Write Errors on Tapes

[Hiten]

Hi,

I am facing issue of write errors on medias on Dell TL4000 LTO6 SAS library. we are using Windows 2k12 OS with TSM version 6.3.4 after writing some data LTO6 tapes marked with write errors. We have suspected issue with media and changed them but on new media also we are getting same issues.

We logged call with dell team who verified dump logs for both drives and library confirmed there is no hardware issue. Any chances of TSM server patch?

 

[Trident]

Hi,
If you run a long read/write test using the diag. Does it pass?

Even though there are no issues with hardware (as the dumps show), it may still be issues with other parts. Mechanical stuff.

You can test a another backup program, just to see if the error occurs there too.

Pathc all system involved. Drive, library, os, tsm.

Check cables. Pull them out and look at all the connectors.

If you are using tapes from the same batch, you may have a bad batch. Try another vendor for tapes.

Good luck in your search for errors.

-= Trident =-

 

[RecoveryOne]

In addition to what Trident posted above:

When were your drives last cleaned?
Also, when were your drives last replaced? I mention that because (as far as I know) cleaning tapes are abrasive. After so many cleanings, there's a good chance that the heads can start to become damaged and start generating write/read errors. This may occur before the library log/drive log report an issue.

 

[Hiten]

In addition to what Trident posted above:

When were your drives last cleaned?
Also, when were your drives last replaced? I mention that because (as far as I know) cleaning tapes are abrasive. After so many cleanings, there's a good chance that the heads can start to become damaged and start generating write/read errors. This may occur before the library log/drive log report an issue.

We are cleaning drives at every 15days. I could not see any issue with cleaning media but something else.

 

[Hiten]

Hi,
If you run a long read/write test using the diag. Does it pass?

Even though there are no issues with hardware (as the dumps show), it may still be issues with other parts. Mechanical stuff.

You can test a another backup program, just to see if the error occurs there too.

Pathc all system involved. Drive, library, os, tsm.

Check cables. Pull them out and look at all the connectors.

If you are using tapes from the same batch, you may have a bad batch. Try another vendor for tapes.

Good luck in your search for errors.

-= Trident =-

We identified issue with OS. The server is in domain and there are some policies getting applied to server. When we took help from Windows admin team identified some 12 policies are applied (Security Policies) hence we disabled all policies for specific server. We removed it from server OU from Active Directory and got results. Almost 15 days gone not a single error on tape. Kindly check below url for more details.

https://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg22009960

 

[RecoveryOne]

We identified issue with OS. The server is in domain and there are some policies getting applied to server. When we took help from Windows admin team identified some 12 policies are applied (Security Policies) hence we disabled all policies for specific server. We removed it from server OU from Active Directory and got results. Almost 15 days gone not a single error on tape. Kindly check below url for more details.

https://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg22009960

Glad you found it! After reading the tech doc I recall some issues with Windows and tape drives. Ran into something like that with a CommVault install I had. But it wasn't causing write errors on tape's it just wouldn't mount period.