Cannot Append Appendable Tapes

[Al_Wilson]

OPP is set to Partial, no prompt.

Media Set is set to OP for 4 weeks, Infinite Append.

All tapes currently in the library are not overwritable, but some have ample space remaining, and are showing as being set to Allow Append.

However, upon running a job, it switches to overwrite, and generates a Library Insert message.

Shouldn't I be able to append non-full tapes even when they are overwrite protected? If not, it's a tremendous waste of tape capacity. BE should be able to fill the tapes up, as it won't destroy any protected data.

It looks like BE will only append when the tapes are overwritable, depending on what the 'When this job begins' setting is set to. Is that correct?

Cheers,

Al.

[Ken_Putnam]

In order to be Appendable, a tape volume must belong to the same media set that the job specifies, and be within the APP period for that media set.  And Yes, if the APP is longer than the OPP, the tape should append (bearing the previous in miend )   if they do write, then the APP will be extended

[Al_Wilson]

The append period is set to Infinite. So even if the tape is still overwrite-protected, you're saying that BE should be appending the tapes?

Jobs are being sent to the correct media set.

Cheers.

[Ken_Putnam]

Should be

is it asking for another tape at the start of the job, or after it has written some data to the tape?  Is it possible that that tapes are full?

[Al_Wilson]

Hi Ken,

It asks for a tape at the start of the job (doesn't write anything), so even though jobs are set to append, then overwrite, it appears as though it sees the tapes as being inside the retention period, switches to overwrite mode, then prompts for overwritable media.

Most tapes are full, but there are several tapes (in the correct media set) which are still reading as 'Infinite - Allow Append'.

[Raymond_Tchou]

Hi Al,

 I have been searching for a solution to the append problem you described ever since I upgraded from 9.x to 10.x.  Under all versions before 10.x, all appendable media within the same media set were used as expected.  The settings were partial media protection and append period set to the same as the overwrite period.  When I upgraded to 10.x, none of the appendable media were actually used even though the appendable period is still open and there is lots of capacity left.  I changed the settings to full meida protection and append period set to infinit and logged the appendable media usage for the last two months.  All appendable media logged belong to the same media sets.  This is what appears to be happening:  BE 10.x will use available scratch media first regardless of available appendable media; next it will use expired recyclable media from the same media set; then it will use any recyclable media available.  I experimented by removing all scratch and recyclable media from the library to force the use of appendable media.  The result was that the job paused until a recyclable or scratch media became available.  There were plenty of appendable media, but NONE was picked up.  I have used BE since the days it was a product of Arcada (before Segate, Veritas, and Symatec) and this is the first version of BE that the append feature failed to function as expected.  I can find no patches for this problem with 10.x.  I believe this is a "feature" with 10.x and I can find no work around as yet.  I hope that this "feature" is not continued in version 11.x.

Regards

Ray     

[Al_Wilson]

Thanks for that. It's annoying, and I can't see a way round it.

We won't be upgrading to 11d for some time, if at all. Who knows what new 'features' will be included.