Labeling Volumes in a Silo

Labels tell Backup the pool to which the volume belongs and what type of data the volume should contain. (For more information on volume labels, see "Labeling Storage Volumes ".) Backup cannot write data to a volume until you label the volume.

To label a volume in a silo, use either the Backup administration program or the nsrjb -L command.

Backup labels for volumes in a silo include both a regular Backup volume label (written on the media of the volume) and a silo barcode identifier. The volume label is usually based on the volume pool's label template. The barcode identifier is written on a physical label on the outside of the volume, which the barcode reader in the silo can scan during inventory.

By default, the use of barcodes and matching barcode labels and Backup volume labels are both enabled for a silo. You can change the Match Barcode Labels attribute, but do not set the Barcode Reader attribute to No. When you set the Match Barcode Labels attribute and the Barcode Reader attribute to Yes, the internal volume label Backup writes on the media of each volume matches the barcode label on the outside of the volume. When the labels match, it is easier to track volumes, but Backup does not require the internal and external labels to match.

With most silo management software, you can use unlabeled volumes. The management software assigns a "virtual" barcode label to those volumes. Although you can use volumes without barcodes, it is very difficult to maintain integrity. This is because after you remove the volume from the silo, the information about the virtual barcode is lost. You can reinsert any volume without a barcode into the silo under a virtual barcode that Backup (or another application) associates with some of your data.