Dell Tape Library hardware question

[mboyle]

I have a Dell ML6020 tape library, that has 6 tape drives, but only 1 controller arm, using SAS.  My question is, can I connect 2 servers (3 cables each) to the tape library?  Or will only 1 server be able to communicate with the control arm?  I would like to use both servers to split up the I/O .

Similarly, this tape library can have a fibre connection, if I purchased those cards for both the library and the server, can I attach both servers?

Both servers that I want to attach to the Tape Library will be media servers.  One will the be the Central Admin server and the other will be a managed media server.

[lmosla]

Hello, The tape library needs to be attached to the media server (a server that Backup Exec is installed on). 

[mboyle]

Sorry I should have noted that and will edit the original post as well.

Both servers that I want to attach to the Tape Library will be media servers.  One will the be the Central Admin server and the other will be a managed media server.

[pkh]

You would need to have the SSO option to share the tape library.

[VJware]

In BE 2012, the Enterprise Server Option (ESO) comprises of both Central Admin Server & the SSO Options. (1 ESO license is required per a managed BE environment of 5 servers)....So, if you already have the ESO license, there is no separate license needed for the SSO capability.

Verbatim about what SSO actually does:-

The ability to share a centralized tape library for LAN-free backup between multiple Backup Exec media servers on a SAN with SSO.

However, this will not split the I/O as BE will reserve the control arm (to prevent conflict) when an tape operation is being performed by one media server. Have a look @ this KB as well - http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=HOWTO24287

[Larry_Fine]

IMHO, the cheapest way to utilize both servers & split the I/O would be to hardware partition the tape library.  Then connect each library partition to its own server via SAS cables.  This would give you 2 robotic libraries, each with its own control.  This does have the limit that which ever server did the backup will need to be the one that does the restore (unless you move a tape to the other partition it).

I don't think that adding FC to that library is economical/convenient?  I think that you have to replace the 6 SAS drives with 6 FC drives.  Not a bad deal if you want to upgrade the drives to a newer generation anyway, but expensive just to change interfaces.