As soon as an SNMP connection is successfully established with a library, STA begins receiving SNMP traps from the library and stores this data in the STA data store. However, this data will not be displayed in the user interface until the STA library configuration model has been built.
For STA to build the initial library configuration model for a library, a manual data collection should be initiated by the user or administrator as soon as the STA library connection is established (see “Manual Data Collections” for details). During this data collection, STA retrieves from the library all information about the library configuration, including the following:
Depending on the size and activity level of the library, the initial data collection may take anywhere from several minutes to over an hour. The STA user interface will not show a complete picture of the library environment and exchange activity until the data collection completes. In fact, while the initial data collection is in process, you may see fluctuations in various analytic and summary data; this is entirely normal. Once the data collection completes successfully, the user interface will display a complete picture of the library configuration, as well as ongoing exchange activity.
After the initial data collection, the STA library configuration model is updated through regular data collections. Only one data collection can be performed on a particular library at a time, and only five data collections can be running simultaneously.
Data collections are performed in the following ways:
Scheduled data collections occur automatically every 24 hours, at a time defined by an STA user or administrator. This is a full collection of all library configuration data and should be scheduled at a time when there are typically lower levels of library activity. See “Change the Scheduled Data Collection Time” for details.
STA initiates triggered data collections automatically whenever it detects significant changes in the library state or configuration, such as the addition of a drive or media cartridge, or a change in partition configurations. This is a partial data collection that updates only the parts of the library configuration affected by the change. For example, in the case of a data collection triggered by the addition of a new media cartridge, only the media configuration information will be updated. Triggered data collections take a short amount of time.
An STA user or administrator can initiate data collections manually as needed. This is a full data collection of all library configuration data.
Note – You can only perform a manual data collection on a library with an active connection. See “Testing Library SNMP Connections” for details.
See “When to Perform Manual Data Collections” for required and recommended times for performing manual data collections.
The libraries process SNMP activity, and therefore data collections, at a lower priority than regular library operations, so data collections have very little impact on library performance. However, performing a data collection during periods of heavy library activity can cause the data collection itself to take longer to complete. It is recommended that scheduled and manual data collections be performed during periods of lower library activity.
