Tape storage unit considerations
To create a storage unit of a tape robot or a standalone tape drive, when you add a storage unit select as the Storage type.
When NetBackup sends a job to a storage unit, a request is made to mount the volume in a drive.
If a standalone drive does not contain media or if a required volume is not available to a robot, a mount request appears in the Pending requests. (In the NetBackup web UI, open ). An operator can then find the volume, mount it manually, and assign it to the drive.
Take the following items into consideration when you add a storage unit for drives and robots:
Where to add the storage unit depends on which version of NetBackup is in use.
Add the storage unit to the primary server. Specify the media server where the drives attach.
If using NetBackup Server, add the storage unit to the primary server where the drives attach. The robotic control must also attach to that server.
The number of storage units that you must create for a robot depends on the robot's drive configuration.
Drives with identical densities must share the same storage unit on the same media server. If a robot contains two drives of the same density on the same media server, add only a single storage unit for the robot. Set the Maximum concurrent write drives setting to 2.
Drives with different densities must be in separate storage units. Consider an STK SL500 library that is configured as a Tape Library DLT (TLD). It can have both half-inch cartridge and DLT drives. Here, you must define a separate storage unit for each density.
If a robot's drives and robotic control attach to different NetBackup servers, specify the server where the drives attach as the media server. Always specify the same robot number for the drives as is used for the robotic control.