BackupExec 2010 and HP MSL G3 Library does not export tape to mailslot

[Hoicks]

At one of our customers, we have the challenge that we want to export the last runned tape to the mailslot for off-site backup.

We tried a lot of things, but Backupexec 2010 SP1 refuses to export the tape to the mailslot.

What we tried:

Exporting tape from HP Library tool > works!

Creating a policy with two templates from the wizard, as stated in the manual of BE,  in Backupexec 2010 > didn't work

We uninstalled the hardware and reinstalled it >  didn't work

We tried Library & Tape tools to test the library and everything works good.

We updated the BE 2010 installation to BE 2010sp1

We tried to export the tape from the device manager > Job gets queued and nothing happens. In the debugviewer, we don't see any info regarding the export.

Please help.

[AmolB]

Do you see any active alerts in the alerts tab.

[James_McKey]

I agree with the above advice about checking for active alerts. If you don't have something there to click OK to or that doesn't help then it sounds like there is something going wrong with our attempt to unlock the library for the export command. It's possibly the HP tools are actually getting in the way and it may be necessary to contact them to see what their suggestion/best practices are in such situations.

Also, you could try this KB to see if just changing the locking behavior on our side resolves the issue. If it doesn't then that points to some other tool/service holding the lock on the library. In some cases a library firmware update can resolve bugs with export/unlock commands.

How to change Backup Exec's robotic library locking behavior
http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH67698

[pkh]

The article is for changing the unlocking behaviour and is not helpful in this case because the user cannot export to the mailslot and is not experiencing any problems unlocking the library.   Unless you know what you are doing changing the unlocking behaviour is dangerous because you can accidentally remove the magazine while a library operation is on.

[pkh]

@hociks - To use the mailslot, you got to first enable it using the library's web interface.  After this, you got to re-start both the library as well as the media server.  You then got to make sure thatBE "recognises" that the library has a mailslot:  The library will have 1 slot less, i.e. if the library has 24 slots, you will only have 23 slots after the mailslot is enabled, assuming the library only has one mailslot.  Mailslots are not visible in BE.  After this, you can try exporting the tape by right-clicking on a non-empty slot and selecting Export.

[James_McKey]

An unlock command is sent prior to an export and can often be the cause of the export not completing (the HP tools make me suspicious too, h/w vendors love to have chatty diagnostic tools.... Love you HP; mean it!). The original decision to perform locking operations as an industry (in the last millinium) was when LCD status screens on Libraries were an expensive option mostly only seen with high slot counts. Now that status screens are cheap and prolific the locking action is possibly causing more problems that it prevents. We may actually go the way of stopping our locking operations due to all the complications that arise in shared environments.

If in this case the library does not have a status screen and the need to have the door hard locked by the backup software is real, then this KB article can simply be used to rule out the locking being the cause and then flipped back to the original state if it does not help.

Also, I have an unfair advantage in having discussed this issue with this customer previously and it was mentioned that the attempt to export the tape via a direct command resulted in a message that the library was locked (which should not happen if we are the only one to lock it). Maybe I should have said that first :)

EDIT: The most excellent 'pkh' posted his 2nd reply while I was typing this up, and I like his suggestion as an good first step. However, if you do show the # of slot - 1 (indicating correct mailslot setup) then try the "no locking" KB article. Good night and good luck!

[Hoicks]

There are no errors mentioned in Backupexec. The export command gets queued or paused and nothing happens further. Int he debug log of backupexec using SGmon, I see no errors or commands telling the library to export.

In the MSL configuration the mailslot is enabled. So that shouldn't be the problem. Exporting a tape right-clicking on an non-empty slto doesn't work either (from backupexec that is, from the MSL webinterface I can export the tape correctly.

I'm not able to test today because I work at another customer, so I need to check some things tomorrow. Thanks for your replies.

[pkh]

Did you "loose" 1 slot in your library?  If, in BE, your library shows a full complement of slots, then it means that BE still thinks that there is no mailslot configured.  You got to reboot both the library and the media server.  Power up the library first before the media server.

[James_McKey]

How is the Library attached to the BE media server (direct via SAS/SCSI or shared/SSO via FC)?

Was the mailslot configured after Backup Exec "detected" it and showed it in our UI?

[Hoicks]

I 'lost' a slot in Backup Exec, so basically the mailslot is recognized.

The Library is connected via SCSI.

[pkh]

Have you tried to import a tape into an empty slot?  If so, what happens then.

[Hoicks]

A manual import of a tape to an empty slot doesn't work either. The job stays on the QUEUED state.

[pkh]

Is there a tape in the mailslot when you do the import or is there an alert asking you to put a tape into the mailslot

If you still have problems, then I would suggest

1) update the firmware of the library and the tape drive.

2) go to the BE installation directory and use tapeinst to delete all entries related to the library, be it library or tape drive.

3) shutdown both the library and the media server

4) boot up the library

5) boot up the media server

6) check that the library and the tape drive is in the Windows Device Manage and are functioning correctly.

7) use tapeinst.exe to install the library and tape drive.

8) try again.

[Hoicks]

Is there a tape in the mailslot when you do the import or is there an alert asking you to put a tape into the mailslot

There is no tape in the mailslot perfomring an import and there is no alert for doing so either.

If you still have problems, then I would suggest

1) update the firmware of the library and the tape drive.

Already did so.

2) go to the BE installation directory and use tapeinst to delete all entries related to the library, be it library or tape drive.

Dit this also

3) shutdown both the library and the media server

4) boot up the library

5) boot up the media server

I might try this again.

6) check that the library and the tape drive is in the Windows Device Manage and are functioning correctly.

Devices are both present in the device manager

7) use tapeinst.exe to install the library and tape drive.

Did this also.

8) try again.

I'm trying like a madman!

[pkh]

How did your library appear in the Device Manager?  It should appear as an Unknown Medium Changer with a Microsoft driver and your tape drive should appear with the appropriate HP device name with a Symantec driver.

[Hoicks]

Here you have an overview of the device manager. The library doesn't show as unknown. But I can not really imagine that that causes the problem. The library uses a HP driver and the tapeunit uses the Symantec driver.

[CraigV]

...change the driver on the robotics to Unknown Medium Changer and try again!

[pkh]

Change the driver for the library to Microsoft, rather than HP.

Also, export and import will generate jobs.  When you right-click on a slot and select either import or export, did you get a job.  It should be visible in the Job Monitor tab.  Post a sample job log (saved as mhtml) from these import/export jobs.

[James_McKey]

I think you are going to have to open a case so that we can take a look at the ADAMM log and possibly a tracer log as well. Sounds like we are going to have to dig for something very specific that is broken in the chain of communication with the Library.