How can I move media from 1 slot to another slot?

[RichardXClark]

Hi,

How can I move media from 1 slot to another slot?
I cannot find an obvious way to do this with the Backup Exec GUI.

This is a generic 'how to' across all types of tape library, BEX v11d - 12.5.

I know how to do this with Netbackup GUI and with the robtest utility - which isn't included in BackupExec.
Also, I can use the library RMU to do it, but this takes the library offline.

I read the manuals cover to cover & whilst there are move to vault choices, no move slots.


Any help appreciated.

thanks

Rich

[Luke_Cassar]

What about scheduled export and import jobs?

Export a tape to the mail slot/portal of your library, then import it to the desired slot?

It would be a two job process I imagine though.

Hope that helps.

[RichardXClark]

Luke,

Thats a great idea.

That nearly works.
It works on our Dell PV-136T in my own datacenter.

Unfortunately, on our ADIC Scalar 24 in our Spanish office, the export works but the import doesn't work.
The import asks for a tape to be inserted & keeps asking for ever until I kill it.

The SCSI hardware inqury reports that the hardware supports import/export.
V12.5 in this setup. 12.5 has the ADIC 24 on the supported list.

Any ideas whats wrong?


Thanks.

[Luke_Cassar]

I am not familiar with that particular unit.. but I know on our HP 1/8 autoloader.. you can export to the mailslot, then just import again.

On a previous DELL tape loader, I know I could do the same thing.. once a tape was in the mail slot, it could be imported wherever you wanted it to.

Perhaps your ADIC Scalar thing, the export is also ejecting a magazine physically from somewhere in the unit (like ejecting a tape from a stand alone drive.. you have to push it back in to get it to work the tape again).

Maybe you need to run an inventory job again after exporting so it knows there is a tape in the mail slot, then import (so export, inventory, import).

do you normally take tapes in and out of the ADIC unit? if so, what is the procedure for doing so (does it require manual intervention?).

Cheers!

[pkh]

Don't response to the prompt for the import job.  It will go away after 20 minutes.  There only way to shorten this 20 minutes is to response to the alert..  If there is a tape in the mailslot, it would be imported to the appropriate slot and the import job will complete.

[RichardXClark]

On all our other systems, which are Dell, the import works straight away, just this 1 ADIC 24 that cannot.

I will wait 20 mins to see what happens. I cannot do this today as there is just 1 tape left inside and I cannot risk it being lost to export and not being imported again.

The process for loading tapes on a Monday is to open the mailbox drawers and fill with this weeks tapes.
Then, each morning, last nights tape is exported to the I/E slot.

This diagram explains the setup.
Each slot of the 2 mailbox drawers is a slot seen by BEX. The I/E slot is not seen by BEX.