remove library from the zone

[Elena Leontieva]

Hi,

It happened that we've got a tape library in two zones: in Windows zone and in a backup zone. We started having some problems since we added a server to the Windows zone. At this point we just want to remove a tape library from the Windows zone, because it should not be there in the first place.

Could it be any problems at all if you remove a device from the zone?

Thanks,
Elena.

[Marino Meloni_1]

If the library is not used by the windows servers, there is no problem to remove it from the window zone. this action will have the same effect that shutting down the library, it will just disapeare from the scsi devices detected.

[Bill Costigan · Accepted solution]

Just make sure all the systems that need to access the library are in the backup zone.

Any server that shares a zone with the library can access the library. Therefore all servers in the windows zone and all the servers in the backup zone could access the tape.

After the tape is removed from the windows zone, only the servers in the backup zone will be able to use it.

If the windows server that is causing the problem is also in the backup zone, I would guess your problems will continue.

[Steven Clementi]

It almost sounds like you have multiple operating systems as well.

If so, any non-windows servers in that backup zone might cause/have some problems as well.


One way to narrow down the possible problems is to live by HP's Best Practices when it comes to zoning. Instead of having 2 zones.. one for backup and one for data, you should have 2 zones for EACH server that needs access to your storage and the tape library. One zone per server if they only need access to one of the resources.

Zoning in this fashion eliminates the problems assiciated with all zone resources being able to "see" what is happening on the bus. Windows is usually good about it, but other OS's have a horrible time when they detect scsi resets and such.


Steven

[Dana Lord]

Multiple Windows hosts in a zone would only be used for clustering where both hosts need visibility to the same storage ports. If you are using Windows 2000, any host in the zone will try to acquire access to any LUN available. If access is not controlled by MSCS, issues would be inevitable.

[Uwe Zessin]

Sometimes it is necessary to shield individual fibre channel adapters from each other. That is not a problem, because zones can overlap - a (let's say storage array's) port can be in multiple zones at the same time.

A zone usually does not filter any LUNs, but those 'issues' you mentioned are solved by implementing LUN masking on the storage array.