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Status Delivered
Workspace IBM TS4500 Tape Library
Created by Guest
Created on Sep 1, 2022

RELATED IDEAS

LTO-9 "mass media optimisation"

See this idea on ideas.ibm.com

After upgrading to LTO-9, media must be optimised in the tape library. This process is automatically carried out when a new LTO-9 data cartridge will be mounted for the first time in a LTO-9 drive. It can take 18minutes (or more?) x number of cartridges. Customers usually want to perform this media optimisation BEFORE they use the LTO-9 data cartridges in their normal backup process (in order to avoid longer backup times/windows). Not all customers use TSM/Spectrum protect and not all backup software supports such a "mass mount" of LTO-9 data cartridges (eg. Veritas NetBackup claims that this initialisation must be done by the tape library). LTO-9 data cartridges can be mounted manually in the GUI of a TS4500 tape library, but only cartridge by cartridge. This is very painful if there are hundreds of new data cartridges... It can be scripted to mount / unmount all data cartridges, which performs the media optimisation on new data cartridges. So we suggest to add a button "optimize all data cartridges in this library" to the GUI of a TS4500 / TS 4300 tape library. In the background, pressing this button would start the "media optimisation script.

Idea priority High
  • Guest
    Reply
    |     Mar 19, 2025

    Are there plans on this topic to adopt within the library (UI & API) rather than using ITDT, similar to how media verifications works but specific to optimization for new tape media?

  • Guest
    Reply
    |     Oct 26, 2023

    The ITDT documentation can be found here: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/ts4300-tape-library?topic=commands-librarymediaoptimization

  • Guest
    Reply
    |     Oct 26, 2023

    Yes, thanks a lot for taking into account this idea.

    Has the documentation been updated ?

    Is there a new ITDT command associated ?

    Thanks in advance

  • Admin
    CARLOS SANDOVAL
    Reply
    |     Oct 25, 2023

    Now supported by ITDT

  • Guest
    Reply
    |     Sep 13, 2022

    I think this "optimization feature" will be needed for LTO10 and the following generations, too?
    So would be nice if the Lib can support the users by the suggested feature. Perhaps the already implemented "audit tape" functionality can be extended to this "preparation"?

  • Guest
    Reply
    |     Sep 6, 2022

    Great idea! This would have saved me at least two days of investigation and scripting...

  • Guest
    Reply
    |     Sep 5, 2022

    I support the request too! It would be great to have a button in the library that shows all cartridges that are not yet optimized. This with the option to "optimize all unoptimized cartridges" once there is a free drive.

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