MSL2024 - Mix Tape Drives
Are you able to mix LTO tape drives in a MSL2024, for example, we currently have a LTO6 drive in there, we want to stick in a LTO4?
Maclean
Should be alright as they are backwards compatible usually. Just pop it in, erase it, and run a test backup to the tape.
Have you got that the right way round?
Or is it that you need to read old tapes, maybe back to LTO2's?
I don't think the hardware is a problem, if you have (or can find) a compatible drive it should work fine, might not be a supported config though!
The software might be more of an issue!
If it does support a mixed library, make sure all your media is correctly Identified and in the correct pools, or alternatively you may have to config split library mode, where the software thinks you have two librarys
Or is it that you need to read old tapes, maybe back to LTO2's?
I don't think the hardware is a problem, if you have (or can find) a compatible drive it should work fine, might not be a supported config though!
The software might be more of an issue!
If it does support a mixed library, make sure all your media is correctly Identified and in the correct pools, or alternatively you may have to config split library mode, where the software thinks you have two librarys
ASKER
We have installed the second drive and used the SAS fanout cable to connect both drives back to the HP P800 Card, the loader has 2x LTO4 drives now (not LTO6 as above).
Do we need to restart Backup Exec for it to pick both drives up or do any other config work?
Do we need to restart Backup Exec for it to pick both drives up or do any other config work?
This family of tape libraries absolutely supports mixing tape generations -- there should be no reason you can't have an LTO-4 and an LTO-6 drive in the same unit. If you're not seeing what you expect to see, I'd suggest rebooting the library and deleting the library from Windows Device Manager, then re-discovering it. Sometimes odd things can happen when a tape library is not fully booted when the server comes up. You might also need to restart BE then, or at least, re-discover the library.
The MSL 2024 also has the feature of allowing you to partition it into two logical libraries, each with 12 cartridge slots. If you're going to continue to use both LTO-4 and LTO-6, you might want to make use of this feature so that you never get an LTO-6 tape stuck into an LTO-4 drive by mistake (although the LTO-6 can read LTO-4 tapes, it can't write to them, and the LTO-4 drive will always reject an LTO-6 tape.) Access this through the GUI... then you can mark your magazines with "LTO-6 ONLY!" and "LTO-4 ONLY!" labels.
The MSL 2024 also has the feature of allowing you to partition it into two logical libraries, each with 12 cartridge slots. If you're going to continue to use both LTO-4 and LTO-6, you might want to make use of this feature so that you never get an LTO-6 tape stuck into an LTO-4 drive by mistake (although the LTO-6 can read LTO-4 tapes, it can't write to them, and the LTO-4 drive will always reject an LTO-6 tape.) Access this through the GUI... then you can mark your magazines with "LTO-6 ONLY!" and "LTO-4 ONLY!" labels.
ASKER
Thanks, Drive is installed........we can see the extra LTO4 drive on the tape drive GUI but we are unable to see the addtional tape drive in Device Manager or via HP ACU.....
Which HBA is the drive attached to?
Have you tried a different one of the cable ends for this drive?
Have you tried a different one of the cable ends for this drive?
ASKER
We have a P800 card in this DL360 G6 Server and have two MSL2024 libraries, one library just has a LTO 6 drive connected to port 1 on the p800 the other library has 2 LTO 4 drives with a fan out cable going to the other port on the p800
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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