Question
Often, issues with Tivoli Storage Manager Serverin AIX connecting to tape libraries and/or drives can be resolved bychecking some basics. The first things to do when addressing hardwareissues are provided in the steps below.
Answer
Questions to answer:
For details on how to answer the questions, see the sections below.
1) AIX: Does AIX have the correct device driver for the library and/or tape drives?
2) AIX: Does AIX list the library and/or tape drives as Available?
If 6.x, does the db2 instance owner account have read/write access?
3) Tivoli Storage Manager: Does Tivoli Storage Manager list the drives as online?
4) Tivoli Storage Manager: Does Tivoli Storage Manager list the paths as online and using the correct device name?
5) AIX: Can you test the library and/or drives from device utilities in AIX?
6) Tivoli Storage Manager: Does reconfiguring the library and/or drives in AIX and Tivoli Storage Manager resolve the issue?
1) Verify that AIX has the correct device driver for the library and/or tape drives
IBM tape drives and libraries typically use Atape or atldd (for IBM 3494 tape libraries), though there are a fewexceptions that use tsmscsi. Non-IBM tape drives and libraries typically use the tsmscsi device driver (at exactly the same version as theTivoli Storage Manager Server version, to 4 digits) that comes packagedwith Tivoli Storage Manager Server and Storage Agent, though there are a few exceptions that use other device drivers. A non-IBM library thatuses IBM tape drives will typically use tsmscsi for the library andIBMtape for the drives.
Check the Tivoli Storage Manager supported device list for which device driver is needed for supported tape libraries and drives
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/sysmgmt/products/support/IBM_TSM_Supported_Devices_for_AIXHPSUNWIN.html
Check current versions installed with:
lslpp -l Atape.*
lslpp -l atldd.* (for IBM 3494 libraries)
lslpp -l tivoli.tsm.devices.* (for non-IBM libraries)
Atape and atldd (for IBM 3494 libraries) are available for download at FixCentral here:
http://www-933.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/
Product Group: Storage Systems
Product Family: Tape Systems
Product Type: Tape device drivers and software
Product: Tape device drivers
Platform (select one)
Hit Continue
Browse for fixes (the default)
Hit Continue
Download: Atape/IBMtape
Also download
* IBM Tape Device Drivers Installation and User's Guide
* Product: Tape Diagnostic Tool (ITDT)
This replaces former tapeutil (ntutil, IBMtapeutil)
To install and commit the Atape driver, uninstall the older version:
installp -u Atape.driver
Then install the new version. For example, if you downloaded the file to /tmp/Atape.11.7.7.0.engr.bin:
installp -acXd /tmp/Atape.11.7.7.0.engr.bin all
Configure the tape device:
cfgmgr -v
(-v is not required but will show where it hangs if it does)
Verify the new devices are Available:
lsdev -Cc tape
For details, see Technote # 1174910: Upgrading Atape device driver in AIX
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21174910
For details on configuring non-IBM library and/or tape drives to usetsmscsi in AIX, see Tivoli Storage Manager Server manual section on"Configuring Tivoli Storage Manager Device Drivers for Tape or OpticalDrives"
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/search/Configuring%20Tivoli%20Storage%20Manager%20device%20drivers%20for%20tape%20or%20optical%20drives%20aix?scope=SSGSG7
The instructions are substantially the same at 6.x (Links Below)
2) Verify that AIX lists the library and/or tape drives
From AIX, run:
- For tape devices using Atape or atldd
- For tape devices using tsmscsi
Tape devices should be listed as Available.
AIX device names:
- Tape drives that use tsmsci*
- Tape libraries that use tsmsci*
- IBM 3575, 3581, 3583, 3584 libraries
- IBM? 349X libraries
* tsmsci: Tivoli Storage Manager device driver, packaged with Tivoli Storage Manager Server
Reference: Tivoli Storage Manager Server manual
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/search/%22Device%20Special%20File%20Names%22%20aix?scope=SSGSG7
For Tivoli Storage Manager Server 6.1, does the db2 instance owner account have read/write access?
# ls -l /dev
For example:
# ls -l rmt[0-9]
crw-rw-rwT 1 root system 40,192 Mar 08 14:02 rmt1
crw-rw-rwT 1 root system 40,256 Mar 08 14:02 rmt2
3) Confirm whether Tivoli Storage Manager Server drives are online:
From a Tivoli Storage Manager server command line run
q drive
If drive(s) are not online, update them with:
update drive online=yes
4) Confirm whether the Tivoli Storage Manager Server paths are online and using the correct device name
From a Tivoli Storage Manager server command line run:
q path f=d
If path(s) are not online or are using the wrong device device name(for example /dev/smc0 or /dev/rmt0), update them with the following (if device names are correct, you don't need to include the device parm):
Library (for example, using smc0):
update path srct=server destt=libr device=/dev/smc0 online=yes
Tape drive (for example, using rmt0):
update path srct=server destt=drive libr= device=/dev/rmt0 online=yes
5) Check for hardware issues from AIX
From an AIX command prompt window, use itdt (or tapeutil) (for devicesusing IBMtape) or lbtest or mttest (located in/usr/tivoli/tsm/devices/bin, for devices using tsmsci) to test thelibrary or drives.
5a) lbtest, for libraries using tsmscsi
From AIX, run:
lbtest
Go into manual test and open the library
1: Manual test
1: set device special file
Enter device special file name:
For example: /dev/smc0 [enter]
6: open
Get library inventory
8: ioctl return element count
10: ioctl return library inventory
Move a tape from a tape slot to a drive
11: ioctl move medium
transport element address: XX
source address moving from: YY
destination address moving to: ZZ
Move the tape back to where it came from
11: ioctl move medium
transport element address: XX
source address moving from: ZZ
destination address moving to: XX
Close the device and exit lbtest
7: close
99: return to main menu
9: exit lbtest
Reference: Technote # 1326205: LBTEST - Practical Examples to Test Functionality
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21326205
5b) mttest, for tape drives using tsmscsi
From AIX, run:
mttest
Go into manual test and open the drive
1: Manual test
1: set device special file
Enter device special file name:
For example: /dev/rmt0 [enter]
20: open
Check basic functionality:
22. read
60. write block to "block.out"
Note: You will get an error stating that only 80 bytes could be read out of 1024. This is normal and can be ignored
Close the device and exit mttest
21: close
99: return to main menu
9: exit mttest
5c) itdt (or tapeutil), for libraries and tape drives using IBMtape
itdt (or tapeutil) operates basically the same as lbtest and mttest,except that you access both the library and the drives from itdt.
A good basic test for tape drives in Base Mode is
6: test unit ready
6) Delete and redefine paths, drive, and library, and checkin scratch tapes, then private
Sometimes deleting and redefining everything works to reconnect Tivoli Storage Manager Server to the devices correctly.
Historical Number
1406601