Tape Alert Error Codes

Manual: Veritas NetBackup (tm) 6.0 Media Manager System Administrator's Guide for UNIX, Appendix A: Using TapeAlert
Modification Type: Supplement

Modification:
The following TechNote is meant to expand on the TapeAlert error codes that can appear various logs.  These can include the operating system messages or syslog file as well as the NetBackup /usr/openv/netbackup/db/media/errors log file.

In 6.0 NBU has the extended TapeAlert definitions per the SCSI-3 Standard.  A TapeAlert Specification v3 document which explains the different TapeAlert numbers that may appear in log files.  A listing of Tape Drive / Autoloader Flag Definitions can be found on pages 6 through 10.  A listing of Stand-Alone Changer Device Flag Definitions can be found on pages 11 through 14. This document can be found on the T10 Technical Committee's Web site at:  http://www.t10.org/ftp/t10/document.02/02-142r0.pdf

This example comes from /usr/openv/netbackup/db/media/errors file.  
The format for the log file entries is: <date> <time> <media id> <drive index> <TapeAlert error>
07/06/06 11:18:35 A26820 2 WRITE_ERROR LTO2-1
07/06/06 11:18:41 A26820 2 TAPE_ALERT LTO2-1 0x30001000 0x02000000
07/10/06 15:47:29 A26863 2 WRITE_ERROR LTO2-1
07/10/06 15:47:40 A26863 2 TAPE_ALERT LTO2-1 0x30001000 0x02000000
07/18/06 15:16:24 A26857 2 TAPE_ALERT LTO2-1 0x20000000 0x02000000
The two values at the end of the error message can be converted into a TapeAlert number.

This information is also recorded in the /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bptm/log.<date> file. The bptm log may also list the meaning of the TapeAlert flag.  This second example is from a different system where a TapeAlert flag was generated due to having expired cleaning media.
03:50:22.688 [3288.3396] <2> log_media_error: successfully wrote to error file - 03/31/07 03:50:22  19 TAPE_ALERT BS09_Drv3 0x00000400 0x00000000
03:50:23.594 [3288.3396] <16> process_tapealert: TapeAlert Code: 0x16, Type: Critical, Flag: EXPIRED CLEANING MEDIA, from drive BS09_Drv3 (index 19), Media Id

If the meaning of the TapeAlert number is not listed in the log then it can be converted.

The values 0x00000400 0x00000000 in the bptm log convert to:

0x00000400
(top down: one, two,.. eleven, twelve,.. ending in thirty two)
      111 1111 1112 2222 2222 2333  
1234 5678 9012 3456 7890 1234 5678 9012
----------------------------------------
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0100 0000 0000
0    0    0    0    0    4    0    0    (0x00000400)

0x00000000
(top down: thirty three, ending in sixty four)
3333 3334 4444 4444 4555 5555 5556 6666  
3456 7890 1234 5678 9012 3456 7890 1234
----------------------------------------
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0     (0x00000000)

Taking the converted number (22 since there is a digit in the 22nd field) and referencing page 8 we find 22 converts to Expired Cleaning Media - The cleaning tape has expired.