MEDIA_ID_BARCODE_CHARS entry in vm.conf
If this entry is specified in vm.conf, it controls the NetBackup media ID generation. This entry is read and interpreted on the host on which vmcheckxxx and vmupdate run as part of the robot inventory operation.
MEDIA_ID_BARCODE_CHARS = robot_num barcode_length media_ID_rule
Note:
To use this entry, the robot must support bar codes and the robot type cannot be an API robot.
Choose how NetBackup creates media IDs by defining the rules that specify which characters of a barcode on tape NetBackup uses. Alphanumeric characters can be specified to be inserted in the ID.
Multiple entries can be added to the vm.conf file. For example, specify media ID generation for each robot or for each barcode format that has different numbers of characters. The multiple entries allow flexibility for multimedia.
If no MEDIA_ID_BARCODE_CHARS entries exist or the entry is invalid, NetBackup uses the rightmost six characters of the barcode to create its media ID.
robot_num is the robot number.
barcode_length is the length of the barcode.
A media_ID_rule consists of a maximum of six fields that colons delimit. Numbers in the fields define the positions of the characters in the barcode that NetBackup extracts (from left to right). For example, if the number 2 is in a field, NetBackup extracts the second character from the barcode. The numbers can be specified in any order.
If the pound sign (#) prefixes a character, that character is inserted in that position in the generated ID. Any alphanumeric characters must be valid for a media ID. Use rules to create media IDs of many different formats. However, if the generated media ID is different from the label on the media, media management may be more difficult.
The following is an example rule and the resulting generated media ID:
Barcode on the tape: 032945L1 Media ID rule: #N:2:3:4:5:6 Generated media ID: N32945