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First inject of tapes ignores barcode and media ID rules

TopazScorpion
Level 3

Master is on Windows 2012 R2 VMware VM

Media servers on physical Win2008

Tapes are LTO3 and have a barcode configuration of 6 numbers, then L3 on the end  (XXXXXXL3)

Tape Library: HP ESL 712e

Barcode Rules:

Barcode Tag Media Type Pool Mounts/Clean
CLN hcart3_clean None 25
L3 hcart3 4 0
<DEFAULT> DEFAULT DEFAULT 0

Media ID Rule:

Robot Barcode Length Media ID Rule
2 8 1:2:3:4:5:6

When we inject tapes for the FIRST time they come in as DLT and the Media ID is incorrect.  It is grabbing the last 6 characters instead of the first 6.

Example:

Tape barcode: 234567L3

Resultant Media ID: 4567L3

If I go to the Scratch pool and delete all of these DLT tapes that just came in and then re-inventory the robot, everything works normally.  The type becomes hcart3 and the Media ID is correct.

For the example above the media becomes 234567 which is what I wanted.

Why does this only happen on the first time we inject the tapes?  It looks like all of the rules are getting ignored and it is dropping to the DEFAULT rule which I do not know what the defaults would be for Media Type and Media ID.

Some thoughts:

Something wrong with my rules.

These tapes are from an older version of NetBackup (they are not brand new) that we are now using in the 7.6 environment.

We had two other robots connected to this environment which we have since retired which is why the robot in the above table is number 2.

Anyone have any ideas? Thank you in advance.

 

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions

Will_Restore
Level 6

I thought barcode rules select beginning of the barcode (2) not the end (L3)

remove this rule

L3 hcart3 4 0

and add this one

2 hcart3 4 0

View solution in original post

15 REPLIES 15

Will_Restore
Level 6

I thought barcode rules select beginning of the barcode (2) not the end (L3)

remove this rule

L3 hcart3 4 0

and add this one

2 hcart3 4 0

Marianne
Moderator
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I normally add as scratch or the normal backup pool. Also add pool name, not number.

TopazScorpion
Level 3

Thanks for the reply. Couple of things.

Our tapes range from 000001L3 to 999999L3 so that rule would only work for the 2xxxxxx series if indeed barcode rules only read from the beginning. It work also work if a 2 was anywhere in the bar code.

Also, as I said above, when I delete the tapes from the scratch pool and then reinventory the robot all of the tapes come in as expected.  They have the correct media type and Media ID.  The L3 rule does work but only after a second inventory.  That is why I am trying to figure out why it does not work on the first try only.

With all of the different types and formats of barcodes on tapes I find it had to believe that Symantec would limit the barcode rule to read only from the beginning.

From the help page:

The barcode tag is a unique string of characters from the barcode that identifies the type of media.

It does not say it has to start with the string.

TopazScorpion
Level 3

Interesting you should mention the name/number thing Marianne.

It looks like it may have changed somewhere in versioning but when I create the rule there is a pull-down to select the pool (whihc is a list of pool names). After I save the rule, the pool name then shows up as a number and not the name.

I always thought it did show up as a name but we have just migrated to 7.6 and something may have changed.

TopazScorpion
Level 3

Will Restore-

The rule you suggest to add would affect every tape that has a 2 in it anywhere. Our tapes range from 000000L3 to 999999L3.

The barcode tag does not have to be at the beginning of the barcode.  It is simply a string that can be found anywhere in the barcode.

I know the L3 rule works because (as I said above) when I delete the DLT tapes from the scratch pool and then re-inventory the robot, they all come in just the way I expect with the Media Type being hcart3 and the Media ID being the first 6 characters of the barcode.

I am trying to figure out why things do not work on the FIRST time I inject the tapes.

Marianne
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I agree with Will. Barcode Tag is leading characters. Have a look at this discussion : https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/forums/barcode-rule-using-end-barcode-tag

Will_Restore
Level 6

Wow - the wayback machine!  :) 

 

Marianne
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Seeing that Barcode Tag needs leading characters, my suggestion is as follows:

Modify <DEFAULT> to look like this:

Barcode Tag: <DEFAULT>

Media Type: DEFAULT

Pool:  Pool name / number

If you have more than one media type, best to order labels with different ranges (leading character) for each type.
This will enable you to create a different barcode rule for each media type.

TopazScorpion
Level 3

After a bit more research I found that two of the four media servers did not have the barcode rules we had set on the other two. It just so happens that we using one of the media servers, to inject tapes, that did not have the rules defined.

After adding the barcode rules to the other two media servers, the inject now works (mostly). It will follow the L3 barcode rule above and will correctly assign the media ID. However, it still dumps all of the tapes into the NetBackup pool instead of the scratch pool.  Ah well, take the good with the bad.  I can easily move the tapes to the scratch pool.

But this does show that the Barcode Tag does not need leading characters because mine (L3) are at the end of the barcode.

Marianne
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No, it proves that the L3 rule is ignored and Default is applied. That is why the tapes are landing up in default pool - NetBackup. You can change Default rule as per my previous suggestion.

TopazScorpion
Level 3

I forgot to mention that I removed the default rule.

There are only two rules now.  The CLN rule for cleaning tapes and the L3 rule.

Marianne
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Netbackup pool remains the default pool. If none of the rules can be applied, tapes go to NetBackup pool. What do you have to lose? Why not re-add Default and change it to Scratch?

TopazScorpion
Level 3

Sounds good.  Thank you Marianne.

Marianne
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It seems weird that the need for barcode rule to use trailing characters instead of leading has been around for many years but the request seems to never have reached the developers or else got ignored. Here you can see that Judy was adamant that the L4 rule would work, but the tapes kept ending up in the NetBackup (default ) pool: https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/forums/barcode-rule-using-end-barcode-tag#comment-4093411

TopazScorpion
Level 3

Yes.  I read that chain and I guess I was hoping that in 5 years and a few versions they would have fixed that.  But alas...