Using the CAP

The Following section reviews CAP Types, States, Modes and Priorities.

CAP Types

Each type of CAP has a standard capacity and method for loading it with cartridges. An LSM may have more than one type of CAP. The following table shows the supported CAP types, identifiers and capacities, and loading methods.

Table 8-1 CAP Types

CAP Type	Identifier & Capacity	Loading Method
SL3000	CAP 6 and optionally CAP 1-5, CAP 7-10; each holds 26 cartridges.	13 cartridges are placed into each of 2 removable magazines which are loaded into the CAP.
SL4000	CAP 6 and optionally CAP 1-5, CAP 7-10; each holds 26 cartridges.	13 cartridges are placed into each of 2 removable magazines which are loaded into the CAP.
SL8500 Rotational	CAP 0 and optional CAP 1; each holds 39 cartridges.	13 cartridges are placed into each of 3 removable magazines which are loaded into the CAP.
SL8500 Bulk	CAP 0 and CAP 1; each holds 33 or 36 cartridges	11 or 12 cartridges are placed into each of 3 removable magazines which are loaded into the CAP. See Bulk CAP.

CAP States

A CAPs' state determines whether it is available for entering and ejecting cartridges. The following table describes the valid CAP states. See Displaying CAP Information for procedures for determining the CAP state. See the command, query pool for information about changing device states.

Note:

See Understanding SL8500 Internal Addresses and ACSLS Addresses for specifics regarding the SL8500 library.

Table 8-2 CAP States

State	Description	How requests are handled
online	Normal operating state.	All requests are accepted and processed.
offline	The CAP is logically disabled.	All requests are rejected.
offline-pending	Transition state. Occurs when the CAP is taken from online to offline.	All new requests are rejected. Current and pending requests are processed to completion.
diagnostic	The CAP is available for diagnostic activity without interference from client applications.	Requests from client applications are rejected. Requests from cmd_proc are processed.
recovery	Transition state. Occurs when the CAP is taken from offline to online.	New requests are rejected.

CAP Modes

The CAP mode controls how a CAP will be used for cartridge enters and ejects. The following table describes the valid CAP modes. See Displaying CAP Information for procedures for determining the CAP mode. See the command, query cap for information about changing the CAP mode.

HINT: You cannot change a CAP mode while the CAP is in use. That is, if the door is open during either manual or automatic enter operations, you cannot change its mode until you complete the enter operation.

Table 8-3 CAP Modes

Mode	Description	Effects on enter/eject
manual	The CAP is locked when not in use. This is the initial mode for all multi-cartridge CAPs.	You can enter or eject cartridges only after explicitly issuing a command. You either specify the cap_id on the command, or allow ACSLS to automatically select a CAP, based on previously defined CAP priorities. Some client applications require CAPs to be in manual mode. See the documentation for your tape management system.
automatic	The CAP is unlocked when not in use. This is the initial mode for all priority CAPs. You cannot set the CAP mode to automatic in a partitioned library. The exception to this is a dedicated CAP (assigned to only one partition), in the SL3000 which can be set to automatic mode. When the SL8500 access door is opened and closed, the SL8500 leaves the CAP locked. When the CAP is locked, it cannot be used for automatic mode enters	You can enter cartridges without explicitly issuing an enter command. The enter is initiated when you open the CAP door, place the cartridge(s) inside, and close the CAP. You cannot cancel an automatic enter operation that is in progress using the cancel command. To terminate an automatic enter in progress: If the CAP door is open, remove all of the cartridges and close the door. If the CAP door is closed and the cartridges are being moved into the library, allow the remaining cartridges to be entered into the library. The enter then terminates. To eject cartridges you must explicitly issue an eject command. You can either specify the cap_id on the command or allow ACSLS to automatically select a CAP, based on previously defined CAP priorities. If ACSLS shows the CAP in automatic mode, but it is locked and cannot be opened and used for automatic enters: synchronize ACSLS and the SL8500; then return the CAP to automatic enter. set cap mode manual cap_id set cap mode automatic cap_id

CAP Priorities

CAP priorities specify how ACSLS automatically selects CAPs when the CAP request specifies an asterisk (*) for the CAP ID, The following table describes the CAP priorities and their effect. See Displaying CAP Information for procedures for determining the CAP priority. See query cap for information about changing the CAP priority.

Table 8-4 Cap Priorities

Priority	Effect
16 (highest)	first used
15 (next highest)	next used
-	-
1 (lowest)	last used
0	never automatically selected (initial priority for all CAPs)

CAP priorities and automatic CAP selection apply to the following commands:

• audit

• eject

• enter

• venter

When you enter any of these commands with an asterisk (*) for all or part of the cap_id, ACSLS automatically selects an available CAP with highest nonzero priority for each ACS or LSM specified in the request.

Examples:

• audit * server

  ACSLS selects the highest non-zero priority CAP in each ACS.

• enter 0,1,*

  ACSLS selects the highest nonzero priority CAP in LSM 0,1.

Displaying CAP Information

The following are some guidelines for using the query cap command to display current CAP information.

• To display information for selected CAPS, enter:

  query cap cap_id cap_id ...

• To display information for all CAPS in the library, enter:

  query cap all