Nick

My 3584 libraries are set to autoclean and I see these messages in
the AIX error log and the act log also. Have you checked the display
on the drives(either physically looked or with the web client)? If
the drive needs cleaning it will display a message. Also, check the
cleaning cartridge(s). You should see the number of cleanings
increase over time. So, I just keep an eye on the number of cleanings
and replace when the limit is reached (usually 50 cleans is the limit).

Rick

At 10:08 AM 9/13/2013, you wrote:

After three years in a data center in which actual physical tapes were
forbidden, I'm now doing penance in a smaller data center using a
honest-to-god 3584 with ALMS.

To my surprise, I'm seeing entries in an AIX 6.1 error report that some of
my tape drives need cleaning, and I'm finding corresponding ANR8914I
messages in my activity log. This makes me fear that the ALMS automated
cleaning isn't happening. (The first alternate proposal is that I'm
expecting too much.)

If it matters, we're using 3592 drives, not LTO drives. Also, TSM 6.2 on
AIX 6.1.

Is this a sign that we need to update our 3584 microcode? Is there some
interaction between the 3584 and AIX that prompts the 3584 to notify AIX
instead of just quietly cleaning the drive?

(I'm so happy that DataDomain's 3584 emulation didn't strive to match these
nuances....)

Nick