i have gotten this as well, and the only consistency i have seen is that it
seems to happen after some sort of tape error -- usually a write operation.
this would seem to be consistent w/the documentation that you included. it
is pretty touchy if you ask me, but it is still a nice feature if given the
choice between a job completing and stopping part way.

michael brooks ............................... michaelb AT sequoiains DOT com
Network Administrator ........................ 831.657.4539 phone
Sequoia Insurance Company .................... 831.657.4512 fax


-----Original Message-----
From: Ballinger, John M [mailto:john.ballinger AT PNL DOT GOV]
Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2003 8:54 AM
To: NETWORKER AT LISTMAIL.TEMPLE DOT EDU
Subject: [Networker] 6.1.3 "service mode" for a tapedrive ?


> What causes NetWorker 6.1.3 to set a device "Enabled" config attribute
> to "service mode". (It seems like every night it's setting a number of
> drives in our Scalar 1000 DLT8000 library to "service mode") In the
> past we'll occasionally see a drive automatically disabled but now
> more drives are automatically going to "service mode". Will it always
> do this where it used to automatically set it to "disabled". Will it
> ever automatically set it to "Yes"  from service mode?
>
> From the product announcement letter on version 6.1.3:
>       Q. Describe the new > "> service mode> ">  option for disabling a
device?
>       A. For NetWorker versions prior to 6.1.3, NetWorker takes immediate
action when you disable
>       a tape device. This can have negative results if the device is in
active use performing a backup
>       or recovery. To avoid this situation, users need to make their
request when the device is idle.
>       With version 6.1.3, NetWorker queues the > "> request to service> ">
the drive and automatically
>       disables the device the instant the drive becomes available. Thus if
a tape drive is actively
>       performing a backup or recovery, NetWorker will not disable it until
the save/recover operation
>       is complete. Very nice!
>
> and from the Release Supplement for 6.1.3:
>       Service Mode Added to Enabled Device Resource (LGTpa48832)
>       The Enabled attribute in the Device Resource window has a new
Service mode. Prior
>       to release 6.1.3, the Enabled attribute had two modes: Yes and No.
>       Service mode is different than the Disabled attribute because the
nsrmmd process is
>       not stopped. No more sessions will be assigned to the device once it
is placed in Service
>       mode. If the device was active when switched into Service mode, the
current sessions
>       will complete and the volume (if in a jukebox) will be unloaded.
>       This mode takes the drive out of the pool for drives that the
NetWorker software is able
>       to automatically select. The drive is available for manual
operations specifically
>       selected using the -f option (the NetWorker Administrator program
already does this).
>       Note: Load/mount operations cannot be performed on devices in
> Service mode.
>
> thanks - John
>
> Battelle - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
> Richland, WA  99352
>
> 509-430-9255  Cell
>

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