Recommended NetBackup level for Sun StorageTek SL8500.

Asset ID:	1-73-1019537.1
Update Date:	2010-09-02
Keywords:

Solution Type FAB (standard) Sure

Solution 1019537.1 : Recommended NetBackup level for Sun StorageTek SL8500.

Impact

NetBackup operations could be impacted when running on the SL8500 if NetBackup is not at the current level.

NetBackup Mount and Dismount issues reported at several customer sites. NetBackup 6.5.1 is highly recommended.

Contributing Factors

SL8500 running embedded code 3.9x or higher.

Symptoms

NetBackup intermittently downs drives and is unable to mount and dismount to drives attached to the SL8500.

Root Cause

No Sun in-house testing of NetBackup below 6.5.1 on the current level of library embedded code 3.9x.

Corrective Action

Workaround:

No workaround available - see Resolution section below.

Resolution:

Customers running NetBackup on the SL8500 should upgrade to Netbackup 6.5.1.
Reference the following URL for Upgrade information;

http://isvcore.central/twiki/bin/view/PartnerPage/NetBackup

Comments

NBU 5.1 will operate with SL8500 at embedded code level 3.97/3.98b within the limitations imposed by NBU 5.1. The Engineering position is summarized in the notes below. Strongly advise customers to upgrade to NBU 6.1 or higher. Sun engineering will not spend resources on investigation or code changes to SL8500 specific to improving SL8500 operation with NBU 5.1.

NBU/SL8500 Test History and Status:

1. NetBackup 5.1 was the initial version that supported SL8500. There has
     been limited testing of SL8500 with NetBackup 5.1 since SL8500 code
     version 3.11C and no testing on NBU 5.1 in 3 years by Symantec or Sun.
2. The only tested versions of NetBackup with current SL8500 embedded
     code 3.97 or 3.98b is NetBackup 6.5.1.
3. The very first version of NBU that included changes specific to SL8500
     operation was NBU 6.1.
4. The bulk of changes in NBU specific to improving operation with SL8500
     were introduced in 6.5.1.
5. Our experience has been that NBU 6.5.1 does a better job of managing
     dismount activity and therefore is less likely to expose the customer
     to relying on error recovery to dismount a tape.

Recommendation For Sites Below NBU 6.5.1:

Before upgrading to the 3.9x library code levels review the library event log for "601 Drive not unloaded for fetch" errors, which is an indication the library is performing dismount recovery. If the customer is running NBU below 6.5.1 recommend the drive mappings be checked by the system administrator and "MEDIA_UNMOUNT_DELAY" parameter in NBU be set to 8 minutes (480 seconds) for 3.97 code and 6 minutes (360 seconds) for 3.98B code. This may have a negative impact on mount/dismount throughput, but that will help circumvent the issue of abandoned tapes. The permanent resolution is to have the customer upgrade NBU to version 6.5.1 or higher.

For information about FAB documents, its release processes, implementation strategies and billing information, go to the following URL:

http://tns.central/fab

For Sun Authorized Service Providers go to:

http://tns.central/SPE/fab/

In addition to the above you may email:

FAB-Manager@sun.com

Internal Contributor/submitter
Bruce.Mcdonald@Sun.COM, Richard.Kim@Sun.COM

Internal Eng Responsible Engineer
Jared.Woodard@Sun.COM Responsible Manager: Steven.P.Johnson@Sun.COM

Internal Services Knowledge Engineer
Joe.Davis@Sun.COM

Internal Eng Business Unit Group
NWS (Storage)

Internal Sun Alert & FAB Admin Info
15-Aug-2008: Completed draft and sent to Extended Review.
19-Aug-2008: ongoing discussion on why this is not Sun Alert, what is the CR, how is 6.5.1 upgrade delivered, why the 5.1 patch not been obsoleted if eng does not support that rev?
05-Sep-2008: met w/team and determined this issue does not meet Sun Alert criteria and will move forward with publishing this FAB after a rewrite and quick review.
09-Sep-2008: contributer approved final draft - sending to Publish.

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