Initializing New Cartridges in a MLB and Enrolling to BRMS

Resolving The Problem

The ease with which brand new cartridges can be initialized and enrolled to BRMS using a media library (MLB) is dependent on whether the device has a bar code reader installed and the mode of operation being used. This document covers the procedure for achieving this in the following environments:

o	MLB in random mode with a Bar Code Reader
o	MLB in automatic mode with or without a Bar Code Reader
o	MLB in random mode without a Bar Code Reader

MLB in Random Mode With a Bar Code Reader

A batch of brand new cartridges can be easily initialized and enrolled to BRMS in media libraries with a bar code reader, such as the 3570, 3575, 3573, 3576, 3577, 3581, 3582, 3583, 3584, 9427 and 3494, where the device is actually being used as a library and is in random mode. This is achieved by performing the following:

1.	Physically place the new cartridges in the MLB. If the MLB has a convenience I/O station, place the cartridges in it; otherwise, open the door and insert the new cartridges in empty cells in the magazine and close the door.
2.	Issue the WRKTAPCTG DEV(MLB_name) command, where MLB_name is the name assigned to the media library. This will cause the MLB to re-inventory (not the 3494), and all the new cartridges that were inserted will be shown in the following way: Cartridge   Volume ID          ID          Status Cart_ID     *UNKNOWN    Insert where Cart_ID is the volume serial from the bar code label.
3.	Prompt (F4) on the Add Media Library Media to BRM (ADDMLMBRM) command, press F9 (=All parameters) and complete in the following way: Media library  . . . . . . . . . MLB            MLB_name Volume identifier  . . . . . . . VOL            *INSERT Add volume to BRM  . . . . . . . ADDVOL         *YES Initialize tape  . . . . . . . . INZ            *YES Media class  . . . . . . . . . . MEDCLS         med_cls Last moved date  . . . . . . . . MOVDATE        *NONE Move policy  . . . . . . . . . . MOVPCY         *NONE Expiration date  . . . . . . . . EXPDATE        *NONE Tape unit  . . . . . . . . . . . DEV            *MLB New owner identifier . . . . . . NEWOWNID       *BLANK Check for active files . . . . . CHECK          *NO Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CODE           *EBCDIC Clear  . . . . . . . . . . . . . CLEAR          *NO where MEDCLS is the BRMS media class to which the cartridges will belong to.

After the ADDMLMBRM command has completed processing, the new cartridges will have been initialized to the same value as the cartridge ID, enrolled in BRMS, changed to a usable category (*SHARE400 or *NOSHARE), and placed in the BRMS location assigned to the MLB.


MLB in Automatic Mode with or without a Bar Code Reader

If a MLB is normally operated in automatic mode, then the following procedure should be used, whether or not the device has a bar code reader installed. In this case, it will not be necessary to complete Steps 1 to 3, below.

Also, if a batch of brand new cartridges is to be processed by a MLB without a bar code reader, such as the 3590, 3581, or the 3570 without feature code #2011 installed; however, the device is normally operated in random mode, then it is recommended that this procedure is followed. If the number of new cartridges to be processed is small, it might be preferable to refer to the third section, below:

1.	In the case of a RISC system, vary off the MLB device description system by issuing the following command: WRKMLBSTS MLB(MLB_name) and selecting Option 2 (=Vary off) against MLB_name from Work with Media Library Status screen.
2.	Ensure that the tape (*TAP) device description for the tape drive to be used is varied on.
3.	Change the mode of the MLB on the operator panel from random to automatic.
4.	Place the new cartridges to be processed sequentially in the magazine. Do not forget to select Start on the operator panel to load the first tape from the magazine into the tape drive.
5.	Prompt (F4) on the Add Media to BRM (ADDMEDBRM) command and complete in the following way: Volume identifier  . . . . . . . VOL          > vol_ID Media class  . . . . . . . . . . MEDCLS       > med_cls Number to add  . . . . . . . . . VOLCNT         1 Initialize tape  . . . . . . . . INZ          > *YES Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TEXT           *NONE System . . . . . . . . . . . . . SYSNAME        *LCL Creation date  . . . . . . . . . CRTDATE        *CURRENT Tape unit  . . . . . . . . . . . DEV            TAPxx New owner identifier . . . . . . NEWOWNID       *BLANK Check for active files . . . . . CHECK          *NO Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CODE           *EBCDIC End of tape option . . . . . . . ENDOPT         *UNLOAD Clear  . . . . . . . . . . . . . CLEAR          *NO And, new at R410: Next volume message  . . . . . . NXTVOLMSG      *NO Tape mount delay . . . . . . . . DLY            *DEV where vol_ID is the desired volume ID of the first cartridge to be processed and TAPxx is the tape device description name. If the volume IDs of the cartridges to be added to BRMS are sequential, then the Number to add (VOLCNT) parameter can be set to the total number of cartridges to be processed. For example, the following command: ADDMEDBRM VOL(A00001) MEDCLS(med_cls) VOLCNT(3) INZ(*YES) ... will initialize volumes A00001, A00002 and A00003 and enroll them in BRMS.

If the MLB is normally used in random mode, the following additional steps must be taken:

1.	Empty the magazine of these new cartridges and re-fill with the required cartridges.
2.	Change the mode of the MLB on the operator panel back to random mode.
3.	Vary off the tape (*TAP) device description and vary on the MLB device description by issuing: WRKMLBSTS MLB(MLB_name) and selecting Option 1 (=Vary on) against MLB_name from Work with Media Library Status screen.
4.	Force a re-inventory of the MLB and change the category of the cartridges from *INSERT to a usable category (*SHARE400 or *NOSHARE) by issuing the following command: ADDMLMBRM MLB(MLB_name) VOL(*INSERT) ADDVOL(*NO) INZ(*NO)

The MLB will now be ready for use as a media library again.


MLB in Random Mode without a Bar Code Reader

It is possible to initialize and enroll new cartridges to BRMS using a MLB without a bar code reader and with the device still in random mode; however, as the process is rather involved, it is recommended that this be used only if the number of cartridges to be processed is small. Otherwise, follow the procedure documented in the second section, above. (3570, 3590, 3581)

Note: Tape Media libraries in Random Mode without a Bar Code Reader or cartridges with no bar code label : It is no longer possible to initialize volumes without barcode labels in TS3500, TS3310, TS3200 TS3100 and TS2900 tape libraries when attached to IOPless IOAs. Cartridges without barcode labels will show up as U@xxxx or UKNxxx and will not change if initialized to something else. BRMS does not allow @ in a BRMS volume.

The following are the steps to complete this task:

1.	Physically insert a new cartridge into the priority cell of the MLB (3570 or 3590).
2.	Issue the following command: WRKTAPCTG DEV(MLB_name) where MLB_name is the name of the media library (*MLB) device description to work with tape cartridges in the MLB. Alternatively, on a RISC system, select Option 9 (=Work with volumes) against MLB_name from the Work with Media Library Status (WRKMLBSTS) screen. The cartridge that was inserted will be shown in the following way: Cartridge   Volume ID          ID          Status IMP001      *UNKNOWN    Insert
3.	Select Option 10 (Initialize tape) against this cartridge from the WRKTAPCTG screen and press F4 to prompt on the Initialize Tape (INZTAP) command and complete it in the following way: Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . DEV          > MLB_name New volume identifier  . . . . . NEWVOL       > vol_ID New owner identifier . . . . . . NEWOWNID       *BLANK Volume identifier  . . . . . . . VOL          > IMP001 Check for active files . . . . . CHECK          *NO Tape density . . . . . . . . . . DENSITY      > *CTGTYPE Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CODE           *EBCDIC End of tape option . . . . . . . ENDOPT         *UNLOAD Clear  . . . . . . . . . . . . . CLEAR          *NO where vol_ID is the desired volume identifier of the new cartridge. This will load the cartridge into the tape drive from the priority cell and initialize the tape. After the INZTAP command is complete, the cartridge will be ejected from the tape drive and placed back in the priority cell in the export position.
4.	Physically remove the cartridge from the priority cell, press F5 (Refresh) from the WRKTAPCTG screen, and place the cartridge that was removed back in this cell again. It will display this cartridge in the following way: Cartridge   Volume ID          ID          Status IMP001      *UNKNOWN    Insert
5.	Select Option 1 (Add) against this cartridge from the WRKTAPCTG screen and press F4 to prompt on the Add Tape Cartridge (ADDTAPCTG) command and complete it in the following way: Library device . . . . . . . . . DEV          > MLB_name Cartridge ID . . . . . . . . . . CTG          > IMP001 Category:                        CGY Category name  . . . . . . . .                *NOSHARE/*NOSHARE Category system  . . . . . . .                *CURRENT Check volume identifier  . . . . CHKVOL         *YES This will pull the cartridge from the priority cell into the tape drive and read the internal volume identifier, but it will leave the cartridge mounted in the tape drive. If F5 is pressed again from the WRKTAPCTG screen, this cartridge will now be displayed in the following way: Cartridge   Volume ID          ID          Status Vol_ID      Vol_ID      Mounted
6.	Select Option 15 (Check tape) against this cartridge from the WRKTAPCTG screen, press F4 to prompt on the Check Tape (CHKTAP) command, ensure that the following parameter is specified correctly, and then press the Enter key: End of tape option . . . . . . . ENDOPT         *UNLOAD This will eject the cartridge from the tape drive, which will then be placed in an empty cell in the magazine.
7.	Press F5 again from the WRKTAPCTG screen and this cartridge will now be displayed in the following way: Cartridge   Volume ID          ID          Status Vol_ID      Vol_ID      Available
8.	The volume now must be added to BRMS by issuing the following command: ADDMEDBRM VOL(vol_ID) MEDCLS(med_cls) VOLCNT(1) INZ(*NO) LOC(MLB_location) where MLB_location is the location of the media library and can be found by issuing the WRKMLBBRM command, which will show the following information: Library    Status         Location MLB_name   Released       MLB_location

The cartridge will now be initialized, enrolled in BRMS and in the BRMS MLB location, ready for use by subsequent backups. This process can then be completed again for further new cartridges.

Additional Information on Tape Libraries without Bar Code Readers

This document also addresses possible problems BRMS users could have when adding new media to BRMS and wanting to initialize the cartridges using a Tape Media Library (MLB) that does not have a bar code reader.

The following tape media libraries require cartridges to have bar code labels when running in Random mode: 3573, 3576, and 3577. When a MLB does not have a bar code reader (3570, 3590, or 3581), all cartridges must be physically read by a tape drive in the MLB to associate a cartridge ID. After the cartridge is loaded in the drive resource, the volume ID is read. Then, this volume ID is used for the volume ID. Up until this time, the cartridges are seen as SLT001, SLT002, and so on or BLK001, BLK002, and so on.

NLTxxx	Non-Labeled Tape - This cartridge contains data written in non-Standard Tape Label format.
CLNxxx	Cleaning - This cartridge has been identified as a cleaning tape.
BLKxxx	Blank - This cartridge contains no data.
UNKKNOWN	Unknown - This is the logical identifier of the volume from the tape volume labels.
IMPxxx	Import - This refers to the cartridge that is in the Priority slot of the 3570 or 3590 Auto Cartridge Facility.
SLTxxx	Slot - This refers to the cartridge by slot number.

When the DSPTAPCTG or WRKTAPCTG command is run, a full inventory on the MLB is done if the door of the MLB has been opened or a volume has been removed and replaced (3581). This means that each volume will be loaded in a tape drive and the volume ID read.

A tape cartridge can be shown as SLT001. However, once the tape drive has loaded it and finds it is a new tape, the name changes to NLT001 because it initially has no label. This affects the command used when initializing the volume. The initial name SLT001 must be replaced by NLT001.

Status of Volume ID

When a cartridge is first added to one of the tape media libraries, its status will be *INSERTED. If the MLB has a bar code reader, the Cartridge ID will be that of the bar code. The Volume ID will be *UNKNOWN. Because the Volume ID is the internal volume identifier, it will remain unknown until the cartridge is loaded into a physical tape drive in the MLB on that particular system. The Volume ID will not change on other systems attached to the same MLB until the cartridge is loaded into a tape drive from that system (even if the tape drives are shared by the same system).

Example

INZTAP DEV(TAPMLB01) NEWVOL(LTO001) VOL(NLT001)

Now, if the volumes are new and have not yet been initialized, they will not have a Volume ID and SLT001, SLT002, and so on will be assigned to them. To add these to BRMS, they must first be initialized to the correct Volume ID by selecting Option 11 from the WRKTAPCTG menu or by changing the tape library into sequential mode. Then, initialize the cartridges and change the MLB back to random mode. Then, run the ADDMLMBRM or ADDMEDBRM command.


Status of Cartridges

The status of a volume on a tape library can include the following:

Inserted, Duplicate, Available, Not Available, Mounted, and Ejected

The status can be changed in numerous ways from the IBM Power Systems by using the WRKTAPCTG, ADDTAPCTG, WRKMLBSTS, and BRMS commands. When a tape library attaches to multiple Power Systems hosts and the status is changed on one system from Inserted to Available, it does not change on other hosts. The ADDTAPCTG command must be run on each host. If a volume is removed by using commands on a host, its status will change to an Ejected status. If this cartridge is not removed and a refresh of the inventory is not run on all hosts attached to the tape library, or if the volume is removed and inserted again before the refresh is run (DSPTAPCTG, WRKTAPCTG), the volumes will remain in an Ejected status.