IBM Support

IT18121: SERVER TAKES THE DRIVE PATH OFFLINE IF BOTH IBM SPECTRUM PROTECTTAPE DRIVER AND SOLARIS GENERIC TAPE DRIVER CONTROL THE SAME DRV

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You can track all active APARs for this component.

 

APAR status

  • Closed as program error.

Error description

  • IBM Spectrum Protect tape device driver configuration allows the
    Solaris generic tape driver to configure the same tape drives
    that IBM Spectrum Protect tape device driver configured.
    Therefore a tape device is controlled by both IBM Spectrum
    Protect tape device driver and Solaris generic tape driver at
    the same.
    Meanwhile, the IBM Spectrum Protect server checks the
    coexistence of both IBM Spectrum Protect tape device driver and
    Solaris generic tape driver.
    If so, the server takes the drive path offline.
    The server varies the drive path online again when the Solaris
    generic tape driver is unloaded from the system or associated
    device link of the Solaris generic tape driver is deleted.
    This drive path variation can cause problems.
    IBM Spectrum Protect server should not verify the drive paths ON
    and OFF when the Solaris generic tape driver coexists with IBM
    Spectrum Protect tape device driver on the system.
    
    
    IBM Spectrum Protect Versions affected:
    IBM Spectrum Protect 7.1.X on Solaris platform
    
    Initial Impact:
    Low
    

Local fix

  • There are two methods for workaround:
    1. Execute "rmstdev -d" command to unload the Solaris generic
       tape device driver.
    2. Issue "rm -rf" command to the device file which is created by
       the Solaris generic tape driver.
    

Problem summary

  • ****************************************************************
    * USERS AFFECTED:                                              *
    * All IBM Spectrum Protect server users.                       *
    ****************************************************************
    * PROBLEM DESCRIPTION:                                         *
    * See error description.                                       *
    ****************************************************************
    * RECOMMENDATION:                                              *
    * Apply fixing level when available. This problem is currently *
    * projected to be fixed in level 7.1.8.  Note that this is     *
    * subject to change at the discretion of IBM.                  *
    ****************************************************************
    

Problem conclusion

  • This problem was fixed.
    Affected platforms for reported release:  Solaris.
    Platforms fixed:  Solaris.
    
    ANR9004E The server detected that drive xxx can also be accessed
    by other applications by using the st special file that is
    associated with device yyy. You must delete all st device
    special files for this tape drive.
    
    Explanation
    When more than one device driver can access a drive, tape labels
    or other data can be overwritten. To prevent possible data
    integrity issues, you must delete all st device special files
    for this tape drive.
    Tip: An st device special file is a file that is associated with
    a generic Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) tape driver.
    
    SystemAction
    The operation fails, or the drive is temporarily taken offline
    and is unavailable for tape operations. The server polls the
    drive at 30-second intervals to verify that all of the st device
    special files for the tape drive are deleted. After all files
    are deleted, the drive is brought back online.
    
    UserResponse
    To resolve the issue, take one of the following actions:
    - If you do not need to use the st driver, you can unload the st
    driver from the kernel by issuing the following Solaris
    operating system command:
    rem_drv st
    - If you want the mt driver and the st driver to coexist on the
    Solaris system, you must run the autoconf utility to configure
    the devices on the Solaris system. The autoconf utility ensures
    that all non-IBM tape devices have only one device file, which
    is created by the mt driver.
    Tip: An mt driver is a driver that is associated with a tape
    device.
    - Log in with the root user ID, and run the rmstdev utility with
    the -d option.
    The rmstdev utility is located in the following directory:
    /opt/tivoli/tsm/server/bin
    or
    /opt/tivoli/tsm/StorageAgent/bin
    The rmstdev utility deletes all device files that were created
    by the st driver for all non-IBM tape devices in the storage
    environment.
    

Temporary fix

Comments

APAR Information

  • APAR number

    IT18121

  • Reported component name

    TSM SERVER

  • Reported component ID

    5698ISMSV

  • Reported release

    71S

  • Status

    CLOSED PER

  • PE

    NoPE

  • HIPER

    NoHIPER

  • Special Attention

    NoSpecatt / Xsystem

  • Submitted date

    2016-12-06

  • Closed date

    2017-01-06

  • Last modified date

    2017-01-06

  • APAR is sysrouted FROM one or more of the following:

  • APAR is sysrouted TO one or more of the following:

Fix information

  • Fixed component name

    TSM SERVER

  • Fixed component ID

    5698ISMSV

Applicable component levels

[{"Line of Business":{"code":"LOB26","label":"Storage"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU058","label":"IBM Infrastructure w\/TPS"},"Product":{"code":"SSGSG7","label":"Tivoli Storage Manager"},"Platform":[{"code":"PF025","label":"Platform Independent"}],"Version":"7.1.3"}]

Document Information

Modified date:
14 February 2021