Device Drivers and Locating Media

[zydeco]

First a bit of background on the system:

2x2GHz Quad Core Xeon Xserve running 10.5.8 with 4GB RAM

Qualstar RLS-4445 library with 4 AIT-5 drives

SCSI Card = Ultra320 SCSI HBA

 

I just recently moved from 6.1 to 8.1 to 8.2 Beta due to random shutdowns of 6.1. I'm still having growing pains with 8.x and am trying to learn this 8.x interface.

 

A few issues have cropped up:

1) Under 8.2 Beta, the latest device driver doesn't appear to load. Seemed to load fine on 8.1. I just noticed 8.2 (non-beta) is out but have yet to try it.

Failed to load extension /Library/Application Support/Retrospect/Retrospect 8.1 Driver Update.rpx, error -630 ( bad program extension)

+ Retrospect version 8.2.0.377

Launched at 7/27/10 3:46:06 PM

+ Executing Unloading media... at 7/27/10

Moving media...

Qualstar Library, ID 1:5:0: From: Sony AIT-5 DC, ID 1:1:0 To: Slot 3

7/27/10 3:46:48 PM: Execution completed successfully

 

2) Proactive Backup is looking for a new tape to add to a backup set. I can't seem to get Retrospect to either move a given tape into a drive or scan all tapes to tell me what is in the library

 

3) In 8.1, the management console was reasonably responsive. Making the move to 8.2 Beta and the console response is glacial- e.g. click on a menu, wait about 30 seconds and the console responds.

 

The issues I had with 6.1 plus these growing pains with 8.x have left my clients without a reliable backup for almost a month - I'm skating on thin ice!

[Daniels]

The device driver is only for 8.1 so you don't need it for 8.2 so this error is correct. I would definitely go up to the final release since it does address some device issues.

[zydeco]

OK - updated to 8.2 full release and things seem to be working better.

 

However, I did discover another interesting item regarding the way the devices are listed under 8.x.

 

My RLS-4445 library has 4 AIT-5 drives. Two are listed as "subvolumes" of the Qualstar library and the other two are listed as individual volumes (i.e. not under the library). The library and two drives are on one SCSI channel and the other two drives are on another channel. It appears I can't drag and drop a tape to the two drives that appear as their own volumes. Any chance of keeping the existing SCSI Channel arrangement but associating the drives as subvolumes of the loader (or any other arrangement that allows drag and drop tape movement)?

 

And any way of telling Retrospect to scan all the tapes in the library to determine media name or if they're empty? Under 6.x, it could remember the name by the bar code but under 8.x, it hasn't populated that database yet? Maybe there is a way to pull that database from 6.x?

Edited July 29, 2010 by Guest

[Daniels]

Unfortunately the Media name is stored in the header so each tape needs to be loaded in a drive for Retrospect to determine its name. I have run into this problem any time my configuration files get corrupt and I have recreate clients, scripts, and backup sets.

 

Have you tried adding the two stand-alone to the same SCSI channel as the library but with different IDs and seeing if Retrospect lets you use all four drives?

[rhwalker]

Unfortunately the Media name is stored in the header

True

 

so each tape needs to be loaded in a drive for Retrospect to determine its name.

Not true. That's the whole point of tape barcodes.

 

I have run into this problem any time my configuration files get corrupt and I have recreate clients, scripts, and backup sets.

Then perhaps your barcode database became corrupted. But that doesn't cause the second part of your statement (see above) to be true. Your problem analysis is faulty.

 

It's been requested again and again and again for many years, back to the early versions of Retrospect and well before design (if there was any) of Retrospect 8.x began, to (1) have the configuration files be human readable/editable so that recovery is less painful when corruption occurs; (2) to split the configuration files into parts, with scripts in separate parts, filters in separate parts, preferences in a separate part, barcode database in a separate part, etc.

 

There seems no hope that Retrospect's propensity to corrupt its configuration will ever be cured. But at least some attempt could be made to mitigate the damage.

 

Russ

[Daniels]

Sorry I got confused.

However what I have found is that each tape has be loaded otherwise Retrospect leaves the tape indicator for each library slot gray and only after loading and unloading a tape does that tape icon turn blue indicting the slot is in use. The only time I have found that this to be true is after having to recreate the config files.

[rhwalker]

Do you have a barcode reader? I don't know about your autoloader/magazine, but, on each power up (or tape removal/insertion into the autoloader), ours reads the barcode and always knows what tape is in what slot without moving the tape to the drive. Retrospect has this information too, and, by the barcode database, knows which tapes are in the autoloader without moving a tape to the drive.

 

Of course, upon loading a tape, the header is verified.

 

Russ

[zydeco]

Yes, I have a barcode reader. And the few tapes that I've forced it to load, it remembers the header according to the barcode number. However, the library is 45 tapes and is currently not displaying header info for most of them. In 6.x, it was a matter of telling the device to scan all the media and the barcode data base was rebuilt. I can't find similar functionality in 8.x. Is there?

 

Barring that, any way to bring the 6.x database over to 8.x?

 

And, the console has become D.E.A.D. slow again - click....waaaaiiiiiitttttt.......result. Very aggravating!

Edited July 30, 2010 by Guest

[Daniels]

I have the same exact problem with my setup after having to recreate the config files where until the tape is loaded in the drive the library does not show the tape name and only the barcode twice.

 

I was told that if you control-click on the library and select Initialize Elements from the menu it will re-scan the library however I have found that this still will not restore the header information.

 

It would be helpful to know your exact setup such as machine, OS, processor, library information, how you connect the library to the machine, etc.

 

My current setup is:

Dual 867MHz PowerPC G4 running 10.5.8 with ATTO,ExpressPCIProUL3D PCI SCSI card attached to a Overland Storage Powerloader with an AIT-3 tape drive.

[zydeco]

All the info is in my originial post at the top of the thread.

[Daniels]

Have you made sure you have the latest drivers for the SCSI card? The problem might go away with the latest drivers.

[zydeco]

I'll check on an SCSI driver updates.

But back to a basic Retrospect functionality question - is there a 6.x "Scan All' equivalent that will actually tell the media handler to scan all tapes in a library and update barcode data base?

[Daniels]

Control-click on the library in Storage devices and choose initialize elements from the menu.

[zydeco]

We'll tried control click->initialize and nothing happens. I see no library activity and I see no update to the barcode library.

[Daniels]

Only control-click to bring up the menu and regular click on Initialize Elements. The barcodes may not update until you load each tape into drive. I sometimes run into this problem when switching tapes.

With Initialize you may not see any library activity but it should add an entry in log of scanning inventory.

If it still is not working unload all media, then quit the console, stop the engine, turn off the library unit, turn the library back on and let it finish taking inventory, start the engine, start the console. If this is done correctly you should be able see all four drives as part of the library if you placed them on the same SCSI channel.