ADSM-L

[ADSM-L] Client fails with "Server media mount" when no drives are available

2008-06-18 18:19:38
Subject: [ADSM-L] Client fails with "Server media mount" when no drives are available
From: "Schneider, John" <John.Schneider AT MERCY DOT NET>
To: ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:18:25 -0500
Greetings,
    I am trying to understand the behavior I am seeing in a Lanfree
client.  This is a TSM 5.3.5.0 Lanfree client, with a TSM 5.3.4.0 AIX
client, connecting to a TSM 5.4.2.0 AIX server.  The TSM server in turn,
is a library client, and gets it's tape mounts from another TSM 5.4.2.0
server acting as the library master for a virtual tape library.  
    The lan-free client is configured to write it's data to a virtual
tape device.  Sometimes, because of the number of simultaneous clients
running, all the virtual tape drives happen to be in use, and the TSM
server produces:
 
06/17/08 21:08:05     ANR8447E No drives are currently available in
library     
                       CDL-LIB1. (SESSION: 4856)

06/17/08 21:08:08     ANR9790W Request to mount volume *SCRATCH* for
library    
                       client EPCTLF01 failed. (SESSION: 4856)    
 
The device class for these tape libraries are set for a mount wait of
120 minutes?  How come the mount fails right away when there aren't
enough tape drives?  Why doesn't it wait the 120 minutes, which would be
plenty of time.
 
On the client side, we get:
 
06/17/08   21:08:09 Normal File-->     7,340,032,000
/tsmprdsgf/epic/prdsgf03/er
1ept01/CACHE.DAT  ** Unsuccessful **
06/17/08   21:08:09 ANS1228E Sending of object
'/tsmprdsgf/epic/prdsgf03/er1ept0
1/CACHE.DAT' failed
06/17/08   21:08:09 ANS1312E Server media mount not possible
 
06/17/08   21:08:34 Normal File-->     1,048,576,000
/tsmprdsgf/epic/prdsgf03/er
1fsd/CACHE.DAT  ** Unsuccessful **
06/17/08   21:08:34 ANS1114I Waiting for mount of offline media.
06/17/08   21:09:06 Retry # 1  Normal File-->     1,048,576,000
/tsmprdsgf/epic/
prdsgf03/er1fsd/CACHE.DAT [Sent]
06/17/08   21:09:40 Normal File-->     1,048,576,000
/tsmprdsgf/epic/prdsgf03/er
1inp/CACHE.DAT [Sent]

 
If you look at the log, a single file fails to backup because of a
"Server media mount not possible", which eventually causes the whole
backup to fail with a RC=12.  But notice that only 30 seconds later,
another stream in the backup needs a virtual tape drive, and one happens
to be available, and the tape mount works and the rest of the backup
proceeds.
 
Is something in my setup missing?  Why is it a mount fails when there
aren't enough tape drives?  Why doesn't the client just go into
MediaWait status, and sit tight until a tape drive frees up?  Does the
Lan-free configuration have something to do with it?  There are lots of
times with our "real" IBM3584 library when there aren't enough tape
drives to go around, and TSM processes wait until one frees up.  What is
different here?
 

Best Regards,

John D. Schneider 
Lead Systems Administrator - Storage 
Sisters of Mercy Health Systems 
3637 South Geyer Road 
St. Louis, MO  63127 
Phone: 314-364-3150 
Cell: 314-486-2359 
Email:  John.Schneider AT Mercy DOT net

 
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