12 Validating a Cartridge

To validate the integrity of T10000 cartridges using the media validation (MV) feature, you must define a pool of T10000C or D drives. The pool is not considered a partition, does not contain cartridges, and hosts cannot access the drives in the pool. The library automatically cleans MV drives.

Note:

MV drive cleaning occurs regardless of the auto clean status for the entire library or partitions. Ensure there are cleaning cartridges in the library (see "Importing/Exporting Diagnostic and Cleaning Cartridges").

• Media Validation Requirements

• Defining the Media Validation Pool

• Starting or Resuming Media Validation

• Stopping a Validation

See Also

• "Updating Hosts After Modifying the MV Pool"

Media Validation Requirements

• Minimum SL3000 firmware FRS_4.30 and SLC FRS_6.50

• A designated pool of T10000C or D drives at TTI level 5.40 or above

• High-memory HBT card

• Minimum STA 2.0 to automate media validation (optional)

Defining the Media Validation Pool

Important:

Hosts cannot access drives in the MV pool.

Before defining the pool in a SCSI library, review the "Effect on SCSI Element IDs of Modifying the MV Pool".

1. Verify that hosts are not using the drives that you want to add to the pool (see the host management software documentation). Adding a drive to the MV pool will trigger a reconfiguration in all ELS hosts attached to the library.

2. In SLC, select Tools > Media Validation. Click the Slot Selection tab.

3. Click Refresh to display the latest configuration.

4. Place a maximum of 10 drives into the pool. Select the drive slots, and then click Add or Remove.

   Note:

   When adding drives to the MV pool, the library (or affected partition) will go offline.

5. Click Apply.

6. If using a partitioned library, assign any drive slots removed from the MV pool to a partition (see "Partitioning the Library")

7. Reconfigure host applications (see "Updating Hosts After Modifying the MV Pool").

Media Validation Icons

SLC Drive Icon	Meaning
	Empty drive slot
	Slot contains either an invalid drive type or a correct drive type in an invalid state
	Correct drive type (T10000C or D) in a valid state
	Partition number of the drive slot
	Drive slot is in media validation pool

Starting or Resuming Media Validation

You can only validate one cartridge at a time per each SLC session. To automate the process, use StorageTek Tape Analytics 2.0 or above (refer to the STA documentation).

1. In SLC, Select Tools > Media Validation. Click the Media Validation tab.

2. Select a drive. If there are no drives, see "Defining the Media Validation Pool".

   Note:

   If you cannot select a drive, it might be the wrong type or in an invalid state.

3. Select a cartridge from the list or enter a VOLSER in the cartridge label field.

4. Select a validation type (see below for a description).

   Note:

   Select Complete Resume or Complete Plus Resume to resume a complete validation where it left off.

5. Click Start. Validation begins if the cartridge loads successfully.

   After validation completes, the cartridge is returned to its source location. If the source location is unavailable, the library moves the cartridge to a system slot for host recovery.

Validation Types

Validation Type	Description	Starts at	Approximate Duration per Cartridge
Basic Verify	Mount and dismount to determine if MIR is unreadable or out of sync	NA	2 minutes
Standard Verify	Reads: - 1000 records from the beginning of tape - The wrap that contains EOD, then into the EOD - Outermost wraps on top and bottom bands to verify edges	Beginning of tape	Maximum of 30 minutes
Rebuild MIR	Reads data at tape speed	Invalid position in the MIR	T10000C — 5 hours T10000D — 9 hours
Complete BOT	Reads data at tape speed	Beginning of tape	T10000C — 6 hours T10000D — 9 hours max
Complete Plus BOTFoot 1	Checks Data Integrity Validation CRC to determine if it exists	Beginning of tape	T10000C— 6 hours for compression ratios less than 2.5:1. T10000D — 9 hours for compression ratios less than 3:1

^Footnote 1 Requires decompression and Oracle Key Manager.

Stopping a Validation

If a host requests a cartridge currently being validated, the validation stops. You can also stop the validation using SLC.

1. Log in as the user who initiated the validation.

2. In SLC, select Tools > Media Validation.

3. Select the Media Validation tab.

4. Click Stop.

   Once validation stops, the library returns the cartridge to its source location. If the source location is unavailable, the library moves the cartridge to a system slot for host recovery.