Configuring drives with persistent naming with IBM devices on Windows

Resolving The Problem

The IBM Tape Device Drivers Installation and User's Guide has detailed information on configuration of persistent naming with the IBM device driver on Windows. In chapter 6, "Windows Tape and Medium Changer device driver", see the "Persistent Naming Support on Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012" section.

After persistent naming is configured, the goal is to identify the WWN or the serial number of the device and its name so that you can use this information when defining paths on the Tivoli Storage Manager server. You can identify the persistent names that are associated to the IBM devices in several ways.

Identifying the persistent name using Windows registry query

For example, on a Windows 2008 system, you can use the following registry query command:

reg query HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\ibmtpbs2k8 /s

For example :

C:\>reg query HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\ibmtpbs2k8 /s
...
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\ibmtpbs2k8\SERNUM_00000000000000000000004966383000
PersistentDeviceName REG_SZ Tape4801107
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\ibmtpbs2k8\SERNUM_00000000000000000000004966383001
PersistentDeviceName REG_SZ Tape4801108

The output shows that device \\.\Tape4801107 has a serial number of 4966383000.

Identifying the persistent name using the IBM Tape Diagnostic tool

You can obtain the same information by using IBM Tape Diagnostic Tool.

For example, use the following ITDT command line scan command:

C:\ITDT>itdt scan
Scanning SCSI Bus ...
#0 \\.\Tape4801110 - [ULT3580-TD2]-[73V1] S/N:1110027758 H3-B0-T2-L0 Changer:0000000103640401
#1 \\.\Changer0 - [03584L32]-[0100] S/N:0049663839990402 H3-B0-T0-L0
#2 \\.\Tape4801107 - [ULT3580-TD3]-[5AT0] S/N:4966383000 H3-B0-T0-L1 Changer:0049663839990402
#3 \\.\Tape4801108 - [ULT3580-TD3]-[5AT0] S/N:4966383001 H3-B0-T0-L2 Changer:0049663839990402
#4 \\.\Tape4801109 - [ULT3580-TD2]-[73V1] S/N:1110058875 H3-B0-T1-L0 Changer:0000000103640401
#5 \\.\Changer1 - [03584L32]-[8980] S/N:0000000103640401 H3-B0-T1-L1
Exit with code: 0


The same ITDT scan function is also available in the ITDT graphical interface. For example :



In either case, the output from the ITDT scan shows that device \\.\Tape4801107 has a serial number of 4966383000.

The serial of the device can also be identified by using the ITDT command line inquiry command. For example :

C:\ITDT>itdt.exe -f \\.\Tape4801107 inquiry 80
Issuing inquiry for page 0x80...
Inquiry Page 0x80, Length 14
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F 0123456789ABCDEF
0000 - 0180 000A 3439 3636 3338 3330 3030 [....4966383000 ]
Exit with code: 0

The output shows that device \\.\Tape4801107 has a serial number of 4966383000.

Defining the drive path

After you identify the persistent name and its associated serial number, use this information to define the DRIVE path with the appropriate persistent name. Run the QUERY DRIVE F=D command on the Tivoli Storage Manager server. For example :

tsm: MYTSM>q drive f=d
Library Name: VTL1-LIB
Drive Name: VTL1-DRV0
Device Type: LTO
...
Allocated to:
WWN: 20050000C97CBAC2
Serial Number: 4966383000

In this case, drive VTL1-DRV0 is the drive with serial number 4966383000. When defining a drive path for storage agent or library client for library sharing, use the persistent name when defining the drive path. For example :

define path MYAGENT VTL1-DRV0 srct=server destt=drive library=VTL1-LIB device=\\.\Tape4801107