This section lists considerations for managing tape inventory. For more details, see Use of space on archive tapes.
• The system uses only one tape drive at a time for archiving. You can connect more than one tape drive; however, the other tape drive or drives must be disabled. You can switch between them, as long as only one of them is active.
• An individual archive set can be written across multiple tapes. For multi-tape archives, all tapes configured for the archive job must be present to restore data.
• All tapes configured for a given archive job must be rotated as a set.
• To restore from tapes without barcodes, archive media must be loaded into the same slot position as when the archive was written.
• It is strongly recommended that you develop a labeling system to help you manage tapes that do not have barcodes. Prior to pulling a tape without a barcode, note its slot number. When you pull a set of tapes, be sure to physically label each tape with the slot number and other identifying information for speedy recovery.
• Prior to pulling a tape with a barcode, go to Archive > Media and click Tape Library at the bottom of the screen. You can view slot numbers, barcode numbers, and other information. When you pull a set of tapes with barcodes, the system automatically recognizes the barcodes when you insert the tapes back into the library. (See To view the tape library and tape locations .)
• If your tapes have barcodes, there are no special procedures when performing a restore. The system automatically uses the barcode during the restore process. If you have moved tapes with barcodes to different slots, the system reads the barcodes and determines the correct location of the tapes.
• For UEB systems, the tape device must be SCSI and the UEB VM must be running on ESX(i) 4.1, due to limitations in VMware.