Cleaning Cartridges

Automatic Cleaning by ACSLS

ACSLS can perform automatic cleaning for TCP/IP attached libraries (SL8500 and SL3000), but not for Fibre or SCSI-attached libraries (SL150).

If auto-cleaning is enabled, ACSLS automatically mounts a cleaning cartridge on the tape drive when required. Automatic cleaning is enabled when the AUTO_CLEAN dynamic variable is set to TRUE (default).

Modern tape drives request cleaning as needed. The drive notifies the library, which forwards the message to ACSLS. ACSLS records that the drive must be cleaned. When ACSLS processes the next mount request for the drive, it precedes the mount with a cleaning operation. This includes selecting a compatible cleaning cartridge, mounting the cleaning cartridge, dismounting the cleaning cartridge, and then proceeding to mount the data cartridge specified in the original mount request.

If ACSLS encounters a recoverable problem during the cleaning operation, such as mounting a spent (used-up) cleaning cartridge, it selects another cleaning cartridge and retries the cleaning operation. The AUTO_CLEAN_RETRY_LIMIT dynamic variable governs the number of retries, with a default of one retry and a range of 0-5 retries. Use acsss_config, and select General Product Behavior Variables to display and change this variable.

The UNIFORM_CLEAN_USE dynamic variable defines the method used to select cleaning cartridges. Options, are:

VOLID_SORT – Order by vol_id. Uses up one cleaner before using the next.
LEAST_USED – Order by usage. Spreads usage evenly.
MOST_CAPACITY – Order by usage left. Uses up all cleaners at the same time.

The default is VOLID_SORT. Use acsss_config, and select General Product Behavior Variables to display and change this variable.

For more information on automatic cleaning by ACSLS, see:

Cleaning Cartridge Maximum Usage
Entering Cleaning Cartridges
AUTO_CLEAN in Setting CSI Tuning Variables
AUTO_CLEAN_RETRY_LIMIT in Setting CSI Tuning Variables

Cleaning Cartridge Maximum Usage

Each different cleaning cartridge type has a maximum number of uses before the drive reports that it is used-up (expired or spent). This maximum usage varies depending on the type of cleaning cartridge. When ACSLS adds cleaning cartridges, the cartridges' max usage is recorded in the ACSLS database. ACSLS only selects cleaning cartridges for automatic cleaning when the cartridges' access_count (number of times the cartridge has been mounted, and so forth) is less than the max usage. When the tape drive reports that a cleaning cartridge is used-up (spent), ACSLS sets the access count to be greater than max usage.

The maximum usage that ACSLS automatically sets for cleaning cartridges is higher than the actual number of cleaning uses that the cartridge supports. This is because some applications schedule mounts of cleaning cartridges without the drives having requested cleaning. If the drive is not ready to be cleaned, it may do a “pseudo-clean" to avoid wearing out the heads prematurely. This means that the drives' access count has been incremented without actually using the cleaning cartridge. A higher max usage value allows these cartridges to be used until the drive reports that they are spent.

Manually Defining Cleaning Cartridges

You can use the set clean command to define a cleaning cartridge and set its maximum usage.

set clean max_usage vol_id | volrange

Where:

max_usage is the number of times a cleaning cartridge is used before ACSLS stops selecting the cartridge to clean cartridges.
vol_id | volrange specifies the cleaning cartridge or range of cartridges.

Use set clean to:

Change a cleaning cartridge's maximum usage count.
For example the cleaning cartridge has been manually mounted on drives that did not need to be cleaned, and the access_count was incremented but only a “pseudo-clean" was done. Set a higher max_usage to get full usage from the cleaning cartridge.
```
set clean max_usage vol_id volrange
```
Set a cartridge's cleaning cartridge attribute off. For example, if you incorrectly defined a data cartridge as a cleaning cartridge, set the cartridge's cleaning cartridge attribute off to redefine the cartridge as a data cartridge.
```
set clean off vol_id volrange
```

Monitoring Cleaning Cartridges

You must monitor the cleaning cartridges in your library by ejecting the used cleaning cartridges. Enter new cleaning cartridges as needed.

To display all cleaning cartridges:
```
query clean all
```
To display all cleaning cartridges of one media_type in an ACS, use the display command:
```
display volume * -home acs ,*,*,*,* -media media_type
```
To display a cartridges' maximum cleaning usage and current usage:
```
display volume * -home acs ,*,*,*,* -media media_type
```
display volume * -home acs,*,*,*,* -media media_type –f vol_id acs lsm media max_use access_count
To display all cleaning cartridges in an ACS, with the maximum cleaning usage and current usage:
```
display volume CLN* -home acs ,*,*,*,* -f acs lsm type media max_use access_count
```
To display all used cleaning cartridges (these cartridges should be ejected and replaced with new cleaning cartridges):
```
display volume * -spent_clean
```

Entering Cleaning Cartridges

When entering cleaning cartridges, make sure to complete the following procedure:

Use cleaning cartridges whose media types are compatible with the drive types in your library. ACSLS automatically selects the correct type of cartridge for each cleaning operation.

To see which cleaning cartridges are compatible with a drive type, see the media-to-drive compatibility table in the ACSLS Product Information manual or use the drive_media.sh utility.
Define at least a few cleaning cartridges for each drive type in your library. For most sites, having at least one cleaning cartridge for every four drives is reasonable.

To define cleaning cartridges to ACSLS:

Make the CAP ready for entry:

See Entering Cartridges for more information.
Enter the cleaning cartridges.

cmd_proc displays messages with the cartridge IDs of the cartridge you entered.

As described in Automatic Assignment of Cleaning Cartridge Attributes, ACSLS automatically defines cleaning cartridges when they are entered or added by audit, enter, or Cartridge Recover. This includes their maximum usage.

Ejecting Used Cleaning Cartridges

ACSLS logs messages to the Event Log when a cleaning cartridge has reached its maximum usage or a drive reports that the cleaning cartridge is spent. ACSLS leaves the cartridge in the library, but no longer selects it for cleaning. You must eject the used cleaning cartridge and enter a replacement.

To eject used cleaning cartridges:

Use query clean and display volume to identify cleaning cartridges that are over their maximum usage or spent.

query clean all

display volume * -spent_clean
Eject the cleaning cartridges.

eject cap_id vol_id | volrange

Where:

cap_id specifies the CAP used to eject the cleaning cartridges.

vol_id | volrange specifies the IDs of the cleaning cartridges to eject.
Remove the spent cleaning cartridges.

See Monitoring Cleaning Cartridges

Manually Cleaning a Drive

Use this procedure to clean a drive when auto-clean is disabled or is not working.

To manually clean a drive:

Determine which cleaning cartridge types are compatible with the drive to be cleaned.

Refer to the Product Information Guide and look in the Drive and Media Compatibility table for a list of the cleaning cartridges for each drive type.
Display the available cleaning cartridges:
```
query clean all
```
To display all compatible cleaning cartridges in the same ACS as the drive, use the display command:
```
display volume * -home acs ,*,*,*,* -media media_type
```
To display the cartridges' maximum cleaning usage and current usage:
```
display volume * -home acs ,*,*,*,* -media media_type -f vol_id acs lsm media max_use access count
```
To display all cleaning cartridges in an ACS, with their maximum cleaning usage and current usage:
```
display volume CLN* -home acs ,*,*,*,* -f acs lsm type media max_use access_count
```
Select a compatible cleaning cartridge from those listed and mount it on the drive:
```
mount vol_id drive_id
```
After the drive is cleaned and the cleaning cartridge is unloaded, dismount the cleaning cartridge:
```
dismount vol_id drive_id
```

Cleaning Cartridges on Fibre-Attached Libraries

ACSLS automatic cleaning is not supported for drives in Fibre-attached libraries. You can only clean these drives using ACSLS by manually mounting a cleaning cartridge. However, Fibre-attached libraries let you enable auto-cleaning using the library GUI. For more information, see your library documentation.

What To Do When Drives Are Not Being Cleaned

The following are some troubleshooting tips to try when drives are not being cleaned.

Verify Auto-Cleaning is Enabled

If auto-cleaning is disabled, ACSLS logs a message in the event log and displays cleaning messages with cmd_proc when the drive requires cleaning. You must manually mount a cleaning cartridge.

Use acsss_config to enable or disable auto-cleaning. In addition, with acsss_config you can specify how cleaning cartridges are ordered for selections and queries.

Automatic cleaning is enabled when the AUTO_CLEAN dynamic variable is set to TRUE (on), which is the default setting. To view AUTO-CLEAN, enter:

dv_config -e AUTO_CLEAN

ACSLS does not perform automatic cleaning for Fibre-attached libraries.

Verify there are Cleaning Cartridges for the Drives

If all cleaning cartridges are expired (the max_usage value is exceeded) or have been reports as spent by the drives, ACSLS performs the original mount request without cleaning the drive. For that mount and for each subsequent mount to the uncleaned drive, ACSLS posts message 376 N “Drive drive_id: No Cleaning cartridge available" to the event log. Add more cleaning cartridges that are compatible with the drive type as described in Manually Defining Cleaning Cartridges.

If drives are not being cleaned, make sure that there are cleaning cartridges for the drives in the library and that they still have usage left.

From cmd_proc, you can use the display command to see:

All of your cleaning cartridges and their usage:

display volume * -clean -f media access_count max_use

All of the volumes of a specific media type.
For example, to display all LTO cleaning cartridges:
```
display volume * -media LTO-CLNU -f access_count max_use
```

All used-up (spent) cleaning cartridges and their usage:

display volume * -spent_clean -f media access_count max_use

Verify Auto-Cleaning is Disabled Using SL Console for an SL8500 or SL3000 Library

If you ever have an issue where automatic cleaning for an SL8500 or SL3000 is not working, check to make sure Automatic Cleaning is not enabled for the library using SL Console.

When automatic cleaning is enabled using ACSLS, it automatically mounts a cleaning cartridge before the next mount when it receives a “drive needs cleaning" message from the library after a dismount.

If automatic cleaning is enabled at the library level using SL Console, the library is responsible for doing automated cleaning. When library auto-cleaning is enabled, the library does not send a drive needs cleaning message to ACSLS. ACSLS never knows that the drive must be cleaned. The library then tries to mount a cleaning cartridge from one of its system cells to clean the drive before sending ACSLS the dismount response.

As a result, there can be a mix-up where the library is trying to do automated cleaning, but has no cleaning cartridges in the system cells. ACSLS can be managing cleaning cartridges in normal storage cells, but ACSLS does not receive a “drive needs cleaning" message. The result is that the drive is not cleaned.

To resolve this:

If ACSLS automated cleaning is enabled, but drives are not being cleaned, check if the library also has auto cleaning enabled.
If auto cleaning is enabled at the library, disable it using the SL Console.

Use the SL Console or the library operator panel.
1. Select the System Detail tab.
2. Select Library.
3. Select the Auto Clean tab.
4. Select the Configure tab.
5. Check if Auto Cleaning is enabled for this partition (or “Partition 1 or None").
6. Disable automated cleaning if it is enabled.

Check if Cleaning Cartridges are Marked as Questionable

Automatic cleaning does not select questionable cartridges to avoid repeatedly selecting a faulty cleaning cartridge. Cartridges are marked as questionable if the library reports that the cartridge has an unreadable label.

You can identify cleaning cartridges that are marked as questionable with the display command. This also displays the cleaning cartridges' ACS, LSM, type, max_use and access_count.

display volume CLN* -f media_status acs lsm media_status type max_use access_count

To clear a questionable status:

Eject the cartridge, examine it, and if it is good, enter it back into the library.
Questionable status is cleared when a cartridge is entered.