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Multi Server messing with Tape-Names


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Hi,

 

we have a strange behavior of Multi Server:

 

Windows 2003 Std, VXA2-Autoloader, SCSI, Multi Server 7.0

 

During some (not every run) backup-runs Retrospect asks for Tapes with wrong names.

for example: the next tape should be 4-weekly4, but Retrospect asks for 4-weekly4^2, can not find a tape and aborts the job.

 

we have seen this on three different installations and the problem comes up randomly, but regularly.

 

Any ideas?

 

Marc

 

 

 

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I would suggest you turn off the media request timeout option so you can see exactly what was on the screen prior to the timeout. The media request WIndow will tell you what is happening.

 

It looks to me like the tape filled, it requested an erased tape but could not locate one.

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If I turn off the timeout, I get the attached Window, after I restarted the job as normal, not recycling.

 

Looks like the tape was erased in the first attempt or something like that.

 

I´ll let you know what happens if the third tape is requested.

 

 

 

Marc

 

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The screenshot is very helpful.

 

The tape drive clearly is not displaying the name of the item in the drive. Your tape is showing up as "unknown" in english.

 

2-weekly2 is required but it can not be found in the library. If 2-weekly2 has been inserted, then the tape may have a damaged header.

 

Try cleaning the tape heads and try again.

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When inserted the tape was shown as 2-weekly2, only after loadin to the drive it changed to unkown.

 

The strange thing about this is, we see the same issue on three diffrent Systems, all of a similar configuration (ms 7.0, exabyte vxa-autoloader, w2k3 std). All systems word fine for about 2,5 yaers an know show this issue.

 

marc

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Unknown is being reporting by the tape drive itself. The library slot is showing you the last known name for that tape bar code. The drive is trying to read the physical header of the tape, but is unable to see a tape name.

 

This is either a problem with the media or the tape drive itself.

 

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We have seen this with our Exabyte VXA-2 1x10 1u PacketLoader. It's a combination of firmware changes to the drive firmware and marginal tapes. If you have the current firmware, you can usually get over this by ejecting the tape in the drive, doing a manual cleaning cycle, and then moving the tape back into the drive. It has to do with how "erased" tapes are reported by the drive to Retrospect (a tape is reported as "erased" if there is an error at BOT).

 

You don't say what firmware version you have for your autoloader or VXA-2 drive.

 

Russ

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  • 2 weeks later...

You still don't say what version of the firmware you have. "Latest firmware" is not good enough for two reasons:

 

(1) these forums are for the benefit of others, not just you, so that they can be searched for issues and solutions. The posts persist for years and years, and "latest firmware" down the road is not "latest firmware" today. Unless the firmware version is given, there is no way for others to assess whether your issue/solution is applicable to their problem.

 

(2) Again and again and again, posters in these forums insist they have the "latest version" or "latest firmware" when they don't.

 

Again, please provide your firmware version. Simply for reference, our firmware versions are:

 

VXA-2: Firmware A110

PacketLoader: Firmware 2142

Ethernet Admin: V10E0B

 

No, "Long Erase" doesn't change the problem. See my post for our experience. Simply changing the tapes didn't help when we were having the problem because we had a bad (marginal) batch of tapes. Had to order a new batch.

 

Russ

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here are the Firmware-Releases of the three Loaders:

Two got the actual Firmware, one is still the old version.

The Problem still occures.

 

Laufwerk BSM:

Selected Device: (3, 1) EXABYTE VXA-2 2142 S/N: 000085195982

EXABYTE VXA-2 2142 V12142 111907 000 00000AE80C0A S/N: 000085195982

 

Firmware-Lib BSM: V1A10F

---

 

Laufwerk F&K:

Selected Device: (3, 1) EXABYTE VXA-2 2142 S/N: 000085139268

EXABYTE VXA-2 2142 V12142 111907 000 000008D74798 S/N: 000085139268

 

Firmware-Lib F&K: V1A10F

---

 

Laufwerk Hin:

Selected Device: (5, 1) EXABYTE VXA-2 2122 S/N: 000085222539

EXABYTE VXA-2 2122 V12122 031407 000 110115060498 S/N: 000085222539

 

Firmware-Lib Hin: V1A10F

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