Configuring TS3500 to Windows Media

[krazy]

Has anyone worked on configuring a TS3500 Tape Library with TS1120 drives to Windows Media Environment (NB 6.5.3.1)?  We're decommissioning the TS7520 VTS and doing straight to tape drive backups.

[RiaanBadenhorst]

What is your query, the lib and drives are supported? Are you having issues?

[Marianne]

We have a number of customers using these drives on Windows. No problems.
Please read all recommendations in the Hardware Compatibility Guide:     http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH48687

Start with the link to the Device Mappings URL on p.3.

Then read the recommendations as far a tape drivers are concerned: use Symantec drivers on 32-bit media servers, IBM drivers on 64-bit servers. There are more recommendations in this guide as far as IBM drivers are concerned.

[krazy]

We currently don't have an issue with the drives since they are connected as a Virtual Tape with our TS7520 VTS.  We're about to take down the Virtual Tape System and going to physical and looking for any guidelines for connected to the TS3500 Tape Library.  I'm not too familiar with the Netbackup aspect, but we are tasked to do this since the TS7520 is end of life with IBM.

[krazy]

We're not having issues with the tape drive.  I'm just looking for best practices or installation guidelines for adding the TS3500 tape library into our environment.  Our TS7520 VTS with IBM is end of life and we're going from a virtual environment to straight to tape drive backups.  I don't want us to hit any snags along the way.

[RiaanBadenhorst]

Hi,

Ok, only thing to keep in mind if you've not already done it. You'll need to get all your data off the VTS using either the ndmp direct copy (if configured) or duplication. You need copies of the virtual media put onto physical, unless you're keeping the VTS around for restore purposes.... (depends on your retentions etc)

If all the media has been duplicated you can expire copies on the VTL and delete those media (just to clean things up)

[krazy]

Riaan,

Dumping the data to physical is already planned.  VTS will be scrapped for good after exporting the data to tape. 

I have the drivers installed that will use the TS1120 tape drive for our Window's media server.  I'm just a little weary about configuring the Tape Robotics (TLD/TLH) in Netbackup.  This is a new ball game for my part and want to make sure my "i"s are dotted and my "t"s are crossed.

Thanks.

[RiaanBadenhorst]

Hi,

Good. The device configuration isn't really complicated, in 99.9% of the case Netbackup (storage device configuration wizard) will discover the robot and the drives, and create the storage units for you.

Just make sure the zoning is done correctly and that the OS can see the robot and drives across all host that you'd like to share the device (zoning the robot to all is not a requirement but handy for failover should a server go down though)

Your robot/library will appear as a TLD device (automatically).

[Yogesh9881]

Storage Device Configuration Wizard will solve query

You just need to make sure that all tape drives are perfectly visible to OS level for Master and each Media server.

[krazy · Accepted solution]

Thanks everyone, I believe I have the needed information and a good path to get things ready.

Again thanks everyone.

[rizwan84tx]

Krazy ,

If your query is resolved, please mark respective post as Solution.