Summary of Contents for XenData Limited XenData6
- Page 1 XenData6 Workstation User Guide © 2011 XenData Limited. All rights reserved. XenData is a trademark of XenData Limited. Document last modified date: 24-May-11...
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Page 2: Table Of Contents
XenData6 Workstation User Guide Version 6.00 Contents 1. Overview Software Overview About LTO Software Licensing 1.3.1 About Licensing 1.3.2 How to License Interchanging Tapes with Other Systems About Partial File Restore About File Search How to Obtain Software Version Language Support... - Page 3 2. Volume Sets and Formatting Tapes About Volume Sets About Barcodes and Tape Volume Names About Block Size About File Fragmentation About Tape Spanning How to Configure a Volume Set How to Format a Tape 3. Archiving and Restoring Files Archiving Files to LTO Restoring Files from LTO...
- Page 4 4. Offline Tapes About Offline Tapes How to Obtain Tape Cartridge Properties How to Eject Tapes from a Tape Drive About LTO Shelf How to Forget a Tape 5. Tape Catalogs and Finalization About Tape Catalogs Build and Rebuild Catalog About Finalizing Tapes How to Finalize a Tape...
- Page 5 6. Report Generator About the Report Generator Starting the Report Generator Creating, Saving and Restoring Reports 6.3.1 Creating Reports 6.3.2 Saving Reports 6.3.3 Restoring Reports Tape Contents Report 6.4.1 How to Run a Tape Contents Report 6.4.2 How to Interpret a Tape Contents Report File Search Report 6.5.1 How to Run a File Search Report 6.5.2 How to Interpret a File Search Report...
- Page 6 7. Problem Diagnosis About Problem Diagnosis Tape Status: XenData Protected The XenData Activity Display...
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Page 7: Overview
Archiving Files to LTO (3.1) Restoring Files from LTO (3.2). XenData6 Workstation gives an option to copy to LTO only files that have changed or are new. This is an easy way to create an updated copy of project folders on LTO. -
Page 8: About Lto
XenData6 Workstation software writes to LTO tape using the open standard POSIX tar format. This is important for long term archives because it means that files can be restored for decades to come using a wide range of native Linux and Unix operating systems, Microsoft Services for Unix, as well as XenData software. - Page 9 LTO-4 tape drives are compatible with LTO-4 800 GB, LTO-3 400 GB and LTO-2 200GB tape cartridges. LTO-4 and LTO-3 tapes are fully read-write compatible. Whereas LTO-2 tapes cannot be written but can be read in LTO-4 tape drives. LTO tape cartridges are available as rewritable or WORM. WORM is an acronym for Write Once Read Many and the data written to WORM LTO tape cartridges cannot be altered.
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Page 10: Software Licensing
Under the terms of the EULA, if you have purchased one XenData6 Workstation license for use with one tape drive, you will assign a specific tape drive to that license. Then, you may install the XenData6 Workstation software on multiple computers and use the specific assigned tape drive on any of those computers. - Page 11 The License Administration Utility is shown below.
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Page 12: Interchanging Tapes With Other Systems
Transferring from one XenData6 Workstation system to another XenData6 Workstation system When a finalized tape is moved to another XenData6 Workstation system for the first time, the tape catalog is automatically read by the other system and the tape catalog data is automatically stored on the c: drive. - Page 13 Data is written to LTO tape each time a file is written, deleted or renamed. After writing data to a tape on a different system and then returning it to a XenData6 Workstation system that already knows about it, the tape catalog must be rebuilt using the Rebuild Catalog (5.2) operation and then ‘Check Filesystem’...
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Page 14: About Partial File Restore
About Partial File Restore XenData6 Workstation can restore individual files but cannot restore just a portion of a file. The operation of restoring only a portion of a file is known as partial file restore and is functionality which is supported by XenData6 Server. -
Page 15: Volume Sets And Formatting Tapes
Fragmentation (2.4). When tapes from the same Volume Set are transferred to a system running XenData6 Server, all the tapes will appear grouped in that same Volume Set when displayed in the XenData Management Console. To configure a new Volume Set, refer to How to Configure a Volume Set (2.6). - Page 16 Explorer by XenData6 Workstation. When a tape cartridge is formatted using XenData6 Workstation, it is given a Volume Label. In this case, the Volume Label is displayed in Explorer. This is further described in How to Format a Tape.
- Page 17 Data is written to LTO in blocks. Block size refers to the size of these blocks. When a tape is formatted using XenData6 Workstation, the block size is defined by the selected Volume Set. We recommend using the default block size as this provides high transfer rates for both archiving and...
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Page 18: About File Fragmentation
XenData software to recreate the original archived file. XenData6 Workstation does not support partial restore, but XenData6 Server does. File fragmentation should be enabled for tapes that may be moved to a tape library under control of XenData6 Server when partial file restores are required. - Page 19 Click 'New' and select the new Volume Set shown in the 'All Volume Sets' panel. Configure the Name, Block Size, Fragmentation and Rewritable/WORM settings. Click 'Apply'. This is illustrated below.
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Page 20: How To Format A Tape
How to Format a Tape Insert the LTO tape cartridge that is to be formatted into an available tape drive. After about two minutes, the tape cartridge will be identified in the left navigation pane of Explorer. Right click on the cartridge and select 'Format...'. - Page 21 A window will appear as shown below which allows selection of a Volume Set and a Volume Label. The Volume Set determines the format parameters including tape block size and enabling of file fragmentation. More information about Volume Sets is provided in About Volume Sets (2.1) How to Configure New Volume Sets (2.6).
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Page 22: Archiving And Restoring Files
Archive and restore operations are always performed using Windows Explorer. This means that files cannot be directly archived to LTO using other programs. XenData6 Workstation extends Windows Explorer's capabilities to transfer files to and from LTO using drag and drop or copy and paste. The system maintains file and folder structures, allowing the transfer of nested folders to and from LTO tape. - Page 23 When archiving multiple files to LTO, the operation may be paused or cancelled by clicking on the 'Pause' or Cancel' buttons as shown above. Note that this does not affect the current file being written to LTO.
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Page 24: Restoring Files From Lto
be attached to a file in addition to the main data stream. When files with ADS are archived to LTO using XenData6 Workstation, the main data stream is written to tape but any Alternate Data Streams are not archived. - Page 25 Before restoring a file or folder from tape, ensure that the required tape cartridge is in a tape drive. The tape will appear under 'LTO Drives' in the left navigation pane of Explorer and the existing folder structure may be expanded and displayed in the left and right panes of Explorer. To restore from LTO, simply copy the required files from the LTO tape folder structure and paste to any accessible logical drive letter or network share.
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Page 26: Offline Tapes
4. Offline Tapes About Offline Tapes When a tape is ejected from a drive, it becomes offline. XenData6 Workstation retains information about the file and folder structure for all offline tapes. Of course, files cannot be restored until the offline tape is inserted back into a tape drive. -
Page 29: How To Eject Tapes From A Tape Drive
How to Eject Tapes from a Tape Drive When a tape is ejected from a tape drive, it becomes offline. It is no longer displayed under 'LTO Drives' in Windows Explore but continues to be displayed under 'LTO Shelf". A tape cartridge may be ejected from a tape drive by either depressing the eject button on the drive or by selecting the tape drive in the left navigation pane of Windows Explorer and clicking on 'Eject', as shown below. -
Page 30: About Lto Shelf
About LTO Shelf LTO Shelf appears in the left navigation pane of Windows Explorer and it contains all of the tapes that the system knows about including the tapes that are currently in a tape drive. The folder and file structure stored on each tape may be expanded and displayed in the left and right panes of Windows Explorer as shown below. -
Page 31: How To Forget A Tape
How to Forget a Tape LTO Shelf displays the folder and file structure for all tape that the system knows about. To remove a tape and its folder and file structure from the LTO Shelf display, use the Forget this Tape function, as described below. -
Page 32: Tape Catalogs And Finalization
'Tape Contents Catalog' or a 'Tape Catalog' for short. When a tape is formatted using XenData6 Workstation, tape catalog data is created for it which stored in the following folder: c:\ProgramData\XenData\catalogs\. As files are written to a tape, its Tape Catalog is updated. - Page 33 To build or rebuild the catalog data, right click on the applicable tape under 'LTO Drives' in the left navigation pane of Windows Explorer and select Build Catalog or Rebuild Catalog, as illustrated below.
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Page 34: About Finalizing Tapes
XenData6 Workstation automatically finalizes a tape when it becomes 98% full. Partially filled tapes may also be finalized. This is described in How to Finalize Tapes (5.4). -
Page 36: Report Generator
6. Report Generator About the Report Generator The XenData6 Workstation Report Generator may be used to create the following report types. Archive Status This may be used to obtain capacity and free space for all tape cartridges that the system knows about. - Page 37 This launches the XenData Report Generator. Then click 'File' and select either 'New' to create a new report or 'Open' open an existing report.
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Page 38: Creating, Saving And Restoring Reports
Creating, Saving and Restoring Reports 6.3.1 Creating Reports Start the Report Generator program and from the initial page, select 'File' and then 'New' as shown below. -
Page 39: Saving Reports
Then select the required report type from the drop down menu as shown below. 6.3.2 Saving Reports A report can be saved in three different formats: Report Generator format (.XRG), tab delimited plain text (.txt) or XML. The XRG format is the only format which can be displayed by the Report Generator. -
Page 40: Restoring Reports
Then browse to the required location, select the file name and format and then click 'Save'. 6.3.3 Restoring Reports The Report Generator will display reports saved in the XRG format only. - Page 41 Start the Report Generator program and from the initial page, select 'File' and then 'Open' as shown below. Then browse to the location of the saved report; select the required XRG file and open it.
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Page 42: Tape Contents Report
Tape Contents Report 6.4.1 How to Run a Tape Contents Report Start the Report Generator, select 'File' and 'New'. Then, select the following: 'Tape Cartridge Contents' as the report type The tape by its Volume Label Search criteria - Select 'No Search' to list all files on the selected tape; alternatively select 'File Name Text Search' to filter the listed files using a text Search Term. - Page 43 Then click 'Get Report'. The Search Term is case insensitive and the path folder divider may be entered as '\' or '/'. If you enter a Search Term such as 'abc', all files written on the selected tape that contain 'abc' in the file name or path will be listed in the report.
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Page 44: How To Interpret A Tape Contents Report
6.4.2 How to Interpret a Tape Contents Report An example of a Tape Cartridge Contents report is shown below. The display columns are explained below. -
Page 45: File Search Report
No. This is the number of the file in the display sorted by either tape order or file name, as defined by the 'Sort by' selection. File Name This is the file name including the full path. Generation When a file of a given name and path is first created, it is termed generation 0. Every time the file is deleted and then a new file of the same name containing data is created, the system increments the generation number. - Page 46 This is illustrated below. Then click 'Get Report'. The Search Term is case insensitive and the path folder divider may be entered as '\' or '/'. If you enter a Search Term such as 'abc', all archived files that contain 'abc' in the file name or path will be listed in the search report.
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Page 47: How To Interpret A File Search Report
6.5.2 How to Interpret a File Search Report A File Search Report lists all the files that meet the search criteria. An example of a File Search Report is shown below. The display columns are explained below. -
Page 48: Archive Status Report
No. This is the number of the file in the display. File Name This is the file name including the full path. Generation When a file of a given name and path is first created, it is termed generation 0. Every time the file is deleted and then a new file of the same name containing data is created, the system increments the generation number. - Page 49 This is illustrated below. Then click 'Get Report'.
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Page 50: How To Interpret An Archive Status Report
6.6.2 How to Interpret an Archive Status Report An example of an Archive Status Report is shown below. The display columns are explained below. No. This is the line number for the tape in the display. Volume Label This is the Volume Label for the tape cartridge. Capacity (in GB) This is the capacity of the tape cartridge. - Page 51 7. Problem Diagnosis About Problem Diagnosis The main tool for diagnosing a problem is the Windows Event Viewer. This is launched as follows. Click 'Start' Right click 'Computer', and then 'Manage'. Expand 'Event Viewer' in the left pane, and then expand 'Applications and Services Logs' ...
- Page 53 In addition, the XenData Activity Display (7.3) can provide diagnostic information in case of a problem. Tape Status: XenData Protected The system will put a tape into a ‘XenData Protected’ state if there is a problem associated with a tape cartridge that must be corrected before additional data is written to that cartridge.
- Page 54 If this does not correct the problem, please obtain more information by viewing the Windows Event Log as described in About Problem Diagnosis (7.1).
- Page 55 If the contents catalog gets out of synchronization with the actual tape cartridge, the system will put the cartridge into a ‘XenData Protected’ state. In this case, the following message will be displayed in the event log. This will occur, for example, if additional data has been written to the cartridge using another system. and then select “Check Filesystem’.
- Page 56 The XenData Activity Display The Activity Display is a useful diagnostic for XenData support staff in case of problems and is illustrated below. It shows interaction of the archive system with the LTO tape drives and is launched as follows. ...