> Hi.
>
> We just recently had micrcode upgraded on our 3590B's and have noticed a
few
> things. First, the code on the drive now seems to spit back errors to adsm
> when it sees a tape with media errors. This is all fine and dandy but
> evertime it does this (recognize a bad tape, then mark it read-only) it
> seems ADSM loses its mind and puts the vol in the "IN USE" state. This
> happens to be a known issue with IBM. They recomend recycling the server
and
> have not as of yet made a fix for it. We have over 700 volumes in our
> library and more and more tapes are being marked bad. Quite frankly Iam
> disguted with having to bring down all our apps and have operations
screech
> to halt just becasue of this *retarded* situation. To us this is a VERY
big
> problem. Iam just curious to know how many other ppl have come accross
this.
> Is it just us??
>
>
> Ernie Lim
> Sr. UNIX Consultant
> Highway 407 ETR
> http://www.407etr.com
>
> Here is the APAR in all its glory.
>
>
> APAR NUMBER: IY02438           RESOLVED AS: PROGRAM ERROR
>
> ABSTRACT:
> IY02438: WHEN AN ERROR IS DETECTED ON A TAPE VOLUME (3570 & 3590 DRIVES),
> ADSM MAY NOT RELEASE THAT TAPE: THE VOLUME WILL REMAIN "IN USE"
>
> ORIGINATING DETAILS:
> When ADSM reports that data on a volume needs to be moved to a
> new cartridge due to volume errors, ADSM will continue to hold
> that volume in a state of "in use".  This, in turn, can cause
> any other operations or processes requesting this volume to
> fail.  This problem only affects 3570 and 3590 drives.  The
> following error messages will be seen in the activity log when
> this condition is encountered:
>    ANR8830E Internal 3590 drive diagnostics detect excessive
>             media failures for volume . Access mode is now set
>             to "read-only".
>    ANR8831W Because of media errors for volume , data should
>             be removed as soon as possible.
>    ANR9999D mmslib.c(5108): Entry not found in activity list;
>             lib=ADSM3494, vol=.
>    ANR8468I 3590 volume  dismounted from drive DRIVE1
>             (/dev/rmt8) in library ADSM3494.
>
> LOCAL FIX AS REPORTED BY ORIGINATOR:
> Recycling the ADSM Server will resolve this situation.  It is
> recommended, however, that the data contained on any of the tape
> volumes generating these errors be moved to another cartridge.
>
> RESPONDER SUMMARY:
> ****************************************************************
> * USERS AFFECTED:                                              *
> ADSM AIX, NT, SUN and HP servers with 3570/3590 drives.
> ****************************************************************
> * PROBLEM DESCRIPTION:                                         *
> On 3570/3590 drives, ADSM marks a volume read-only to
> prevent further writes if the internal drive diagnostics
> have detected excessive media failures.  Any other server
> operations that use this volume will not start because
> ADSM believes the volume is still in use.
> If the activity log contains ANR8830E and ANR8831W messages,
> then the customer has encountered this problem.
> ****************************************************************
> * RECOMMENDATION:                                              *
> Apply the PTF when available.
> ****************************************************************
> ADSM allows operations that use a cartridge marked read-only
> to start.  It does not believe the volume is still in use.
>
> RESPONDER CONCLUSION:
> None
>
> TEMPORARY FIX:
> Halt and restart the ADSM server.