What's New

This section summarizes new and enhanced features for StorageTek Tape Analytics v2.0.

STA v2.0, April 2014

New and enhanced features are described in the following manuals.

STA Requirements Guide

• New guide that includes all minimum requirements for installing STA and using selected features

• New minimum requirements to support STA v2.0

  • Oracle Enterprise Linux (OEL) or Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 6.3 or 6.4

  • New minimum library firmware levels

  • New drive firmware levels

• Enhanced library and device support

  • Support for LTO-6 drives

  • Support for Oracle's StorageTek T10000D drives

  • Support for SNMP library traps 13 and 14, providing enhanced library data

  • Support for Tape Transport Interface (TTI) 5.40, providing enhanced data from StorageTek T10000C and T10000D drives

STA Installation and Configuration Guide

• Upgrade process to migrate STA v1.0.x database to STA v2.0

• New ability to create STA usernames from within the STA user interface

• New ability to assign user roles to STA usernames

• Enhanced information provided when performing a library SNMP Check/Test Connection or Get Latest Data

STA Quick Start Guide

• New guide that introduces new users to the STA application and some features of the user interface

STA User's Guide

• New guide that describes how to use STA application features and interpret the data displayed by STA

• New user roles that determine the screens and activities individual users can access

• Enhanced Dashboard

  • Over 50 new graph, table, and report Dashboard portlets provide summary views of your tape library system

  • Highly customizable Dashboard display allows up to 30 portlets, arranged and filtered according to your specifications.

  • Predefined Nearline Dashboard templates provide hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly system utilization summaries.

  • New mobile Dashboard display

• Enhanced template management

  • New and enhanced STA predefined templates

  • New Template Quick Links screen provides one-click access to predefined and custom templates.

  • New Templates Management screen provides system-wide management of all templates.

  • Users can assign their own default templates by screen.

  • Users can import and export templates for sharing with other users.

• Enhanced Filter dialog box, providing the following abilities:

  • Filter by multiple exclusive or inclusive criteria

  • Filter for blank attribute values

  • Filter by user-defined logical group

  • Reset an applied screen filter with one click

• New Executive Reports based on customized Dashboard templates

  • User-defined Executive Report policies allow you to specify report content and frequency.

  • Reports are run automatically or on demand.

  • Reports are generated in PDF format.

  • Reports can be automatically emailed to selected addresses.

• New logical groups for organizing drives and media

  • Manual logical groups are user-maintained.

  • Dynamic logical groups are automatically updated based on user-defined criteria.

  • Logical groups can be used in defining selected policies and filters.

• New alert policies and generated alerts notifying you of events and conditions in your tape library system

  • User-defined alert policies allow you to specify alert generation criteria and frequency.

  • Alerts can be automatically emailed to selected addresses.

• New STA media validation feature for T10000 T1 and T2 media

  • Requires minimum library firmware levels and T10000C and T10000D drive firmware levels supporting TTI 5.40.

  • Provides automated media validations based on user-defined policies.

  • Provides on-demand manual validations of single or multiple media.

  • Media Validation Overview screen provides user management of validation requests.

  • Provides comprehensive reporting of validation results.

  • Optional automated drive calibration and qualification feature ensures validation drives are high performing.

STA Screen Basics Guide

• Reorganized Navigation Bar throughout

• New screen display best practices for avoiding and troubleshooting browser display issues

• New user Annotations for List View table records and Dashboard. Annotation History is displayed in the Detail View.

• Additional table Export formats—XLS, CSV, and PDF

• New spark charts graph type used in Dashboard table portlets

STA Data Reference Guide

• New screens for library hardware components—robots, cartridge access ports (CAPs), pass-thru ports (PTPs), and elevators

• New screens for Alerts and Media Validation activities

• Notifications Overview and Analysis screens have been renamed to All Messages Overview and Analysis

• New Messages screens for libraries, drives, and media

• New data attributes

  • Media and Drive Health Trends

  • Library and library complex capacities, including media slots and drive bays

  • Library and library complex host request data

  • Data for library hardware components—robots, cartridge access ports (CAPs), pass-thru ports (PTPs), and elevators

  • Drive tray serial number

  • Drive port speed

  • Alerts detail and counts

  • Media validation data

  • Tape Alerts received from drives are now consistently labeled and grouped

STA Administration Guide

• STA processes split into three managed servers, which can be managed individually

• Processed SNMP records are periodically purged from the database to minimize database growth.