies the 3592 device type:

DEVTYPE=3592 FORMAT=<DRIVE, 3592-5A, 3592-5AC, 3592-5, 3592-5C>
where 3592-5A is the uncompressed format and 3592-5AC is the compressed format.

Tip: If you have an existing device class that specifies one of the other formats (for example, 3592-5C), you can continue to use that device class and substitute Generation 5 Archive drives. To do so, update the device class definition (with the UPDATE DEVCLASS command) and specify a new value for the FORMAT parameter of DRIVE, 3592-5A, or 3592-5AC.

Generational Compatibility:
For optimal performance, do not mix generations of 3592 drives in a single logical library. Media problems can result when different drive generations are mixed. For example, the IBM Spectrum Protect server might not be able to read a volume's label. The following table shows read-and-write interoperability for several generations.

Drives	Generation 1 format	Generation 2 format	Generation 3 format	Generation 4 format	Generation 5 format	Generation 5 Archive format
Generation 1	Read and write	Not compatible	Not compatible	Not compatible	Not compatible	Not compatible
Generation 2	Read and write	Read and write	Not compatible	Not compatible	Not compatible	Not compatible
Generation 3	Read only	Read and write	Read and write	Not compatible	Not compatible	Not compatible
Generation 4	Read only	Read only	Read and write	Read and write	Not compatible	Not compatible
Generation 5	Not compatible	Not compatible	Not compatible	Read and write	Read and write	Not compatible
Generation 5 Archive	Not compatible	Not compatible	Not compatible	Read only	Read and write	Read and write

If you mix generations of drives within the same library partition, use one of the following methods to prevent or minimize the potential for problems:

Open systems and Windows:

• If your library contains two drive generations, force all drives to use the format of the earlier generation. For example, if your library contains Generation 5 and Generation 5 Archive drives, force all the Generation 5 archive drives to use the Generation 5 format. The result is that all the drives can read from and write to all of the media.
  
  Remember: If you force a drive generation to write in the format of an earlier drive generation, both drive generations can verify labels and read media written in the format of the earlier drive generation. For example, if your library contains Generation 5 and Generation 5 Archive drives, both drive generations can verify labels and read media written in the Generation 5 format. However, this configuration does not allow the Generation 5 Archive drives to read or write in their optimal format.
  
  349X and ACSLS libraries only: This method is a simple way to logically partition the generations without partitioning the hardware. Define two or three new library objects for each drive generation that the physical library contains. For example, if you have a physical library with 3592-5 drives and 3592-55F drives, define two new library objects.
  
  Specify a path with the same special file name for each new library object. In addition, for 349X libraries, specify disjointed scratch categories (including the WORMSCRATCH category, if applicable) for each library object. Specify a new device class and a new storage pool that points to each new library object.
  
  Example for a new 349X library object with a set of 3592-5 drives:
  
DEFINE LIBRARY libgen5 LIBTYPE=349X SCRATCHCAT=400 PRIVATECAT=401
DEFINE PATH server1 libgen5 SRCT=SERVER DESTT=LIBR DEVI=devlib
DEFINE DRIVE libgen5 dr1
DEFINE PATH server1 dr1 SRCT=SERVER DESTT=DRIVE LIBR=libgen5 DEVI=deva
DEFINE DRIVE libgen5 dr2
DEFINE PATH server1 dr2 SRCT=SERVER DESTT=DRIVE LIBR=libgen5 DEVI=devb
....

Example for a 349X library object with a set of 3592-5A drives:

DEFINE LIBRARY libgen5A LIBTYPE=349X SCRATCHCAT=500 PRIVATECAT=501
DEFINE PATH server1 libgen5 SRCT=SERVER DESTT=LIBR DEVI=devlib
DEFINE DRIVE libgen5A dr1
DEFINE PATH server1 dr1 SRCT=SERVER DESTT=DRIVE LIBR=libgen5A DEVI=devc
DEFINE DRIVE libgen5A dr2
DEFINE PATH server1 dr2 SRCT=SERVER DESTT=DRIVE LIBR=libgen5A DEVI=devd
....

Tip: The DEVICE value for the path definition in both library objects is the same because both library objects refer to the same physical library. However, drives should be unique to each library. Thus, in the example, all 3592-5 drives would be defined to libgen5 and all 3592-55F drives would be defined to libgen5A.

• SCSI only: Define a new storage pool and device class for the Generation 5 drives. Set the FORMAT parameter to 3592-5A or 3592-5AC (not DRIVE). The original device class will have a FORMAT parameter set to 3592-5 or 3592-5C (not DRIVE). Update the MAXSCRATCH parameter to 0 for the storage pool that will contain all the media written in Generation 5 format, for example:
  
  UPDATE STGPOOL <gen5pool> MAXSCRatch=0
  
  This method allows both generations to use their optimal format and minimizes potential media problems that can result from mixing generations. However, it does not resolve all media issues. For example, competition for mount points and mount failures might result. The following known media issues also remain:
  
  1. CHECKIN LIBVOL: The problem resides with using the CHECKLABEL=YES option. If the label is written in a Generation 5A format, drives of previous generations fail this command for this media type. As a best practice, use CHECKLABEL=BARCODE to circumvent this issue.
  2. LABEL LIBVOL: The problem also results when the server tries to use drives of a previous generation to read the label written in a Generation 5A format. In this case, the LABEL LIBVOL command fails unless OVERWRITE=YES is specified. Verify that the media being labeled with OVERWRITE=YES does not have any active data.
  3. CHECKOUT LIBVOL: As with the previous two commands, the same problem arises when IBM Spectrum Protect verifies the label (CHECKLABEL=YES) if it is written in a Generation 5A format and the operation uses drives of previous generations to read the label. Thus, the preferred method is to specify CHECKLABEL=NO to circumvent this issue.
  

Restrictions on WORM media:
Pre-labeled WORM media are not allowed.
WORM media are not compatible with encryption.