DLT drive needs inventory everytime I put a new tape in stacker w/7.3.1

Try the same with 7.3.2. Do reset&inventory after.

Server. An error like that has been known for early 7.3.x versions. I believe 7.3.2 did fix it back to what is used to be.

So just upgrade and that should fix this problem?

Also upgrade the client or server?

Message was edited by:
Justin Zortman

Just upgraded the server and it still did not fix the problem. Once I try to label a tape I get this error "error message: \Jukebox `jukebox' is unavailable. Temporarily made unavailable due to unexpected changes in the lib\rary." and it makes all the tapes in the device unlabeled.

Any more ideas?

Thanks.

That error is different than previous one and seems to indicate another kind of trouble. Do you have anything in system logs? Did you try to detele jukebox and devices and recreate them with jbconfig?

I am having the same experience with my upgrade to 7.3.2. An inventory request loads each tape and reads the label even though the library is equipped with a barcode scanner. This was not necesary in prior Networker releases.

Actually I just saw that yesterday. I didn't try if the same happens from command line as I was after something else. Sounds like case for support.

Hi Justin,

We just upgraded one of our Networker servers to v7.3.1 with help from our third-party support provider. A tech from that company told me that v7.3.1 works great. After the installation was complete, he told me that over 90% of his customers had immediately switched back to v7.2.2 after upgrading to it. The only way to switch back I was told, was to perform a boot strap restore from tape.

Anyway, I've decided to stick with it and this is what I've experienced:

- The barcode reader in our Quantum ATL M1500 has been rendered useless. I later find out from our support contractor that EMC has completely replaced the library code from v7.2.2 with their own EMC code. Now when I put new tapes in our library for the next nightly backup, I have to first reset the library. When that's complete, the library content list does not change until I first de-select then re-select the library in the devices screen. At this point I see all of the tapes that were not used in the previous night's backup and I see the word 'blank' in the slots containing the scratch tapes I just put into it. Then I inventory all of the slots with tapes in them. In v7.2.2, this would return immediately with the correct list being obtained from the data that the tape library's barcode reader had read off of the tapes' barcode labels. In v7.3.1, every single tape is subsequently loaded into the tape drives and the magnetic labels of each tape are read. The message I get from the operations status screen is "Expected '-', got 'TK945S2' instead".

- When a backup is running on both drives and we know that more tapes will be needed, we can't put new tapes into the library without stopping the backup. We can load them into the cartridges but without the barcode information, we require the use of one of the tape drives to inventory the tapes. This is a ridiculous mess!!!

I was told by our support contractor that there are currently are no plans for EMC to correct this. It looks like I am probably going to have to abandon all of our daily and monthly backups and start over by re-installing v7.2.2

Maybe it might make more sense to buy an extra device license for that copy of HP Data Protector 5.1 we have lying around and re-build the server using Data Protector instead of Networker. Data Protector is easier to use, can also do data stream multi-plexing and has UNLIMITED client licenses just like EMC Retrospect Multiserver. We currently pay $2500CAN for each 5-pack of Networker client licenses. Ouch!

I am experiencing new problems with networker as well. I don't even care about the inventorying anymore. Now I am experiencing an even bigger problem, I see sessions running and the tape filling up but the sessions size does not get bigger. Any ideas on that one? I am about sick of 7.3

Call me blind, but I see these two sentences go against each other


You've been told wrong. I'm not saying there is no change in the code, there is, but it is not related to Legat vs EMC code at all as there is no such thing. If you get the same when using cmd then that would be bug - simple as that - and your support should chase it with EMC engineering.

Actually, it would be really nice to get some EMC people involved in this discussion too


This is consequence of bug mentioned above.


I would no give up that easily Use this forum to get their attention then or write them an angry letter. Or simply send link to this thread to top forum (forum suggestions) and ask if there is anyone for NW product from EMC looking at this and can you get an answer if this is for real. Use your imagination - that is the only limit.

OK here are the messages I get in /nsr/log/messages file:

Nov 8 10:14:38 rigel root: [ID 702911 daemon.notice] NetWorker media: (warning) Jukebox `jukebox' Hardware status of jukebox 'jukebox' changed from 'ready' to 'needs attention'
Nov 8 10:14:58 rigel root: [ID 702911 daemon.notice] NetWorker media: (warning) Jukebox `production' Hardware status of jukebox 'production' changed from 'ready' to 'needs attention'
Nov 8 10:18:29 rigel root: [ID 702911 daemon.notice] NetWorker media: (warning) Jukebox `jukebox' Hardware status of jukebox 'jukebox' changed from 'needs attention' to 'detected hardware change'
Nov 8 10:18:54 rigel root: [ID 702911 daemon.notice] NetWorker media: (warning) Jukebox `production' Hardware status of jukebox 'production' changed from 'needs attention' to 'detected hardware change'
Nov 8 10:19:02 rigel root: [ID 702911 daemon.notice] NetWorker media: (warning) Jukebox `jukebox' Hardware status of jukebox 'jukebox' changed from 'detected hardware change' to 'cannot access the hardware'
Nov 8 10:19:27 rigel root: [ID 702911 daemon.notice] NetWorker media: (warning) Jukebox `production' Hardware status of jukebox 'production' changed from 'detected hardware change' to 'cannot access the hardware'
Nov 8 10:21:22 rigel root: [ID 702911 daemon.notice] NetWorker media: (info) Jukebox `jukebox' Hardware status of jukebox 'jukebox' changed from 'cannot access the hardware' to 'ready'


Is this normal in 7.3 that it inventories whenever there is a change in the amount of tapes that are in slots?

This is not inventory but lpc daemon saying library went probably offline as someone was putting tapes to robot - during such periods sji commands fail too. This is normal diagnostic message.