Media Attribute Management Overview

Robot Save uses various storage entities as part of its media management system to help track your save media. You can specify locations (such as the computer room, loading dock, and so on.) and containers (such as a rack or a box) where your media will stay during the save cycle. You also can document the sequence of locations that volume movement should follow by creating move sets. If you are using locations and containers in a data center, the location and container names are shared by all systems in the data center.

Stricter Control or Ease-of-Use

You can enter as many (or as few) locations and containers as you want. The more you enter, the stricter control you will have. Robot Save’s auto move processing lets you maintain strict control with a minimum of effort. Once you have determined the sequence of moves, you can let Robot Save take over the media management. Auto move processing is discussed in detail later in this section.

Locations

A Storage Location is any place a tape stays during the movement cycle. Enter the number of locations you need to provide the degree of control you and your staff want to achieve. Each location must have a unique name.

Automated media libraries (AMLs) require a single location. The AML location represents tapes actually inside the AML. Thus, if the storage location specified for a volume is attached to an AML, the volume is assumed to be in the AML. When a volume is moved from an AML location to another location, the volume is physically ejected from the AML or queued for ejection from the AML.

You should enter the tape storage service contacts and the procedures for retrieving tapes in Robot Save’s Disaster Plan.

Containers

In addition to locations, you can specify a container for volumes. A Robot Save container represents the physical container in which tapes can be stored. Containers typically are either racks for on-site storage, or boxes for off-site storage.

Containers are optional in Robot Save; you do not need to create them. Containers are not used by automatic volume movement processing. However, you can move volumes from one container to another using the Robot Save panels. When you move the volumes in a container to a new location, the container also appears to move.

You can create a container for every tape rack, or for every shelf in your tape racks, or every foot of shelf in your tape racks.

For off-site storage, you should have permanent, sealable tape boxes or cases. Each tape box must have a serial number. You and the tape storage service personnel then can control containers rather than volumes. This method is safer and less prone to error. Create a container record for each serial numbered tape box.

Move Sets

A move set is a sequence of locations that tape volume movement should follow. The move set documents a tape’s movement cycle from backup to storage and to backup again. Each list of locations (move set sequence) is given a move set name. You can create as many move sets as you want. Each backup set can have its own move set or can reference a common move set.

The systems in a data center share move sets. Any changes you make to a move set from one system affect all other systems in the data center. This provides a common reporting system for media management across the systems in a data center.

Robot Save’s move set feature provides three benefits:

  • If you are using manual move sets, the next location where the volumes should be moved is shown when the operator needs to move a rotation to a new location.

  • You can enter the number of days the volumes will be at each location or the number of rotations that can be in a location. If your move set uses the number of days at a location, the Volumes to be Moved report lists the volumes that are to be moved. The report can highlight any tape movement logging errors or possible lost tapes.

  • The backup class has an option to release expired tapes automatically to the scratch tape pool. You can designate a specific location in the move set where expired tapes should be released automatically from the backup set rotation to the scratch tape pool. After a tape volume is released to the scratch pool, it no longer is moved by the move set.

Move sets can be one of three types: Manual Move Only, Maximum Days at Location, or Maximum Rotations at Location.

Auto Move Processing

Robot Save’s Auto Move processing completely automates the movement of tapes through the locations in a move set. You can specify the type of auto move processing each backup set will use—either Maximum Days at Location or Maximum Rotations at Location. Auto move processing consists of three steps:

  1. When a save starts, Robot Save checks the backup set rotation for a move set name.

  2. If the backup set rotation has a move set type of Max Days at Location or Max Rotations at Location, all volumes attached to the set rotation are moved automatically to the first location in the move set, sequence 01. Sequence 01, In Use, is always the starting point for an auto move move set. It is added automatically to the move set during setup and cannot be deleted.

  3. At the end of the save, the set rotation for the current save is moved automatically to the next location in the move set. All other rotations eligible to be moved also are moved at this time. If the save does not complete properly, the rotation and the volumes in the rotation remain in the In-Use location.

On days when a backup is not run, you can move rotations using the RBSAUTOMOV command. Schedule the RBSAUTOMOV command on Robot Schedule so that the movement of tapes proceeds on schedule.

Note: If you are using containers for your media volumes, the container also follows to the next location. Volumes are not moved to another container automatically. You must move them manually if you want to change containers.

Auto move processing also creates a history file that provides a detailed audit trail of the movement of tape volumes. You can display the history or print a report showing the movement history.

Auto Move Processing - Maximum Days at Location

When a move set uses the Maximum Days at Location option, you specify the number of calendar days a rotation remains at each location (this includes weekends). A rotation becomes eligible to be moved when it has been at a location the number of days specified in the move set sequence. The next time a save is run, the rotation is moved to the next location.

Auto Move Processing - Maximum Rotations at Location

A move set that specifies the Maximum Rotations at Location uses first-in-first-out (FIFO) logic. You define the maximum number of rotations of a single backup set that can be at each location. When that number is reached, Robot Save moves the rotation that has been at the location the longest (and its attached volumes) to the next location.

Suggestions for Using Auto Move Processing

Use the following suggestions to help you set up and use auto move processing.

  • To use auto move processing, you must specify Y (Yes) in the Auto Move Set processing enabled? field on the Media Defaults panel.

  • The recommended minimum number of locations for an auto move set is four.

  • You cannot change the auto move type after it has been defined. Switching a move set from Maximum Days at Location to Maximum Rotations at Location is not allowed. If you want to change a move set type, you must create a new move set of the appropriate type and add the move set sequences into the new set.

  • Only one sequence can be specified as Release to Scratch. We recommend that if you do plan to release volumes to the scratch pool, that you do this at the last sequence of the move set. The location must be on-site.

  • You can choose to move one or more volumes manually to another location, even though a rotation is controlled by a move set. For example, you might need to use a volume to restore a library or object. When you move a volume out of the move set sequence, it is no longer moved with the rest of the rotation. To get the volume back into the auto move sequence, you must move it manually to the same location as the rest of the rotation. It then will be moved with the rotation for the remainder of the auto move sequence.

  • If you don’t move the volume to the same location as the rest of the rotation, the volume will be moved to sequence 01 the next time the rotation is used for a save. See Overriding Automatic Volume Movement in the Save Media Management section for a discussion of how to move volumes manually.