topic Re: MSL6000 Library with two host one controller card in StoreEver Tape Storage

MSL6000 Library with two host one controller card

Jeremiah Gillespie — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:15:57 GMT

I have a MSL6000 tape library, with one controller card inside the library with two SCSI interfaces. I have two host clustered, however, I am not accessing the the library at the same time with both hosts. At any giving time only one host is accessing/controlling the library. If one host fails the other one will take over. Is this possible with one controller card in the library?

Please see attachment

Re: MSL6000 Library with two host one controller card

Torsten. — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:56:24 GMT

No.

You can do this easily if you use FC connection and an optional NSR card.

In your drawing only host B has access to the drives...

Re: MSL6000 Library with two host one controller card

Jeremiah Gillespie — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 23:28:28 GMT

I have attached a new cabling configuration. I am wondering if this is possible. I am running Veritas 6.5 in a cluster mode. Host-A is accessing the library at one time, is this possible?

Re: MSL6000 Library with two host one controller card

Torsten. — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 06:29:40 GMT

You can have only 1 library controller installed. IMHO sharing the library on the scsi bus is not supported at all.

As said, consider to use fiber channel.

Re: MSL6000 Library with two host one controller card

Marino Meloni_1 — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 21:46:15 GMT

The second diagram will never work
the first one may work, but you should have differents sci id in the host bus adapter, we had this kind of config with disk on early cluster systems.
But the result of this config should be tested by yourself, and will never been supported by HP, as there is (as already indicated) a HP solution to this question, and it is a NSR in the middle, that will allow to connect even more than two hosts at the same library, sharing both drives and robot.

Re: MSL6000 Library with two host one controller card

Jeremiah Gillespie — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 05:42:38 GMT

Thanks everyone, I will look into purchasing a NSR (e1200-160 or e1200-320) for the library. Thread Ref# Optional Fibre Channel Card for MSL family