Automatic Media Discovery - Spectra Logic Spectra T950V User Manual

Chapter 9 — Configuring and Using Media Lifecycle Management

Automatic Media Discovery

Overview The Media Auto Discovery feature is a background process that
loads MLM‐enabled cartridges into a TS11xx technology or LTO drive,
records the MLM information to the cartridge MAM, adds the cartridge to
the MLM database, and returns the cartridge to its original location. The
process is performed by the library independently from the storage
management software. Media Auto Discovery must be enabled on the
library, as described in Enabling MLM and Configuring Global Settings on
page 255, before it can be used.
When Media Auto Discovery is enabled, MLM provides two options for
proactively discovering media in a partition:
 Media Auto Discovery — T he default process that collects information
 PreScan — A n optional process that replaces Media Auto Discovery. If
Discovery Process The discovery process can either be manually initiated
by you or set to run automatically so that the library discovers the
cartridges and adds their information to the MLM database shortly after a
cartridge is imported into the library. The discovery process is independent
of any storage management software.
August 2019
Note: If you do not want to use automatic media discovery, you can
wait until the library loads and then unloads each cartridge from
an MLM‐capable drive for the first time during normal
operation. When the cartridge is unloaded from the drive, the
library discovers it and records the MLM data to the cartridge
MAM and enters the data into the MLM database.
from the cartridge MAM and adds it to the MLM database. The Media
Auto Discovery process only operates on newly imported cartridges
that are not already in the MLM database.
Note: Media Auto Discovery loads and reads the MAM in the tape, but
does not thread the tape. The drive only reports the maximum
and remaining capacity for the tape after the tape is threaded.
Therefore, these statistics report as ʺ0ʺ until a drive reads from,
or writes to, the tape.
the PreScan feature is enabled in a partition, the PreScan process runs
instead of the Media Auto Discovery process and operates on all of the
media in the partition, regardless of whether it is already in the MLM
database or not.
In addition to adding information collected from the cartridge MAM to
the MLM database, PreScan performs a basic functionality test and
health check on each imported cartridge (see Using PreScan on
page 266 for more information).
BlueScale Media Lifecycle Management
User Guide—Spectra T950 Library
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