Chapter 6 - Managing Jukeboxes
This chapter describes using Jukeboxes with EBR. Jukeboxes are tape devices that automatically find, change, label, and mount backup volumes. After you install EBR, enable the jukebox, and load it with backup tape volumes, you can run scheduled backups and restores without being present.
In addition, users with jukeboxes can recover workstation files easily and efficiently without your intervention. As long as the correct backup volume is loaded in the jukebox, EBR can find and mount it, and proceed with the recovery. If EBR requires a backup volume for a recovery that is not loaded in the jukebox, a message displays in the Pending window of the EBR Administrator for that server.
If a jukebox requires other types of intervention, such as checking the order of tapes, EBR forwards a notification called a Jukebox request (if notifications have been configured). See "Using Notifications" in Chapter 4 for more information.
Adding and Configuring a Jukebox
To use a jukebox with EBR, you need to add and configure it in two places, at the VINES server console and at the workstation.
To Add and Configure a Jukebox at the VINES Server
1. Select Backup/Restore from the Operator Menu.
2. Select Enterprise Backup and Restore.
3. Log in using your StreetTalk name and password.
4. Select Local Tape Operations.
5. Select Configure Jukebox.
6. Enter the letter of the jukebox device you are installing:
a. Compaq TurboDAT Autoloader/ARC-DiamondBack
b. EXB-210
c. HP
d. Quit7. Enter a name for the jukebox. For convenience, use the same name as the model you selected.
8. Type in the device name (media drive pathname) of each jukebox you want to install, or press Enter for the default. Make a note of the name; you will need to refer to it later. If a jukebox has more than one tape device, the device pathnames must be listed in the same order as the devices are physically installed in the jukebox.
Note: If you are installing the EXB-210 tape device only, see the section titled "For EXB-210 Only."
9. Type in the slot numbers you want to use for backup, or press Enter for the default (maximum available) in this jukebox. If you enter the slot numbers, enter them as low_slot-high_slot. For example, to use slots 2 through 11, enter 2-11.
The jukebox is now installed and enabled. Test it to make sure it is in good working order, as follows:
10. At the VINES server, select Test Jukebox Functionality from the Local Tape Operations menu.
To use your installed device, you need to configure it through the Devices and Jukeboxes windows at the workstation. You can do this by following the steps in the next section, "To Configure a Jukebox from the Workstation."
For installations that support only an EXB-210 and no other tape device, slot and drive addressing is normally as follows:
This is the slot and drive addressing assuming you assign SCSI target IDs in the same order as the jukebox physically numbers the drives. the EXB-210 designates the bottom or left drive as CST1 (Cartridge Tape System) and the top or inner drive as CST2. See the Exabyte manual for more information.
If you are using the EXB-210 in a rack-mount configuration, drive addressing is as follows:
Because the EXB-210 has the ability to detect the presence of media in the components of the jukebox, it is recommended that you keep the jukebox loaded with tapes. If you swap media into the jukebox where no media was previously located, you need to:
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Select the Reset Jukebox option at the VINES server console. ![]()
Take an inventory of the jukeboxe's contents as described in "To Take an Inventory" later in this chapter to correctly inventory the jukebox.
To Configure a Jukebox from the Workstation
1. Select Devices from the Server pulldown menu.
2. Enter the device pathname for the tape device that you entered at the server console (step 8) into the Name field.
Note: Be sure to create a device for each tape drive in your jukebox.
3. Select the appropriate Media type choice for the type of jukebox.
4. Click OK.
5. Close the Device window.
1. Select Jukeboxes from the Server pull-down menu.
2. The Jukeboxes window appears, displaying the names of the jukeboxes known to the EBR server. These are the device names you entered when you first installed and enabled the jukebox module from the server console.
3. Select Edit from the Jukeboxes window. The Edit Jukeboxes window appears.
Note: The only changes you can make to a jukebox in the Edit window are to the Devices and Available slots fields.
The Edit Jukeboxes window has the following fields:
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Name: the name of the jukebox. ![]()
Model: the model of the jukebox. ![]()
Control port: the system pathname of the port that controls the jukebox loading mechanism. The loading mechanism loads and unloads the backup volumes into and out of the devices in the jukebox. ![]()
Devices: the system pathnames of the media devices (tape drives). These must correspond to the pathnames you entered in the main Devices window in step 3. ![]()
Available slots: which of the numbered slots available for holding backup volumes inside the jukebox will be used to satisfy mount requests. Typically, all will be used. The Available slots field allows you to control exactly which slots in the jukebox hold backup volumes that are available to EBR for backing up files. Although EBR uses all of the volumes in the jukebox for recovers, you can control which volumes EBR will automatically select for backups by designating the available slots in the jukebox.
For example, you might designate slots 1 through 5 only for EBR backups. On the other hand, entering the single number "10," will direct EBR to slot "10" only for backups. In other words, designating certain slots makes those slots the ones from which the jukebox will retrieve writeable media.
4. Enter the pathname of each jukebox tape drive into the Devices field.
The tape device that you enter in the Edit Jukebox window Device field must first be created through the Devices window as described in steps 1 through 6.
5. Click on OK.
This section contains information and suggestions similar to those for operating EBR with single-media backup devices as described in Chapter 3.
EBR uses the label template currently selected in the Label Template window to label the backup volumes loaded in the jukebox. Choose a label template or create your own before starting a labeling session. See Chapter 3 for details.
To label backup volumes in the Jukebox
1. Select Label from the pulldown Media menu in the EBR Administrator window.
Note: If you are removing backup volumes from the jukebox, make sure you also unmount them by selecting the jukebox device from the Device window, and then selecting Unmount from the menu bar on the EBR Administrator' s window. This prevents you from accidentally relabeling these volumes when you reload the jukebox with new volumes.
The Label window displays the following fields:
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Device: name of the tape device in jukebox ![]()
Starting with: label on volume (numbered for first slot; for example, in the figure above, the label kady.005 is to be placed on the volume in slot 2). This field is empty if the volume is unlabled. Note: You can only change this if you are labeling more than one slot.
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First slot: number of the starting slot for labeling or inventory ![]()
Last slot: number of the Last slot for labeling or inventory ![]()
Pool: the pool selected for the volume to be labeled (for example, archive). If you want to override the range of slots specified in the label window, enter slot numbers into the First slot and Last slot fields and click OK. The First slot and Last slot fields allow you to control the range of slots in the jukebox to be labeled or inventoried.
If you want to label a specific range of backup volumes, the Starting with name must match the label template format. If you label a single backup volume, you can use any name - it does not have to match the label template. The First and Last slots should be identical when labeling a single volume.
2. Click OK to start the labeling process. When a valid EBR label already exists on the media you are trying to label, a confirmation message appears.
The confirmation is important because it keeps you from accidentally relabeling the media. When a backup volume is relabeled, its contents under the previous label cannot be recovered.
You will also be prompted to "recycle" if the volume is still in the media index. See Chapter 3 for details.
3. When you confirm by clicking Ok, EBR starts labeling the media in the jukebox with the label displayed in the Starting with field until all the backup volumes in the range of selected slots are labeled.
Since it takes EBR some time to label the volumes in the jukebox, you may want to perform the labeling process at a time when you do not need to back up or recover any files.
First slot and Last slot display the range of slots in the jukebox containing backup volumes that EBR will label according to whatever you selected in the Pool field.
For example, if you previously labeled ten tapes, and need to label ten more, your Label window might look like this:
Or, if you want to label a single volume, the window might look like this, with the First slot and Last slot identical:
In this way, the Label window gives you control over the volume labeling. You can use a label template to generate names as needed for a range of volumes, or you can specify a single unique name.
For more information on labeling volumes see "Labeling a Backup Volume" in Chapter 3.
Whenever you start either a label or inventory operation for a jukebox, EBR displays a status message in the EBR Administrator' s window to show the progress of the operation.
The message appears in the window, as shown below.
When the process is complete, you are informed by another message.
To Mount Jukebox Backup Volumes Manually
1. Make sure the jukebox device is selected in the EBR Administrator window. This is especially important if you have the EBR server configured to use devices other than the jukebox.
Note: Although jukebox devices are identified by a "J" in their pathname in the devices window, it is still a good idea to place an adhesive label on the outside of a jukebox identifying its device pathnames, to remind you of which device pathnames belong to the jukebox. This practice is especially helpful when you are using devices other than those in the jukebox.
2. Select Mount (Read/Write) or Mount (Read Only) from the menu bar. The Mount window appears.
The Mount window displays the following fields:
Device: system pathname of the selected jukebox media device.
Slot: slot in which volume is stored.
Volume: label of volume stored in this slot.
Pool: pool to which the volume belongs.
% Used: percent capacity of the volume filled. This is informational only - it does not limit the amount of data EBR will store on a device. EBR will write data to a writeable backup volume until no more data can be written. For more information, see the Release Notice.
The currently selected backup volume name is highlighted.
To mount the selected backup volume in the jukebox, first select it from the list, then click on Ok.
This section contains suggestions and tips for using a jukebox on a day-to-day basis.
Recycling versus Adding More Backup Volumes
EBR can save files on volumes that are appendable or recyclable as indicated in the Volumes window.
Volumes Window
If the volumes inside of the jukebox are listed as full, they cannot receive any more backups.
If your volumes are all full, you can do one of the following:
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If you need to keep the volumes for long-term storage, remove the full volumes and replace them with new media. Label the new volumes. ![]()
If you do not need the data on the full volumes, you can manually change to recyclable in the Volumes window and EBR will overwrite the data on the volumes with new backups, yet maintain the existing labels. Note: The mode of a volume is automatically changed to recyclable when all of the save sets on the volume have passed the time period specified by the Retention policy of the client that generated them.
There are advantages to either recycling or adding more media to the pool. By recycling, you re-use the same backup volumes and do not add new volumes to the pool. However, the media may wear out over time and have a higher failure rate.
On the other hand, if your site requires that you maintain the backups in storage for a certain period of time, then you may have to add more media to the pool instead of recycling it. For example, if the jukebox needs new backup volumes every three months, and the company policy is to maintain the backups for a year, you will have to keep adding new media to the pool until you can recycle the backup volumes that contain expired or old backups.
Taking Inventory of the Jukebox Contents
When EBR labels the contents of the jukebox, it registers the location of the volumes in the jukebox slots when it assigns the volume label. If you do not change the volumes in the jukebox after labeling them, EBR can access the volumes because each volume label is assigned to a specific slot.
However, if you change the contents of the jukebox without performing the labeling process or if you move volumes into new slots, you must tell EBR that the jukebox now holds a different set of labeled volumes or that the volumes are in a different order. This is called taking an inventory. When you take an inventory of the volumes in the jukebox, EBR reads the label of each volume and assigns it to a slot number. For example, if you have more than one magazine for a jukebox, you must take an inventory each time you remove one magazine and load another one into the jukebox, if you do not perform the label process for the new magazine.
1. Load the new backup volumes into the jukebox.
2. Select the jukebox device in the Devices window.
3. Select Label from the pulldown Media menu.
4. Click on Inventory .
A message monitoring the progress of the inventory operation displays.
5. You may cancel the inventory operation after the current volume by clicking on Cancel in the Label window. Click on Cancel to close the window when the inventory is complete.
After completing an inventory, EBR has registered the contents of the jukebox and can therefore proceed with its network-wide backup and recover services.
Check the jukebox manufacturer' s documentation for information about the frequency and cleaning method for the jukebox' s devices. It is important to keep the jukebox in good working order with regular maintenance. Refer to the jukebox hardware manuals for information about preventive maintenance.
Check the jukebox manufacturer's documentation for information about the frequency and method for calibrating the loading mechanism for the jukebox device.
You may need to use EBR to help recover from a disaster such as a total failure of one or more of a server's disks, or to recover service executables, system software, or other files or directories not accessible through the console recover browser.