MSL6480 partitioning and use with 2 or more Backup softvers

[komac]

Dear all,

I have one customer that wants to buy new MSL6480 tape library (modular library, max 550 tapes) and to use with at least 2 backup softwares:

1. Qstar (as LTFS tape NAS)
2. Commvault (for backups of exchange, Hyper-V VMs, SQL ...)

In Quickspec (page 5 of PDF document) for library there is following about partitioning:

The MSL6480 Tape Library supports up to 20 logical partitions for greater flexibility and higher asset utilization.
Partitioning allows each partitioned library to be presented to the host as an independent library, separate from other partitions in the library. Hosts for each partition own independent sets of media and can use ISV software that is different from the other partitions allowing maximum flexibility and utilization of the MSL library.

So I need your opinions, suggestions about possible problems to implement this library with 2 backup softvers.

Tnx !

[Curtis_Ballard]

That is exactly what partitioning is intended for.  The library is split into two logical libraries and each application only has access to part of the library but has full control over that part.

There are a few things to consider:

1) Application installation - the applications should be on two different servers.  Even if both applications can be installed on the same server then configuration is tricky as both applications will see both partitions and the administrator has to configure the applications to not use the partition for the other app.  In this case I don't think you could get those two applications running on the same server since QStar uses special device drivers and CommVault doesn't like any device drivers to be installed at least on Windows.

2) With the MSL6480 if you want to use mailslots with both applications it is best to have at least two modules and partition on a module boundary.  If you only have a single module or don't want to partition on a module boundary then configure one application without mailslots and only use bulk load.  I've done that by splitting my MSL6480 so each side is a partition then bulk loading a partition is easy since all the slots in the magazine are for the same partition so I don't have to worry about accidentally putting a tape in a slot that goes to the wrong partition.

[CalvinZito]

At Discover in Vegas last week, we announced the HPE StoreEver Archive Manager. It is an enhanced version using Qstar that has undergone significant testing, not to mention the worldwide support that HPE offers when you buy StoreEver Archive Manager from HPE.  There is a blog post from the product marketing manager explaining what StoreEver Archive Manager is so check it out (it's in the second half of the blog post). 

I also did a ChalkTalk - it's a short video with an overview: https://youtu.be/ru0buza-R5s. 

And yes, you can partition the StoreEver MSL6480 to use with StoreEver Archive Manager and CommVault or whatever ISV backup solution you want to use.