2 Pre-Installation Planning

This chapter contains the following topics:

Hardware Requirements

LTFS-LE supports the following servers, libraries, and tape drives.

Servers

  • LTFS-LE

    The minimum server requirements include:

    • The LTFS-LE server should have a minimum of 32 GB of memory for every two tape drives that will be used by LTFS-LE.

    • Back End 8 GB FC Ports minimum: 1

    • Front End 1 GB Ethernet Ports minimum: 1

    • Server Disk Capacity: 1TB

    • Server on which LTFS-LE is installed must have a static IP address.

    • Dynamic (DHCP) is not supported.

    • LTFS-LE must be the only application running on the LTFS-LE server.

  • ACSLS server with ACSLS 8.4 with the latest patch installed and configured. See "Installing ACSLS 8.4".

    Note:

    You must install ACSLS 8.4 to support the LTO-7 tape drive.

Libraries

LTFS-LE supports the following libraries:

  • LTFS-LE 1.0.3 and earlier

    • StorageTek SL3000 FRS 4.0 or higher. SL3000 AEM has not been tested nor is it supported.

    • StorageTek SL8500 FRS 8.07 or higher

    • StorageTek SL150 FRS 2.01 or higher

  • LTFS-LE 1.0.4 and later

    • StorageTek SL150 FRS 2.01 or higher

Partitioning

If the library is not partitioned, all of the library resources will be dedicated only to LTFS-LE. If you want to share library resources (such as CAPs, tape drives, volumes, slots) with other applications, you must partition the library. When partitioning the library, the partition that you create for LTFS-LE must be dedicated to the LTFS-LE application. Except for the CAP, the resources for the LTFS-LE partition cannot be shared. When creating a library partition for LTFS-LE, the partition must meet the following requirements:

  • The partition must use the HLI interface.

  • The partition must contain at least one drive.

  • The partition must contain at least one storage slot.

  • The partition must contain an HLI CAP (the CAP can be shared with other HLI partitions).

Tape Drives

LTFS-LE supports LTO 5, LT0 6, LTO 7, T10000C, and T10000D tape drives. However, LTFS-LE does not support a mixture of T10000C and T10000D tape drives within an LTFS-LE partition (or library if it is not partitioned).

  • LTFS-LE 1.0.3 and earlier

    • StorageTek T10000C (standard cartridge only)

    • StorageTek T10000D (standard cartridge only)

    • HP-LTO 5 Full-Height

    • HP-LTO 6 Full-Height

    • IBM-LTO 7 Full-Height

  • LTFS-LE 1.0.4 and later

    • HP-LTO 5 Half-Height

    • IBM-LTO 6 Half-Height

    • IBM-LTO 7 Half-Height

Software Requirements

  • Oracle Linux Server Edition Release 6 Update 5 Media Pack for x86_64-bit.

    Other operating systems, including higher versions of Linux are not tested or supported.

    The prerequisite software is bundled with LTFS-LE 1.0: Oracle Advanced Development Framework 12.2.1 (ADF); WebLogic 12.2.1; Java 1.8.0_92; and MySQL 5.7.14.

  • Oracle LTFS-OE 1.2.7 with 2.2 format.

  • During operating system (O/S) configuration, the swap space should be configured to be at least twice the size of the physical memory of the system.

Browser Requirements

LTFS-LE 1.0 has been tested and verified on the following browsers:

  • Internet Explorer 8

  • Firefox 17

Co-Hosting with ACSLS

Note:

Only the SL150 has been tested in a co-hosted environment.

Note:

The ACSLS server needs a fibre-channel Host-Bus Adapter (HBA) that is compatible with the bridged drive in the SL150 library. Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) bridged drives for control path are not supported.

The pre-requisites for co-hosting LTFS-LE 1.0.4 software with ACSLS 8.4 software are:

  1. Install and configure LTFS-LE 1.0.4 as described in this guide.

  2. Before you install ACSLS 8.4, create /export, /export/home, and /export/backup directories on the LTFS-LE server.

  3. Connect the SL150 library and drives to the LTFS-LE server and ensure they are seen by the operating system (OS).

    Example Output:

    # lsscsi
[7:0:0:0]    tape    HP       Ultrium 6-SCSI   239S  /dev/st0
[8:0:0:0]    tape    HP       Ultrium 6-SCSI   239S  /dev/st1
[9:0:0:1]    mediumx STK      SL150            0225  /dev/sch0

  4. Install and configure ACSLS 8.4 with the latest patch.

    1. Install the mchanger driver for the fibre-attached libraries.

      Example Output:

      Successfully built the following...
/dev/mchanger-3500104f000cce898: STK SL150 V-0225 30-cells 2-drives

      In this example, you use the driver (/dev/mchanger-3500104f000cce898) for the connection when configuring ACSLS to the library

    2. Do not install the graphical user interface (GUI).

    3. Install the optional lib_cmd interface.

When you co-host LTFS-LE and ACSLS, the ACSLS instance must be exclusively dedicated to LTFS-LE.

What's not Supported in this Release

  • Network File System (NFS)

  • Apple Mac clients

  • Creating shortcuts to files stored in the LTFSLE volumes directory

LTFS-LE Planning Checklist

During installation, you are asked for the following information.

LTFS-LE Server

  • Name

  • IP

  • Subnet Mask

  • Default gateway

  • DNS server

  • Alternate DNS server

  • Domain name

  • Search domains

ACSLS Server

Note:

When co-hosting with ACSLS, do not install the ACSLS graphical user interface.

  • Name

  • IP

  • ACS

  • CAP Priority must be set to a nonzero value for any partition used by the LTFS-LE software.

  • If you are using the SL8500 library, the float option must be disabled (turned-off).

    For the procedure to disable float, refer to "Using the Extended Store Feature" in the StorageTek Automated Cartridge System Library Software 8.4 Administrator's Guide.

Configure ACSLS to manage the SL3000 or SL8500 partition for use by the LTFS-LE software.

Refer to the StorageTek Automated Cartridge System Library Software 8.4 Administrator's Guide for more information.

Library (SL3000)

The SL3000 is supported only on LTFS-LE 1.0.3 and earlier.

  • Name

  • IP

  • Partition: HLI

    Note:

    When adding a partition, be sure to select HLI for Interface Type.

    Using the SLConsole, make sure the partition has drive bays, storage cells, and an HLI cap.

    Refer to the StorageTek SL3000 Modular Library System User's Guide for more information.

  • Storage cells

  • Drive bays

  • CAP

  • Drives

  • Media

Library (SL8500)

The SL8500 is supported only on LTFS-LE 1.0.3 and earlier.

  • Name

  • IP

  • Storage cells

  • Drive bays

  • CAP

  • Drives

  • Media

Library (SL150)

The SL150 is supported on all versions of LTFS-LE 1.0.

Note:

In the SL150 configuration settings, ensure that the "Library Volume Label Format" setting is set to "Trim last 2 characters" (default). Refer to the StorageTek SL150 Tape Modular Library User's Guide for more information.

  • Name

  • IP

  • Partition

    Note:

    ACSLS does not support partitioned SL150s. Although ACSLS does not prevent partitioning an SL150, if you do partition it and try to configure it to ACSLS things may not work.For more information, refer to ACSLS Support of the SL150 in the StorageTek Automated Cartridge System Library Software Administrator's Guide.

  • Storage cells

  • Drive bays

  • CAP

  • Drives

  • Media

Fibre Channel San Switch

  • Name

  • IP

  • Zone Name

    If using a fibre channel switch to connect your LTFS-LE server to drives, refer to manufacturer's documentation for setting up a zone for your configuration.

  • Ports