> -----Original Message-----
> From: EMC NetWorker discussion 
> [mailto:NETWORKER AT LISTSERV.TEMPLE DOT EDU] On Behalf Of George Sinclair
> Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 2:09 PM
> To: NETWORKER AT LISTSERV.TEMPLE DOT EDU
> Subject: [Networker] Question on manually cleaning drive?
> 
> Hi,
> 
> Question here on using manual operations to clean a drive, 
> e.g. inventory.
> 
> When a drive on our tape library indicates that it needs to 
> be cleaned 
> (red led light), I usually run sjimm (or mtx) and move the 
> cleaner tape 
> from a designated slot into the device; it cleans, ejects, and then I 
> run the same command to move it back to the designated slot - 
> all well 
> and fine.
> 
> HOWEVER, what if a NW administrator needs to clean a drive, but they 
> don't have permission to run sjimm or mtx to manually move a 
> tape into a 
> drive? Obviously, they can just open the door to the tape library and 
> manually insert the tape into the drive, but I was wondering if they 
> could simply inventory the slot (from NW) that the cleaning 
> cartridge is in?
> 
> I'm thinking that they can't use 'load' or 'load without 
> mount' because 
> both of these options will expect there to be a label on the 
> tape or at 
> least expect it to be a known NW volume before it loads it, which a 
> cleaner is not. On the other hand, they could do an 
> inventory, but when 
> a cleaner tape is inserted into a drive, the drive 
> automatically ejects 
> it when it's done cleaning, but NW will also want to tell the 
> drive to 
> eject the tape when it's done inventorying it, so I'm 
> thinking NW might 
> wait, and then try to eject it, but it won't be able to because the 
> drive will have already ejected it, and an 'invalid argument' error 
> might result? At that point, the operator wouldn't be able to 
> move the 
> tape back to the slot since it's not completely in the drive.
> 
> 
> -- 
> George Sinclair
> Voice: (301) 713-3284 x210
>>>>>>>>>>>>
OK, I have to ask.  Why do have to manually clean a drive?  You have a tape 
library.  There are 2 auto-cleaning possibilities here - let the library handle 
the cleaning or let networker handle the cleaning.  I've only ever had to 
manually clean a stand-alone tape device in the last 6 years.

Patti Clark
DOE/OSTI

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