IBM TS1120 Drive Configuration Information for IBM Tivoli Storage Manager Server

Content

IBM TS1120

IBM 3592 generation 2 drives use the same media as generation 1 drives, but they are able to write in a new format. This new format has a larger capacity, such that an uncompressed volume can hold about 500GB and the same ratios apply to compressed capacity, short tape capacity, etc. For more details, consult the 3592 generation 2 hardware specifications. See TS1120 Tape Drive for more information.

TSM Application Managed Encryption is supported on IBM TS1120 with TSM version 5.3.4 on AIX, Windows, Sun, and Linux servers.

IBM TS1120 (3592 Gen 2) JB/JX 700GB media are supported with TSM 5.3.4.1 and later. Both re-writable and Write Once Read Many (WORM) formats are supported.

Device Class Information:

In order to utilize this new hardware through TSM, keep in mind that this is still an 3592 device. Thus, when defining a devclass that uses 3592 drives, use the following:
- devtype=3592
- format=<DRIVE,3592-2,3592-2C>

NOTE: The 3592-2 format is uncompressed and the 3592-2C format is compressed.

The DEFINE DEVCLASS command for DEVTYPE 3592 now allows the new formats.

.-FORMAT--=--DRIVE---------.
>--+--------------------------+-
'-FORMAT--=--+-DRIVE-----+-'
+-3592------+
+-3592C-----+
+-3592-2----+
'-3592-2C---'

Note:
On z/OS the previous default FORMAT for devtype 3592 was 3592C. To continue to use an existing devclass for the generation 2 drives, the devclass will need to be updated with a new FORMAT value of DRIVE, 3592-2 or 3592-2C.

Generational Compatibility support:

It is highly recommended that the two generations of 3592 remain separate and are not used in a mixed generation environment. Thus, if possible, upgrade all drives to 3592 generation 2. If this is not done, there are potential media problems that TSM cannot prevent because the generation 1 drive cannot read the new density. Therefore, any operation that requires to TSM to verify the volume's label can fail when these two generations are mixed. While TSM highly recommends keeping these two generations separate if not entirely upgrading to 3592 generation 2, TSM recognizes that an interim environment that mixes the two generations may be necessary. In this case you need to setup TSM in one of the following configurations:

Open systems mixed drive configuration alternatives:

1. Force all current 3592 generation 2 drives to always write in the generation 1 density until all drives are upgraded to generation 2. This can be done by explicitly setting the FORMAT parameter on the device class to either 3592 or 3592C.

This case should not have any media problems, because all media is written in the generation 1 format that can be read by both generation 1 and generation 2 drives. Thus, all drives can verify labels and read all data written on the media. However, this configuration doesn't allow the generation 2 drives to write or read in their optimal format.

2. For 349X and ACSLS libraries only, two library objects can be defined for the same physical library where the path for both libraries specifies the same special file name. In this case, one library object would contain all of the generation 1 drives, and the other library object would contain all of the generation 2 drives. In addition for 349X libraries, each library object should have disjoint scratch categories (including WORMscratch category if applicable). This is a simple way to logically partition the generations without partitioning the hardware. Because two library objects will be used a new device class and stgpool will also be necessary to refer to the new library object. This case should also prevent any known media problems from mixing generations.

3. Define a new stgpool and device class for the generation 2 drives such that the old device class has a FORMAT parameter explicitly set to 3592 or 3592C (not DRIVE), and the new device class has a FORMAT parameter explicitly set to 3592-2 or 3592-2C (not DRIVE). Finally, update the stgpool that will contain all the media written in generation 1 to have a MAXSCRATCH parameter of 0: UPDATE STGPOOL <gen1pool> MAXSCRatch=0

This case will allow both generations to use their optimal format and minimize potential media problems by mixing generations, but it will not resolve all media issues. Beyond the mount point issues for mixing LTO generations, the following known remaining media issues exist:

a. CHECKIN LIBVOL: The problem resides with using the CHECKLABEL=YES option. If the label is currently written in a generation 2 format, a generation 1 drive will fail this command for this particular media. Thus, TSM recommends using CHECKLABEL=BARCODE to circumvent this issue for CHECKIN.

b. LABEL LIBVOL: The problem again resides when the server tries to read the label if it is written in a generation 2 format and read from a generation 1 drive. In this case, the LABEL will fail unless OVERWRITE=YES is specified. While this may work, please carefully verify that the media being labeled with OVERWRITE=YES has no active data on it.

c. CHECKOUT LIBVOL: As with the previous 2 commands the same problem arises when TSM verifies the label (CHECKLABEL=YES) if it is written in a generation 2 format and read from a generation 1 drive. Thus, TSM recommends using CHECKLABEL=NO to circumvent this issue for CHECKOUT.

z/OS mixed drive configuration:

1. Use SMS to control the format. The storage administrator can specify a format of EFMT1 when defining SMS dataclasses. ACS routines can be used to select only volumes capable of using the generation 1 format, and to direct both generation 1 and generation 1 drives to use the generation 1 recording format.

2. Define a new stgpool and device class for the generation 2 drives such that the old device class has a UNIT parameter that resolves to the generation 1 drives only with a TSM devclass FORMAT parameter of DRIVE, 3592 or 3592C and the new device class has a UNIT parameter that resolves to generation 2 drives only with a FORMAT parameter of DRIVE, 3592-2 or 3592-2C.

Related APARs

• IC49047 "ANR9999D MMSEXT.C(XXXX) ... UNSUPPORTED DENSITY FORMAT 00000008" WHEN MOUNTING TAPE IN EXTERNAL LIBRARY

---

Library and drive may require different minimum Tivoli Storage Manager levels. Therefore, ensure that both library and drive hardware are supported. See "Supported Devices for AIX, HP-UX, Solaris and Windows" or "Supported Devices for Linux" for minimum supported version levels and platforms for these devices.

More information regarding device configuration is available in the Tivoli Storage Manager Administrator's Guide, which can be found in the IBM Tivoli Storage Manager information center.