Configuring shared ACS drives
If the ACSLS server does not support serialization, use the following procedure to configure shared drives. Shared drives require the NetBackup Shared Storage Option license. Oracle StorageTek ACSLS versions before 6.1 do not support serialization.) If the server supports serialization, use the NetBackup Device Configuration Wizard to configure shared drives.
This procedure can significantly reduce the amount of manual configuration that is required in an SSO environment. For example, for 20 drives that 30 hosts share, these configuration steps require that you configure only 20 device paths rather than 600 device paths.
During the setup phase, the NetBackup Device Configuration Wizard tries to discover the tape drives available. The wizard also tries to discover the positions of the drives within the library (if the robot supports serialization).
A SAN (including switches rather than direct connection) can increase the possibility of errors. If errors occur, you can define the tape drive configuration manually by using the NetBackup Administration Console or NetBackup commands.
Take care to avoid any errors. With shared drives, the device paths must be correct for each server. Also, ensure that the drives are defined correctly to avoid errors. (A common error is to define a drive as ACS index number 9 rather than ACS index 0.)
Use the following procedure to configure shared drives in a nonserialized configuration.
To configure shared drives in a nonserialized configuration
- Run the NetBackup Device Configuration Wizard on one of the hosts to which drives in an ACS-controlled library are attached. Allow the drives to be added as stand-alone drives.
- Add the ACS robot definition and update each drive to indicate its position in the robot. Make each drive robotic and add the ACS, LSM, Panel, and Drive information.
Information about how to determine the correct drive addresses and how to verify the drive paths is available. See "Correlating device files to physical drives" in the NetBackup Administrator's Guide, Volume I.
- After you verify the drive paths on one host, run the Device Configuration Wizard again. Scan all hosts that have ACS drives in the library.
The wizard adds the ACS robot definition and the drives to the other hosts and uses the correct device paths.
For this process to work correctly, the following must be true:
The wizard discovered the devices and their serial numbers successfully the first time.
You configured the drive paths correctly on the first host.