Re: Scratch tape questions

I always say, "The only naïve/stupid/dumb question you have is the one you 
don't ask." 

1.) Previously answered by Mr. Stapleton

2.) There are ways to manually audit (and I have done this) the various entries 
for TSM Tapes. Tapes are either in the DRMEDIA inventory and offsite, onsite 
and used by a storage pool, offsite and unused or onsite and unused.  This is a 
complex process and must be approached carefully. But very doable!!! Contact me 
if you desire additional information.

3.) Run an SQL SELECT statement to list your environment's tape inventory. I 
like to look at volumes used by STGPOOL as well as TSM Library inventory levels.
    A: Volumes used by STGPOOL:
         select stgpool_name,devclass_name,count(*) as VOLUMES from volumes 
group by stgpool_name,devclass_name
         NOTE: This will list volumes for ALL device classes, not just tape.
    B: TSM Library inventory:
         select count(*) as Volumes,status,library_name,owner,last_use from 
libvolumes group by library_name,owner,status,last_use
         NOTE: This will report volumes used in a TSM Library sharing 
environment. If NOT in library sharing, you may have to alter accordingly.
      
Watch your stgpool volume utilizations from #3.a and your scratch count 
availability from #3.b. Hopefully, you are able to maintain a healthy scratch 
count. If not, these queries will let you know. You could also add a report to 
show reclamation opportunities by storage pool to assist determining where to 
focus your reclamation efforts.

John G. Talafous
Berbee Information Networks
john.talafous AT berbee DOT com
http://www.berbee.com


-----Original Message-----
From: ADSM: Dist Stor Manager [mailto:ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU] On Behalf Of 
Dave Zarnoch
Sent: Friday, May 13, 2005 12:35 PM
To: ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU
Subject: [ADSM-L] Scratch tape questions

I hope these aren't  "naive" questions.....


1 - How do I know if there are any tapes at the offsite storage that should be 
onsite and be available for scratch?

This includes DB backups and normal backups.


2 - How would I tell if TSM is actually processing tapes correctly?

(e.g.) From vault --> vault retrieve  --> courier --> courier retrieve



3 - How do I know if reclamation is actually increasing the scratch count?



Thanks!

DaveZ