Requirements Guide
Release 2.0
E52310-02
July 2014
This document lists the requirements for StorageTek Tape Analytics (STA), Release 2.0, as of this document's publication. Review the following sections before installing and configuring STA.
For the best functionality and user experience, upgrade to the recommended or latest available firmware. To upgrade to the latest STA-supported firmware, open a service ticket with Oracle Support. Firmware versions are subject to change. To check your firmware version, see the STA Installation and Configuration Guide.
Table 1 Library Firmware Requirements
Firmware | SL150 | SL500 | SL3000 | SL8500 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Minimum |
1.82 |
FRS 1485 FRS 1493Foot 1 |
FRS 3.61 |
FRS 8.01 FRS 8.31Footref 1 |
RecommendedFoot 2 |
2.01 |
FRS 1493 |
FRS 4.00 FRS 4.30Foot 3 |
FRS 8.07 FRS 8.35Footref 3 |
Footnote 1 With IBM LTO 4 (with encryption), IBM LTO 5, and IBM LTO 6.
Footnote 2 At time of release. Newer firmware may be available.
Footnote 3 STA 2.0 full feature set, including media validation and richer component health data.
Table 2 Library Hardware Requirements
Library | Component | Requirement |
---|---|---|
SL3000 SL8500 |
HBT card |
High-memory drive controller (HBT) card: Required for media validation support and reporting of richer drive data. For libraries with LTO drives, a high-memory HBT card is required to enable ADI mode. To determine your HBT card's level of memory, see "Verify the Drive Controller Card Version (SL3000 and SL8500 Only)" in the STA Installation and Configuration Guide. Note: All SL3000 libraries ship with the high-memory card. Since 2006, all SL8500 libraries ship with the high-memory card. |
All |
Ethernet connection |
Separate connection from STA to each library: each library must have an assigned IP address and be reachable by the STA server. Note: Each library in an SL8500 complex has its own SNMP agent. Therefore, STA must be able to connect to each library separately. |
For STA to roll up library complex data correctly, each library complex at your site must have a unique complex ID. On SL8500 libraries, complex IDs are set manually. Table 3 lists valid SL8500 complex ID assignments.
Each standalone SL8500 is considered to be a separate complex and therefore must have a unique complex ID.
Valid complex ID values are 1-127.
Each multi-library complex must have a unique complex ID, and all libraries within the complex must share the same ID.
Caution: The Oracle Service Delivery Platform (SDP) also uses unique complex IDs for tracking library data. If your site uses SDP, contact Oracle Service before changing any complex ID. Changing the complex ID could cause SDP to fail. In most cases, complex IDs are set correctly when SDP is connected. |
Ensuring the correct library complex ID is a configuration task in the STA Installation and Configuration Guide.
Setting the proper volume label format is a configuration step in the STA Installation and Configuration Guide. Volume serial numbers (volsers) in SNMP data must be formatted properly for STA to correctly process library exchange data. The media volser includes a two-character suffix that indicates the media type. For example, if a cartridge volser is ABC123L4, "L4" indicates the media type is LTO4. For proper STA reporting, the volser suffix must be excluded.
Caution: If these parameters are not set properly, volsers will be formatted incorrectly, causing exchanges processing to be blocked, superfluous attempts to get the latest media data, and irreversible, eight-character volser records to appear on the Media - Overview screen whenever the "Show Removed Media" preference is set. |
For all SL500 libraries monitored by STA, the label orientation for the host must be set to "left6" and "STA mode" must be set to "on". ("STA mode" affects only the format of the volser sent to the STA server through SNMP, not the format used on the SL500 library itself.)
For all SL150 libraries monitored by STA, "Volume Label Format" must be set to "Trim last two characters".
The FastLoad option should be disabled on SL500 libraries, as cartridge mount traps are not properly sent to STA when FastLoad is enabled. FastLoad is disabled by default. If you are unsure of the status of this option, contact Oracle Support.
The quality of data provided to STA depends on the TTI level shown in Table 4. As the TTI level increases, so does the quality of the data. Oracle recommends using the highest TTI level and corresponding firmware supported by your drive model. To upgrade to the latest drive firmware supported by STA, open a service ticket with Oracle Support. Firmware versions are subject to change.
Table 4 StorageTek Tape Drive Firmware — Minimum Versions for STA
StorageTek Drive | TTI 5.10 | TTI 5.20 | TTI 5.30 | TTI 5.40 | Media Validation SupportFoot 1 TTI 5.40 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
T10000A |
1.44.108 |
1.46.109 |
1.48.112 |
NA |
NA |
T10000B |
1.44.208 |
1.46.209 |
1.48.212 |
NA |
NA |
T10000C |
NA |
1.51.320 |
1.53.316 |
1.57.308 |
1.59.302 |
T10000D |
NA |
NA |
NA |
4.07.104 (FC/FCoE) 4.07.106 (FICON) |
4.07.106 (FC/FCoE) 4.07.106 (FICON) |
9840C |
1.44.510 |
1.45.503 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
9840D |
1.44.710 |
1.45.703 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Footnote 1 In a FICON environment, Complete Verify Plus StorageTek Data Integrity Validation is not supported.
To upgrade to the latest drive firmware supported by STA, open a service ticket with Oracle Support. Firmware versions are subject to change.
Table 5 HP LTO Tape Drive Firmware — Minimum Versions for STA
HP LTO Drive | Supported Firmware | SL8500 | SL3000 | SL500 | SL150 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
LTO 3 LVD SCSI |
G69S |
Yes |
|||
LTO 3 FC 2Gb |
L6HS |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
LTO 3 FC 4Gb |
M6BS |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
LTO 4 LVD SCSI |
B57S |
Yes |
|||
LTO 4 FC 4Gb |
H58S |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
LTO 5 Full-height FC 8Gb |
I3CS |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
LTO 5 Full-height SAS 6Gb |
X3AS |
YesFoot 1 |
|||
LTO 5 Half-height FC 8Gb |
Y5BS |
Yes |
|||
LTO 5 Half-height SAS 6Gb |
Z55S |
Yes |
|||
LTO 6 Full-height FC 8Gb |
J2DS |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
LTO 6 Half-height FC 8Gb |
22GS |
Yes |
|||
LTO 6 Half-height SAS 6Gb |
32DS |
Yes |
Footnote 1 Requires SL500 Bridged Base Unit
Table 6 IBM LTO Tape Drive Firmware — Minimum Versions for STA
IBM LTO Drive | Supported Firmware | SL8500 | SL3000 | SL500 | SL150 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
LTO 3 FC 2Gb |
93G0 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
LTO 4 FC 2/4Gb |
94D7 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
LTO 4 FC 2/4Gb with EncryptionFoot 1 |
C7QH |
YesFoot 2 |
YesFoot 3 |
YesFootref 2 |
|
LTO 5 FC 8GbFootref 1 |
D2AC |
YesFootref 2 |
YesFootref 3 |
YesFootref 2 |
|
LTO 6 FC 8GbFootref 1 |
D8E4 |
YesFootref 2 |
YesFootref 3 |
Footnote 1 Belisarius card with 4.17.12.35 (minimum) firmware and concurrent drive firmware (as shown) required for ADI support.
Footnote 2 See Table 1 for minimum required library firmware version.
Footnote 3 ADI mode not supported at time of publication.
LTO drives that support the Automation/Drive Interface (ADI) allow STA to provide high quality data (for example, drive performance and utilization), depending on configuration and firmware level. Drives that do not support ADI only provide basic data. ADI must be enabled on both the library and LTO drives.
By default, ADI is not enabled on SL500, SL3000, and SL8500 libraries, and you or Oracle Support must enable it manually. Because enabling ADI requires a reboot of the library, you should enable it in advance if you are planning to install LTO drives. For SL3000 and SL8500 libraries, you can only enable ADI if the library has a high-memory drive controller (HBT) card (see "Library Hardware Requirements").
Enabling ADI on the library is a configuration task in the STA Installation and Configuration Guide.
The method for enabling ADI depends on the drive manufacturer and model:
HP LTO-3, LTO-4, LTO-5, and LTO-6: These drives switch automatically to ADI mode after ADI is enabled on the library, the library is rebooted, and the drives are rebooted. (Drives can be rebooted with SL Console.)
IBM LTO-3, LTO-4, LTO-5, and LTO-6: These drives must be configured for ADI mode (see Table 7), and will not be recognized until ADI is enabled on the library and the library is rebooted.
Table 7 How ADI is Enabled on IBM LTO Drives
IBM LTO Drive | LTO-3 | LTO-4 | LTO-5, LTO-6 |
---|---|---|---|
IBM without the Belisarius adapter card |
Oracle Support configures the drive hardware for ADI mode. |
Oracle Support configures the drive hardware for ADI mode. |
NA |
IBM with the Belisarius adapter cardFoot 1 |
NA |
Oracle Support configures the drive hardware for ADI mode. |
The drive firmware must be configured for ADI mode with Virtual Operator Panel (VOP). Contact Oracle Support for assistance. |
Footnote 1 Provides the interface to Oracle's Key Manager (OKM) tape encryption solution. Drive and Belisarius card firmware must meet the minimum requirements for STA.
Table 8 lists the minimum server hardware requirements. It is highly recommended that configurations be expandable in number of disk bays, CPU cores, and RAM slots to accommodate future database growth, additional library requirements, and STA upgrades.
Table 8 STA Server Minimum Hardware Requirements
Hardware | Configuration |
---|---|
Processor |
Intel Xeon 5600 Series or equal AMD CPUs:
|
Memory |
Minimum 16GB RAM Recommended 24GB to 32GB RAM |
Operating System Disk |
Dual HDD drives:
Note: As the number of data exchanges increases, so does the size of the database. Consult your Oracle sales representative to best determine your storage needs. |
Connection |
Gigabit Ethernet |
Platform |
All disk storage residing on single platform |
Oracle tests, documents, and recommends Oracle Enterprise Linux.
The STA server must have a static IP address.
Oracle recommends that you place the STA server on the same subnet as the library to improve SNMP UDP reliability.
If you configure STA to support dual TCP/IP using two distinct subnets, configure the network to allow the delivery of SNMP packets on either subnet between the library and STA. Consult your network administrator and Oracle Support for more information.
Table 10 STA User Interface — Minimum Requirements
Item | Minimum Requirements |
---|---|
Screen Resolution |
|
BrowsersFoot 1 |
|
Browser Settings, Plugins, and Add-ons |
|
RTL Language Support |
|
Screen Reader Assistive Technology |
See the STA Screen Basics Guide for accessibility information. |
Footnote 1 These are the officially-supported versions. Other versions are known to work with STA.
The minimum requirements for using STA for media validation are listed below. To configure media validation after configuring STA, see the STA User's Guide.
Note: Use only one instance of STA to perform media validation activities. The use of multiple instances on the same library is not supported. |
STA Requirements
STA 2.0 (minimum)
Connections to libraries using SNMP v3 protocol
Library Requirements
SL8500 or SL3000 library with compatible firmware (see "Library Firmware Requirements")
High-memory drive controller (HBT) card
SL Console 6.25 (minimum for SL8500), 6.50 (minimum for SL3000)
Dedicated pool of media validation drives defined with SL Console
Drive Requirements
StorageTek T10000C or T10000D drives using compatible firmware (see "StorageTek Drive Firmware Requirements"). STA does not initiate media validations on drives that do not have the minimum firmware levels.
Drives used to validate encrypted media must be enabled for encryption and connected to an Oracle Key Manager (OKM) 2.5 (minimum).
Media Requirements
T10000T1 or T10000T2 media
Media validation is not supported for media formatted with StorageTek Automatically Linked Partitioning (ALP) done with Oracle's StorageTek Virtual Storage Manager (VSM).
If you will be configuring STA for RACF authentication, the following requirements apply. Configuring STA for RACF is described in the STA Installation and Configuration Guide.
You must install two separate packages to configure RACF for STA:
RACF service for STA, which is part of the SMC component of ELS 7.0 and 7.1. You must install the PTF to support this RACF service on the mainframe.
WebLogic RACF Security Service Provider (or RACF SSP) that must be installed into WebLogic.
Table 11 IBM RACF Software Required
Software/Firmware | Version |
---|---|
ELS PTF versions for STA /RACF Note: STA/RACF is not supported in HSC 6.2 |
ELS 7.0 - L1H16DH (MVS) ELS 7.1 - L1H16DI (MVS) ELS 7.2 - in the base code (MVS) |
IBM PTF versionsFoot 1 (for APAR PK69048) for AT-TLS encryption to NCS/ELS HTTP server connection |
z/OS 1.10 - Release 1A0 : UK39417 available 08/10/07 z/OS 1.9Foot 2 - Release 190 : UK39419 available 08/10/07 |
Footnote 1 For best performance
Footnote 2 Minimum level needed for the Communication Server
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StorageTek Tape Analytics Requirements Guide, Release 2.0
E52310-02
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