The following sections summarize choices and procedures you need to be aware of when operating removable media devices for TSM. The sections give pointers to additional information.
Volumes are mounted as a result of mount requests from TSM. For manual libraries, you can monitor the mount requests on the server console or by using an administrative client in mount mode or console mode. Someone you designate as the operator must respond to the mount requests by putting in tape volumes as requested.
For more details, see Chapter 5, Managing Removable Media Operations.
For automated libraries, TSM works with the library to accomplish volume mounts. Mount messages are not sent to an operator. However, information about problems with the library are still sent to the mount message queue. You can see these messages on administrative clients that have been started with either the mount mode or console mode parameter. However, you cannot use the TSM REPLY command to respond to these messages. For more details, see Chapter 5, Managing Removable Media Operations.
You can use TSM to manage tape drive cleaning. For automated library devices, you can automate cleaning by specifying the frequency of cleaning operations and checking a cleaner cartridge into the library's volume inventory. TSM mounts the cleaner cartridge as specified. For manual library devices, TSM issues a mount request for the cleaner cartridge. See Cleaning Drives.
Note: | TSM drive cleaning management is not intended to be used with SCSI library devices with built-in automated cleaning functions. |
Collocation is a process by which the server attempts to keep all files belonging to a client node or client file space on a minimal number of sequential access storage volumes. You set collocation on or off for each sequential access storage pool, which includes tapes. By using collocation, you can reduce the number of volume mounts required when users restore, retrieve, or recall many files. However, when collocation is on, more volume mounts are required when clients store files.
To understand the advantages and disadvantages of collocation, see Keeping a Client's Files Together: Collocation and How Collocation Affects Reclamation.
To allow TSM to automatically reclaim volumes in a library containing only one drive, you can set up a special storage pool to be used for reclamation. See Reclaiming Volumes in a Storage Pool with One Drive for more information about a reclamation storage pool.