HP StorageWorks Library and Tape Tools

[William J. Lugaila]

I have a few questions concerning the HP StorageWorks Library and Tape Tools software.

1. The company I work for has a 160fx platter jukebox, if I run any of the tests will the software reorganize the tape library?

2. Has anyone used this in the past and could you tell me your thoughts on the software?

Thank You,

Bill Lugaila

[CA713937]

Here are the tests available.

Library:
Device Analysis
Library Exerciser
Device Self Test

Drive:
Device Analysis
Read/Write Test
Connectivity Test
Media Validation Test
Device Self Test
Restore Factory Settings

Most of these are are non-destructive. The exception is the the drive read/write test which overwrites the data on the platter.

From what I recall, the library exerciser only loads the platters in the drives and does no data transfer, and the test will put platters back where they came from (assuming the test is not aborted).

When you select a test, the test description will tell you exactly what it does, so reference that if you have any questions on the tests. There is also an LTT user guide and support guide on the web that has descriptions of most of the tests.

[CA713937]

Bill,

I forgot to comment on the "restore factory defaults". An ISV app can change some of the device paramaters (stored in non-volatile memory), so this test is used to restore it back to default. Device analysis will tell you if any parameters are not the defaults. Some ISV apps do want the parameters changed, and they typically check and set them when the device is opened. A few apps rely on the defaults, and don't speceifically set them. For that case, we added this test in case folks changed apps.