Quantum AMASS User Manual
Infinite File Life
AMASS Version 5.3
August 2002
6-00323-01 Rev A
Trademark Notice
ADIC, AMASS, CentraVision, DAS, DataMgr, FileServ, and VolServ are either
trademarks or registered trademarks of Advanced Digital Information Corporation. All
other product names and identifications are trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective owners.
Copyright Notice
© 1996-2002 ADIC® All rights reserved. This document is the property of ADIC. No part
of this document may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system,
or translated into any language or computer language in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual, or otherwise, without the
express written permission of:
ADIC
11431 Willows Road, NE
PO Box 97057
Redmond, WA 98073-9757 USA
Phone: 425-881-8004
FAX: 425-881-2296
U.S. Government Rights Restricted
Use, duplication, or disclosure of either the software or documentation is subject to
restrictions set forth by the U.S. Government in FAR 52.227-19(c)(2) and subparagraph
(c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS 52.2277013 and/or in similar or following clauses in the FAR, DoD, or NASA FAR Supplement.
Technical Assistance
ADIC Technical Assistance Center:
• In the USA and Canada, call 1-800-827-3822.
• Outside the USA and Canada, call 303-874-0188 or toll-free 00800-9999-3822.
• Send e-mail to: support@adic.com.
Documentation
Although the material contained herein has been carefully reviewed, ADIC does not
warrant it to be free of errors or omissions. We reserve the right to make corrections,
updates, revisions, or changes to the information contained herein.
READER COMMENT FORM
ADIC includes this Form in an effort to provide the best possible documentation to our
customers. Please take a few moments to mail or FAX your response to:
ADIC
Technical Publications
8560 Upland Drive
Englewood, CO 80112
FAX: 303-792-2465
Email: techdocs@adic.com
Question Circle One
Information was complete. Agree Disagree
Information was easy to find. Agree Disagree
Information was easy to follow. Agree Disagree
like
or
Is there anything you especially
dislike
about the organization, presentation,
or writing in this manual?
Book Title Document Number
Customer Name Telephone
E-mail Address
Company Name
Address
City, State, Zip
Notes
AMASS Infinite File Life
Contents
Preface
Purpose of This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P-3
Who Should Read This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P-3
How This Book is Organized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P-3
Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P-4
Introducing Infinite File Life 1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-5
Life Cycle of an IFL Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-7
Database Schema . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-10
Reference Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-12
Optional Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-13
Supported Tape Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-14
Installing And Using Infinite File Life 2
Installing IFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-3
IFL Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-4
Introducing Data Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-4
Creating Reference Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-4
Validating Drives for Use With IFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-7
6-00323-01 Rev A Contents v
Daily Operational Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-8
Infinite File Life Commands 3
IFL Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-3
drivechk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-4
Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-5
mqverify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-6
Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-7
vhextract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-10
Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-10
vmlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-13
Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-13
Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-14
volmedia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-15
Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-16
Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-19
volreplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-20
Configuring Infinite File Life 4
Default IFL Configuration File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Parameters Defined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-4
Command Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
mqverify Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
volreplace Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-5
Debug Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
vi Contents 6-00323-01 Rev A
Media Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-7
Description of Media Parameter Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-8
Processing Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-9
Description of Processing Parameter Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-10
Threshold Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-11
Generic Threshold Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-11
Description of Generic Threshold Parameter Values . . . . . . . . . . . .2-12
Drive-Specific Threshold Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-14
AIT Threshold Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-14
DTF Threshold Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-15
Index
6-00323-01 Rev A Contents vii
viii Contents 6-00323-01 Rev A
Preface
AMASS Infinite File Life
NOTES
P-2 Preface 6-00323-01 Rev A
AMASS Infinite File Life
Purpose of This Book
Who Should Read This Book
How This Book is Organized
This book provides a summary of the Infinite File Life
functionality within AMASS, ADIC’s Archival Management
and Storage System.
This book is written for the system administrator who will be
installing and using Infinite File Life for AMASS.
This book contains the following chapters:
Chapter 1: Introducing Infinite File Life
Discussion of Infinite File Life including architecture,
implementation, features, and supported drives.
Chapter 2: Installing and Using Infinite File Life
How to install and use Infinite File Life.
Chapter 3: Infinite File Life Commands
Description of Infinite File Life Commands.
Chapter 4: Configuring Infinite File Life
How to configure Infinite File Life.
Index —
6-00323-01 Rev A Preface P-3
AMASS Infinite File Life
Conventions
The conventions used throughout the AMASS technical books
are listed below:
Convention Example
The word “library” usually includes “jukebox”
and “standalone drive” and is a generic way to
reference a storage device.
Screen text, file names, program names, and
commands are in Courier font.
The root prompt is shown as a number
symbol.
What you should type in is shown in Courier
bold font.
Site-specific variables are in a Tim es italics
font.
A backward slash ( \ ) denotes the input is
continued onto the next line because the
printed page is not wide enough to
accommodate the line.
If using HP SunSpot jukeboxes, install patch
1234.
Request to add a new volume:
Volume group will be “20”
Volume position will be “A123”
# su root
bulkinlet 1,2-10,21,23
tar -xvf tapedevicename
# rsh nodename -n dd \
if=/cdrompath/amass/load.tar\
bs=20b | tar xvBfb - 20
(Type the entire command without the
backward slash.)
Pressing <Return> after each command is
assumed.
A menu name with an arrow refers to a
sequence of menus.
P-4 Preface 6-00323-01 Rev A
Edit Policy —> Add Library
1
Introducing
Infinite File
Life
Introducing Infinite File Life
NOTES
1-2 Introducing Infinite File Life 6-00323-01 Rev A
Introduction
Introducing Infinite File Life
The AMASS Infinite File Life (IFL) feature automatically
manages volatile media over an extended period of time.
Figure 1-1 gives an overview of AMASS IFL.
Figure 1-1 AMASS IFL Overview
6-00323-01 Rev A Introducing Infinite File Life 1-3
Introducing Infinite File Life
A volume is created and normal read and write operations are
performed on this volume. Statistics are gathered and checked
against configurable thresholds to determine if a volume needs
to be verified or replaced. Verification involves validating
suspect blocks on the volume or the complete volume
depending on how IFL is configured. If the verification fails, the
volume is replaced by copying all of the volume’s content to a
new volume. Therefore, an AMASS volume has an Infinite File
Life.
The statistics gathered include:
• Requests that succeed after one or more retries
• Requests that fail completely
• Requests that are recovered by the drive
• Age of media
• Blocks with errors
• Mounts
• Bytes read
• Bytes written
• Risk associated with a particular type of media
The error detection information for a failed or recovered I/O
request requires little additional processing time.
1-4 Introducing Infinite File Life 6-00323-01 Rev A
Architecture
Introducing Infinite File Life
Figure 1-2 shows the AMASS IFL Architecture.
Figure 1-2 AMASS IFL Architecture
6-00323-01 Rev A Introducing Infinite File Life 1-5
Introducing Infinite File Life
The purpose of IFL is to track the quality of an AMASS volume
over time. Operations such as loads/unloads reads/writes are
part of normal AMASS functionality. When errors occur during
these Normal Operations, the events are recorded in the
AMASS IFL database tables.
AMASS IFL uses two commands to validate IFL volumes. The
volmedia command is used to calculate volume scores used in
determining if a volume needs to be replaced. The mqverify
command also reads blocks, suspect or as specified, from
volumes that have been determined to need verification.
When an IFL volume has been marked for replacement, the
AMASS volreplace command is used to replace the volume.
Space Pool volumes are used as replacements.
Database tables are used to track IFL volumes over time. The
database tables track media characteristics and specific error
events associated with a volume. Refer to the Database Schema
section of this chapter for a complete description of database
tables.
Various commands are provided to extract information from the
IFL databases. This includes vhextract, vmlist, and options to
volmedia command. For further information on these and other
commands, refer to Chapter 3.
To use a drive for IFL volume verification, we use the drivechk
command. This consists of using a new piece of media added
into the Media Verification (MV) volume group, and then
performing reads/writes to assure that the drive is functioning as
expected. The command does generate a file for each drive that
mqverify uses to determine which drives can be used to verify
IFL volumes.
1-6 Introducing Infinite File Life 6-00323-01 Rev A
Life Cycle of an IFL Volume
Figure 1-3 describes the various life cycle states of an IFL
volume.
Introducing Infinite File Life
Figure 1-3 AMASS IFL Volume State
6-00323-01 Rev A Introducing Infinite File Life 1-7
Introducing Infinite File Life
When a volume is created via the volnew command, it’s state is
Unverified. Normal read/write operations then occur for this
new volume. If an error occurs the errors are recorded, but the
state is not changed. The nightly IFL crontab will execute a
“volmedia –r” command which checks for factors that have
exceeded thresholds. If verification thresholds have been
exceeded, the volume state is changed to Verification due. If
replacement thresholds have been exceeded, the volume state is
changed to Verification failed.
When the volume state is Verification due, mqverify will verify
the volume. If the Verification is successful, mqverify will
change the state to Verification current. If the verification was
unsuccessful, mqverify will mark the volume as Verification
failed.
When the volume is in Verification current state, normal
read/write operations proceed and if any errors occur, they are
recorded. Again, the nightly IFL crontab will execute a
“volmedia –r” command which checks for factors that have
exceeded thresholds and will change the volume state to
Verification due or Verification failed.
When a volume is in the Verification failed state, two things can
happen. If volreplace is configured to automatically replace
failed volumes, through the IFL Configuration File, then the
volume will be copied to another volume from the space pool. If
volreplace is not configured to automatically replace volumes,
then the AMASS administrator must manually set the volume
state to Replacement due. Once the volume state is
Replacement due, it will be copied to another volume by
volreplace.
The ifldaily script generates files that list the volumes in various
states. The files can be emailed to an AMASS administrator
allowing the administrator to easily track volumes within
AMASS IFL.
1-8 Introducing Infinite File Life 6-00323-01 Rev A
Introducing Infinite File Life
Note that the volmedia command allows a user to get to
numerous states regardless of the current state.
Additional states defined for an IFL volume include:
State Description Action
A Volume is absent, it is not
physically in the library.
N Volume is nonresident in the
library because it is normally
stored offline. For example, in
offsite fire storage.
RA Reference Volume
belonging to the MV (media
verification) volume group.
X Volume is excluded from
being used by IFL.
Bring the volume physically
into the library and put it
online
Must be retrieved from
storage prior to use;
returned to storage
afterwards
No action
No action
6-00323-01 Rev A Introducing Infinite File Life 1-9
Introducing Infinite File Life
Database Schema
Figure 1-4 describes the database schema for Infinite File Life. This consists
of four tables that are located at /usr/filesysdb/vol. In addition to the
individual tables, there are sets which describe relationships between tables.
Figure 1-4 AMASS IFL Database Schema
The vol_media table is used to track individual volumes within IFL. This
table includes a volume serial number (volsernum) which identifies a
specific cartridge for its lifetime whether the media is present in the
automated library or if the media has been outlet from the library and has
been moved to off-line storage. The volume serial number is usually the bar
code label.
1-10 Introducing Infinite File Life 6-00323-01 Rev A
Introducing Infinite File Life
Any volume present before IFL was installed is added to the
vol_media table as it is encountered during normal I/O
processing. AMASS makes sure the correlation between the
IFL volume serial number in the IFL databases and the unique
volume number assigned by AMASS remains current.
The error_block table is used to record blocks that have errors.
This table is populated when errors are encountered during
normal AMASS operations. The mqverify command then reads
this table to find the blocks that had errors and need to be
verified.
The mh_event and mh_log_sense tables are used by mqverify to
record sense data obtained during the verification process.
The amassbackup and amassrestore commands also give the
ability to back up and restore these IFL databases. For a
description of these commands, refer to the Command
Reference chapter in Managing the AMASS File System.
6-00323-01 Rev A Introducing Infinite File Life 1-11
Introducing Infinite File Life
Reference Volumes
A Reference Volume is "good" fresh-out-of-the-package media.
Assign these Reference Volumes to the media verification (MV)
volume group with the AMASS volnew command.
Reference Volumes are used to validate a drive for use with IFL.
In addition, Reference Volumes can determine whether a failure
is caused by deteriorating media or by a bad drive.
Tip
(1) For a definition of volume groups, see Volume Groups Defined
in the Managing the AMASS File System.
(2) For information on using volnew, refer to the Command
Reference chapter in the Managing the AMASS File System.
1-12 Introducing Infinite File Life 6-00323-01 Rev A
Loading...