Question & Answer
Question
How can multiple LTO drive types be used within the same library for Tivoli Storage Manager library operations?
Answer
Using mixed media in an LTO library falls under the scope of the Tivoli Storage Manager supported devices mixed media requirement, as outlined within the Tivoli Storage Manager supported devices web page. The web page indicates only certain tape libraries are supported for mixed media use, so for most LTO mixed media libraries this feature will not be supported by Tivoli Storage Manager.
The basic reason for this restriction is that LTO media generations are different because each has its own media type and the format is dependent on the media type used and not the drive. The mixed media capability is just the ability of Tivoli Storage Manager to tell, through the library, what type of media it is working with. This ability is needed for completely different drive/media technologies but is also needed with mixed generation of tapes to control what media/format will be used.
In libraries that support mixed media, the tape device class format defined in Tivoli Storage Manager should be set to DRIVE to allow the tape drives to support current and previous generation tape volumes.
Related Information
Product Synonym
TSM
Was this topic helpful?
Document Information
Modified date:
17 June 2018
UID
swg21449118