WINDOWS 1002000 PROFESSIONAL RESOURCE KIT [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Administering Removable Storage

Systems with a few stand-alone drives and a single Removable Storage-aware application usually require no Removable Storage administration. Systems with more complex configurations, such as those with tape or optical disk libraries or with multiple Removable Storage-aware applications, do require administration, however. There are also rare cases in which a Removable Storage-aware application requires some administration on a system with a simple configuration.

For information about drives and robotic libraries that are supported for use with Windows 2000, see the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) link on the Web Resources page at http://windows.microsoft.com/windows2000/reskit/webresources. Each supported robotic library has its own configuration method and options. See the HCL for the proper configuration settings for all supported drives and robotic libraries.

Installing and Configuring Removable Storage-aware Applications

Removable Storage-aware applications usually can perform any Removable Storage configuration or setup that they need when they are installed. If such an application requires an application media pool, for example, the pool must be created and the permissions set at the time the application is installed.

Some applications use their own format or labeling scheme. For Removable Storage to correctly process on-media identifiers (OMIDs) on the sides that are written by these applications, it requires a special dynamic-link library (DLL) file that can read the label and determine the OMID. Such a DLL is called a media label library (MLL), and the client applications that use them must install them.

Preparing Media

Most applications draw available cartridges from the free pool. Placing cartridges in the free pool is also called "preparing" the media, and it must be done either by a Removable Storage-aware application or by an administrator. If your Removable Storage-aware applications do not prepare media automatically, you might have to use Removable Storage to do so manually. You can prepare media in the unrecognized pool, and if you are certain that the cartridges contain no useful data, you can prepare media in the import pool. You can also prepare available cartridges in application pools, but Removable Storage does not prepare allocated media.

To prepare a tape, in the Removable Storage console, right-click the media in the details pane, and then click Prepare.

Controlling the Service

Removable Storage is configured to start when you start your computer. Although you can change the service to be started manually, this is not recommended because starting the service manually creates problems with several applications that are included with Windows 2000, such as Backup. As with other Windows 2000 services, Removable Storage can be stopped, started, and restarted by means of the service control manager.

Device Configuration

Removable Storage relies on Plug and Play to tell it what devices are attached to a system, but it must match drives with robotic libraries. If Plug and Play indicates that a robotic library is attached to a system, Removable Storage reviews the list of drives that are also attached and detects which ones are inside the robotic library and which ones are stand-alone drive libraries. If the rules for autoconfiguration are followed, Removable Storage can do this mapping entirely on its own; if these rules cannot be followed, you must manually map drives to robotic libraries.

Auto-Configuration

Removable Storage auto-configures robotic libraries if the following are true:

Robotic library hardware units support drive element address reporting with the small computer system interface (scsi) command ReadElementStatus. Consult the manufacturer to find out whether your library hardware unit supports this feature.

All drives inside a robotic library are on the same SCSI bus as the library.

Because not all library hardware units and system configurations support the auto-configuration feature, Removable Storage provides a method for manually configuring library hardware units. However, use this method only when it is necessary because Removable Storage cannot detect manually configured changes. In general, configure Removable Storage manually only when it detects a robotic library that it cannot configure. After you set it for manual configuration, a changer cannot be autoconfiguration even if its configuration is changed.

In most cases, Removable Storage starts autoconfiguration after you install, move, or remove hardware. This happens automatically when you restart after adding a device. For changers that cannot be auto-configured, Removable Storage adds incomplete registry entries and generates an operator request for manual configuration.

To manually configure removable storage

You must complete all of the following steps to manually configure Removable Storage:

Stop Removable Storage.

Back up the Removable Storage database by copying the files in %SystemRoot%System32NtmsData to a secure temporary folder.

Restart Removable Storage. Removable Storage displays all drives that are not mapped to a changer as stand-alone drive libraries, including ones that are actually in the changer but are unmapped.

Empty all drives on your system.

Place a cartridge in a drive in the library that you are trying to configure, either by opening the library door or through a front panel and IE port. (See your changer's documentation for details about how to do this.) In the console, click Refresh for each stand-alone drive, and then find the drive that shows that it contains cartridges. On the Device Info property page, note the device name. Complete this step for each drive in the changer that you are trying to configure.

From the Start menu, click Run, and then type one of the following:

regedt32.exe

– Or –

regedit.exe

Click OK.

CAUTION

---

Do not use a registry editor to edit the registry directly unless you have no alternative. The registry editors bypass the standard safeguards provided by administrative tools. These safeguards prevent you from entering conflicting settings or settings that are likely to degrade performance or damage your system. Editing the registry directly can have serious, unexpected consequences that can prevent the system from starting and require that you reinstall Windows 2000. To configure or customize Windows 2000, use the programs in Control Panel or Microsoft Management Console (MMC) whenever possible.

In the Removable Storage configuration information in the registry subkey HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetServicesNtmsSvcConfig, create a REG_DWORD entry called AutoCfg and set the value to 0.

Stop Removable Storage.

The Config subkey contains a subkey for each changer (such as Changer0) and a subkey for each stand-alone drive. Each changer subkey contains an entry for each drive bay in the changer, such as DriveBay0.

For each drive bay entry that has the value "???", replace that value with the device name (without any initial "" or "." characters—for example, "Tape3") of the drive in that bay.

Close the registry editor.

Restart Removable Storage. Removable Storage reads the new configuration information and initializes the devices. After Removable Storage is initialized, mount a cartridge in each drive in the library.

If a configuration is incorrect, Removable Storage generates an error message either during initialization or when the cartridge is mounted.

If Removable Storage does not generate any error messages, the manual configuration was successful.

If the manual configuration was unsuccessful, stop Removable Storage. Copy your backup version of the Removable Storage database files back to the %SystemRoot%System32NtmsData folder to restore the database, and restart the manual configuration process.

The snap-in can be started from the storage node in Computer Management or directly from the command line, by running Ntmsmgr.msc. It allows you to perform several tasks, including inserting and ejecting media, setting inventory methods, and cleaning drives.

Inserting and Ejecting Media

Removable Storage uses a library's IE port or door for inserting and ejecting cartridges. When you use a door access to enter or remove cartridges, consult the property page for the library and the documentation for the changer to determine the proper slot numbers. Most changers label each slot clearly, but some do not.

CAUTION

---

If during a door access you exchange cartridges in libraries that do not have bar codes, run a full inventory after you complete the door access. The change is not detected by a fast inventory, and an identity mismatch occurs the next time a cartridge in the slot is mounted.

Table 18.5, Table 18.6, and Table 18.7 show the results of moving CD media, tape media, and optical/rewritable media among the media pools.

NOTE

---

Because CDs are read-only, Removable Storage does not allow them to be placed in the free pool.

CDs appear in the unrecognized pool only if they are formatted with a file system that Windows 2000 does not recognize. For more information about Windows 2000 file systems, see "File Systems" in this book.

Table 18.5 Moving CD Media Among Media Pools

Table 18.6 Moving Tape Media Among Media Pools

Table 18.7 Moving Optical/Rewritable Media Among Media Pools

Inventories

There are two types of inventories, fast and full. You can set the default inventory method in the library's property page in the Removable Storage console.

NOTE

---

In the Removable Storage console, all nodes beneath Physical Locations, except Off-line Media, are considered libraries.

A fast inventory checks for slot state changes between full and empty. If the Removable Storage database indicates that a slot has a cartridge in it, but the fast inventory shows that it no longer has a cartridge, Removable Storage marks the cartridge that was in the slot as offline. If a slot was empty and is now full, Removable Storage identifies the cartridge in the slot. Slots that remain full are assumed to contain the same cartridge. Full inventory actually identifies each cartridge. This can take time, unless the cartridges have bar code labels. A full inventory of bar code–labeled cartridges reads only the bar codes. A full inventory of cartridges that are not bar coded reads the on-media identifier on each cartridge in the library.

Cleaning Drives

Some drives, especially tape drives, require periodic cleaning. A light on the front of the drive usually indicates whether a drive is dirty; a dirty drive can cause most I/O operations to fail. In most circumstances, a drive detects that it is dirty while a Removable Storage client application is running. How the client application handles this situation is usually described in the documentation for that application; for some changers, Removable Storage can clean the drive automatically after the application has finished using it.

In the Removable Storage model of device maintenance, each library unit can contain one cleaner cartridge. There is a wizard available through the console, which you can use to insert a cleaning cartridge into each library that supports automatic cleaning.

Removable Storage maintains a usage count for each cleaner cartridge. When a cleaner reaches its maximum usage count, Removable Storage generates an operator request. If the administrator ejects a cleaner cartridge before it has reached its maximum usage count, Removable Storage displays the usage count information. To see the remaining number of available cleanings without ejecting the cleaner cartridge, right-click the media pool that contains the cleaner cartridge and select Properties. Click the Media tab; the remaining number of cleanings available is displayed.

CAUTION

---

Problems occur if Removable Storage attempts to identify a cleaning cartridge as a regular cartridge. These problems might appear if the database becomes inconsistent or is restored from an old backup. Most drives treat cleaning cartridges differently from regular cartridges, and this behavior can cause error messages that make it appear as if Removable Storage or the library is malfunctioning. Never start Removable Storage for the first time with a cleaning cartridge in the library or attach a new library that has a cleaning cartridge inside. In both cases, Removable Storage performs a full inventory of the library, which includes trying to identify each cartridge. In addition, never insert a cleaning cartridge by using the same mechanism that is used for ordinary cartridges. If there is any doubt about the consistency of the Removable Storage database, remove the cleaning cartridges from the attached libraries.

Work Queue Items

You can use the property page for the work queue item to control how long completed and failed work queue items are retained. You can set the work queue to retain failed items to investigate problems. The property page for each failed item shows the reason for the failure.

During startup you might see a number of canceled work queue items. If there are work queue items still queued when Removable Storage is shut down, they are canceled the next time Removable Storage starts.

Operator Requests

The two available methods for making an operator request are Windows 2000 Messenger Service and a system tray icon. When the messenger service is selected, an message appears whenever there is an operator request. Make sure that the Messenger Service is running if this option is selected, and then open Removable Storage to view the operator request queue.

If the system tray method is selected, a system tray icon appears whenever there is an outstanding operator request. Clicking the system tray icon displays the Removable Storage snap-in operator requests node that is used to refuse or complete requests. All operator requests must be completed or refused.

The property page of the operator request node in Removable Storage allows you to set how long to retain completed and failed (including canceled) operator requests. It also provides buttons that can be used to process deleted, completed, and failed operator requests immediately. The Default button deletes all requests that are specified by the controls on the properties sheet; the Delete all now button deletes all completed and failed requests.

Library and Drive States

A library is online while it is operating and connected to the computer that is running Removable Storage. A library is not present if it is not operating or if it is disconnected from the computer. Both robotic and stand-alone libraries can be either online or not present. If a library is removed, delete the library from Removable Storage manually. Removable Storage does not delete libraries automatically in case the library is disconnected inadvertently or temporarily.

Drives in offline libraries are offline, but cartridges in offline libraries are considered online because they reside in a library. Offline media physical locations, then, are different from offline libraries.