Magnum 1x7 Autoloader not shown in Robotic Library

[Chris_Peters]

Hi,

We have recently installed an Exabyte Magnum 1x7 Autoloader on our Windows 2000 Backup Server. Using Backup Exec 8.6 the Autoloader keeps on showing up in the stand-alone devices rather than in the Robotic Library field.

We have installed the Robotic Library option and the Veritas drivers are used, plus the Library is found as Unknown Medium Changer Device but when in the Device wizard Robotic Libraries is not shown, only Stand Alone drives is installed.

I have checked that the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SCSIchanger key is there and it is.

Any help with getting the Autoloader setup in the Robotic Libraries would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Chris

[Ashutosh_Tamhan]

This issue can mostly be resolved by changing the mode of operation of the tape device.
When the operating mode is random both the changer and tape drives are shown under Device Mgr
whereas only the tape drive is detected by the OS if the mode is sequential.

Here is some trivia on that. An Extract from an Admin guide of a tape device.


Autoloader Operating Modes
Overview
The operating mode is set based on whether you have automation
software controlling cartridges in the autoloader or if you are manually
loading and unloading cartridges using the autoloader Operator’s Panel
commands. The autoloader always operates in Autodetect mode, which
is transparent to you. In Autodetect mode, the autoloader automatically
assumes that you are not using an automation software package to
control cartridge or drive activity. This is called Stacker or Sequential
mode. If the autoloader detects that an automation software package is
controlling tape/drive activity, it will automatically switch to Random mode.

Random Mode
This is the normal mode of operation when a backup software application
is being used. In Random mode, the autoloader will not automatically load
tapes into the drive; it instead waits for commands from the software.
To use Random mode, you do not need to configure anything from the
autoloader front panel, but you must use a SCSI host bus adapter that
has multi-LUN capability enabled, and your backup software package
must support autoloaders, which often requires the additional installation
of an autoloader/library software module.

Sequential Mode
Sequential Mode is useful when an adequate software application is not
available. In Sequential mode, the autoloader will automatically unload
and load tapes from the drive. The operator determines the first tape to
load by loading the desired tape into the tape drive using the autoloader's
front panel controls. See Loading Cartridges on page 35 for instructions.
When the first tape is full or unloaded for any other reason, the autoloader
automatically removes the tape from the drive, puts it in its original slot,
then loads the next available higher numbered slot, continuing this
sequence with each available higher numbered slot. To further determine
how you want tapes loaded into the autoloader's tape drive while in
Sequential mode, you may set Circular and Autoload options from the
autoloader front panel.


Regards,
Ashutosh

NOTE : If we do not receive your reply within two business days, this post would be marked ‘assumed answered’ and would be moved to ‘answered questions’ pool.