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Re: MSL 6000 Sequential Mode

 
Roger Provencher
Occasional Advisor

MSL 6000 Sequential Mode

When I put the MSL 6030 Library into Sequential mode, it does not eject the tape cartridge to its original slot, and pick the next cartridge from the magazine, when a
$ DISMOUNT $2$MGAx command is issued from VMS.

Instead, the $2$MGA1 tape drive goes OFF-LINE, and it cannot be accessed until the Tape Library is rebooted.

Can anyone help me with this issue?

Thank you,

Roger
9 REPLIES 9
Torsten.
Acclaimed Contributor

Re: MSL 6000 Sequential Mode

Hi Roger,

I unfortunatelly know nothing about VMS, but this is sequential mode

"Sequential Mode is locally controlled. Sequential operations
begin with any cartridge loaded into Drive 0. The library
monitors the drive status, and when the host unloads a cartridge
from the drive, it returns the cartridge to the magazine, and then
loads the next cartridge in magazine numerical order. This
operation continues until all cartridges have been loaded, or
until an empty slot is encountered. Two options are available:
Normal (same as Library Mode above) and Recirculate. Instead
of stopping after the cartridge in the last slot for the drive has
been unloaded by the host, Recirculate mode continues the
operation by loading the first cartridge for the drive.
Recirculation will continue until an empty slot is encountered, or
the operator unloads the tape using the GUI touch screen."

I think your command does not unload the drive, but only take it offline anyhow - as said, I know nothing.

How about asking the folks in the VMS forum?

This would be the source of your choice!


Hope this helps!
Regards
Torsten.

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Roger Provencher
Occasional Advisor

Re: MSL 6000 Sequential Mode

... and when the host unloads...

The VMS command $ Dismount $2$MGA1 is supposed to unload the tape cartridge from the tape drive.

In my case it does not.

Is it a hardware problem with the MSL, or is it a Software problem with the MG device driver? I am leaning more toward the hardware being at fault; either due to a configuration setup, or a faulty component.

marsh_1
Honored Contributor

Re: MSL 6000 Sequential Mode

hi,

i take it there is no symbol defined for the dismount command that might interfere ?
have you tried explicitly issuing it with the /unload ?


marsh_1
Honored Contributor

Re: MSL 6000 Sequential Mode

hi,

what are you managing it with ? mru ?
have you tried the library and tape tools to diagnose any issues ?

http://h18006.www1.hp.com/products/storageworks/ltt/index.html

hth

Roger Provencher
Occasional Advisor

Re: MSL 6000 Sequential Mode


I have determined there are no symbols defined regarding the DISMOUNT command, and I have tried the $DISMOUNT/NOUNLOAD/NOASSIST $2$MGA1

The MSL does not unload the cartridge that is present in the tape drive. I am reasonable certain the tape gets rewound, but not 100% certain the leader gets unthreaded. If I reboot the MSL, I can
$ Mount /for $2$MGA1. The drive mounts, and the tape is positioned at BOT. The cartridge did not change.



marsh_1
Honored Contributor

Re: MSL 6000 Sequential Mode

hi,

can the tape be ejected using the front panel options or web interface while '├Г┬│ffline' in vms ?
have you tried doing an io auto from sysman to see if drive comes back ?
do try the /unload qualifier with dismount.
the l & tt stuff should tell you whether there are any issues with the library or drives.
is unload mode set to explicit , it should be implicit by default.

hth

Pieter 't Hart
Honored Contributor

Re: MSL 6000 Sequential Mode

forgive me if i tell nonsense, my vms experience is from V6.2 and tz887 units.
but maybe this help a little:

first : dismount is not eject.
a next tape in a set is only selected when a mounted tape is full and more data need to be written to tape.

you may use the "dismount /nounload" version of the command.
then the media will be dismounted, the tape stays in the unit and the drive will stay online, ready for another mount command.

dismount itself defaults to unload

you may need to install the robot- software on the vms-system so you can direct it to load/unload another tape from/to a specific slot or the slot it came from.

Pieter
Roger Provencher
Occasional Advisor

Re: MSL 6000 Sequential Mode


The solution to this problem was to upgrade the Tape drives firmware - two tape drives, two firmware upgrades.

I want to thank everyone that responded.

Roger Provencher
Roger Provencher
Occasional Advisor

Re: MSL 6000 Sequential Mode


The solution was to upgrade the tape drive firmware on both tape drives.

I want to thank everyone that responded.

Roger Provencher