Can you have 2 tape libraries on a single host?

Hi,

NetWorker is licensed by the number of slots per jukebox. If you have 2 jukeboxes, you would need to have 2 licnses, each with the respected number of slots.

This licensing requirement does not change in the 7.4.X, 7.5.X releases.

If you are planning to upgrade I advise to read the Upgading NW to 7.4.X or 7.5.X tech note before the actual upgrade since it contains everything you wanted to know about the upgrade process. The tech notes can be found on PowerLink in the NW TechNotes area.

Regards,

Mickey

Yes, you can have 2 tape libraries on a single host. Infact in a couple of sites, we are having three on one host each for their own SAN based backups. All you need is Autochanger license for each library based on the no. of slots each have.

Regards,

Anuj

This brings up a good point, why aren't the number of slots you have to purchase in line with any of the number of slots on common jukleboxes. For example I have an LTO2 jukebox with 54 slots that means I have to purchase 64 slots from EMC, that is unless they have changed it recently and not told me. Same with all the other jukeboxes I have had. I end up paying for slots that do not exist. It would be different if they all cost the same. How about just letting us choose the number of slots we want or have and charging according to individual slots?

That's cool, I never got that lucky. The first jukebox I had was 10 slots, then I had one that was 26 slots, now I have one that is 54 slots.

I can see the logic, kind of, of charging in blocks (for lack of a better word) of slots. Most people are going to want to see if they made a good purchase when buying that new jukebox so they will naturally want to enable enough slot to use the entire thing. They might actually lose money if they let you only get what you actually need.

If you are allowed to choose the no. of slots instead of following a slab as per the current policy, I believe it might become too cumbersome for EMC to handle both pricing and the enabler codes. The slot slabs are configured well to suit most people.    

I would suggest you to do some more study on the environment and see if you can utilize the second library as a storage node if it is a large setup. Do let me know if you need help on this.

So you are saying you have the same number of slots on your jukebox as you have licenses for? I don't think it would be any more cumbersome than the system they already have, have you ever seen the riduculous list of enabler codes? It might even be simpler. Maybe just charge by jukebox.

Looks like I may have opened Pandora's box here...

I forgot to mention that I have the "unlimited slots" option. I guess I still need another license to run the jukebox and also get it another unlimited slots license...

On another jukebox I maintain, I had to disable a few slots to fit the closest license configuration without purchasing more than I could use...

Thank you all for your help and information!

Yes, I have a 9 slot autochanger (Old HP one) and 1-9 slot license.

It would be wonderful if they charge only for the jukebox irrespective of the no. of slots but then I think they make more money charging for more slots and the logic goes like this: you pay more money for a larger library, you pay more money for the license to use it in Networker.

The tape unit has 170 slots - I replaced the 360 slot jukebox a few years ago and kept the slot license...

I was hoping the unlimited slot count would work with the current unit and the new 170 slot jukebox...

I can't remember how much the unlimited cost new, but it is more then seven grand a year for maintenance!!

Looks like we have lots of interest in licensing. Over the past year or so, we have tried to make improvements in licensing for NetWorker to make things easier – and in most cases, lower cost.  Some of the things we’ve done:

• Eliminated the need for ClientPak and Cluster Client Connection licenses.
• Stopped requiring VSS client licenses for basic open file and file system backup on Windows servers.
• Removed the need to count processors for Windows app modules (no more tiers).
• Created the Virtual Edition client to give more flexibility in virtual environments.
• Taken a consolidation approach to application modules – creating a single Microsoft App module that covers SQL, Exchange, SharePoint, Hyper-V, AD and DPM, as well as a new module being released this quarter for the other NetWorker-supported non-MS databases and applications (shhh you need to wait a couple weeks for more info on this one).

As for other improvements, if you were the EMC Product Manager responsible for making a balanced and attractive licensing structure, how would you approach it?  Remember that you get to be both the customer and the vendor and you need to balance out the needs of both.

Wait!

I no longer have to purchase ClientPak licenses?

Does that mean I can remove them from my maintainance contract?

Do I have to upgrade to a certain version for this to take effect?

I really need to find out what I REALLY need because we keep getting more and more budget cuts, I work for the state of South Carolina, need I say more?

I have a small setup here and am not totally sure why our part of the DR isn't included with the rest of the division's DR. Basically I just backup the Operations Department computers; 2 AIX servers, 1 running Oracle, 3 Windows 2003 servers, and 6 PCs running Windows XP. I have 1 54 slot IBM LTO2 jukebox with 3 drives. That's it, there might not be much there but those 2 AIX servers are critical, they hold ALL the crucial data for us.

As for improvements in licensing, I would like to see each customer have a policy custom tailored to their needs. For example using my own situation; I do not need 64 slots for my jukebox so why not just charge me for 54? Also I am only backing up 11 clients which is practically nothing compared to some of the people where with thousands, so how about designing a package for low-end users like myself at a reduced cost, say less than 50 clients and have it include everything. I guess that was the idea behind the ClientPak.

That brings up a suggestion, at home I have a growing network and would like a cheap and easy to use backup program that could back everything up to one central PC (server). Keep in mind that these PCs have very little critical data (mostly pictures) on them so I would not want to spend a whole lot just to back them up. So how about a home version for just a couple hundred bucks and a small annual support fee (under $100)?

This change of licensing happened I think with 7.4.1. You do not need ClientPaks now. You also don't need Cluster Client Connections and there are no more Tiers in application modules. For VMs, you can now have a VCC license. VSS enabler no more required.

Check the latest release notes, you will more reasons to upgrade.    

Now that you mention it, it does seem like I read that somewhere. I am going to go back through and see if I can find it and have it removed from our maintenance contract. I'm at 7.4 sp2.

Seems like I also read that I was supposed to be able to update all the clients from the server but I was never able to figure that out, or at least I never got it to work. So some of my clients are still at 7.3