TL2000 & Backup Exec 11d

Question

Having a lot of troubles getting my TL2000 to work with Backup Exec 11d and wonder if someone can point me in the right direction. First, here is my setup. I have a combination NX1950/MD3000/TL2000 all connect via SAS. I have two ports in the back of the TL2000 connected to a SAS card in the NX1950. I have the two cartridges filled with all but three slots and one slot devoted to the cleaning tape. I saw a post stating that both ports in the TL2000 needed to be connected so I did that. I also downloaded the drivers from support.dell.com for the TL2000 and installed the x64 bit (R158476) version and under device manager->tape drives only one entry shows up (IBM ULT3580-TD4 SCSI Sequential Device). Now when you go into Backup Exec 11d under devices the drive shows up under the stand-alone drives. Shouldn't this be a Robotic Libraries? And if so what is the proper procedure for getting the TL2000 to recognize properly in 11d? I have tried to read the documentation but it just states how to set up the TL2000 only. I haven't found anything (yet) on Symantec.com to help with this problem. Any information/help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

cousintroy · Answer

Bob...thanks for your reply. I actually uninstalled the Dell drivers, installed some hotfixes for BE, restarted the server then used the tapeinst (driver install) and it showed up as a robotic library. I am currently at 75% on my inventory and its recognizing all the tapes. Question though...I have the drive in random mode right now, so can I switch it to sequential and have it still work? Thanks, Troy

DELL-Bob D · Answer

Each drive needs to be seperately connected as there is no way to "daisy chain" sas devices. Since you only have 1 drive you only need to connect 1 cable. Remove one cable.

You need to use the BE drivers for your device not the Dell drivers. You must run the uninstall program from the Dell driver pack to remove the driver. After the uninstall completes verify that the Changer Bus enumerator and the Tape Bus enumerator have been removed. You will find these listed under the System Devices in the Device Manager. Once these drivers/devices have been removed verify that you see one tape drive and a medium changer in the Device Manager.

Once all this is complete run the device configuration wizard from B/E and select to install tape drivers. This will install the B/E drivers to the Ultrium4. Once the drivers are installed you may need to reboot the server... if this is not possible you can just stop and start the B/E services.

When all this is complete you should see a Robotic library listed with a tape drive and slots listed as a device within B/E.

Hopefully this will get you rolling...

Bob

Message Edited by Dell-Bob D on 10-11-2007 12:20 PM

DELL-Bob D · Answer

Sequential mode is for use by applications that do not support a medium changer. So if you had a linux script set up to handle Multi-volume tar to the tape device you wouldn't have to have seperate changer commands within the script... when the tape was full the changer would automatically pull the tape and place the next tape in it. NT4 backup app also didn't support changer devices and would opperate in this fashion.   New apps now support changers and will manage the tape changing for you. If there are particular tapes that you want filled up first then you need to manage this through media pools/rules.     When you put the changer in SEQ mode the changer device is removed... the OS will no longer see the device.   Hope this helps.   Bob

cousintroy · Answer

Bob...just wanted to thank you for your help. The server and software has been configured and has been running like a champ. I just wish there was better documentation that gets sent with the drive so the first timers like me just don't sit there and wonder how to properly configure it.

But hey, at least I know now.

Thanks again,
Troy

PowerVault

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