Once provisioned, SME provides transparency to hosts and targets. To manage the paths from hosts to tape devices, SME uses the following:
• Tape group—A backup environment in the SAN. This consists of all the tape backup servers and the tape libraries that they access.
• Tape device—A tape drive that is configured for encryption.
• Tape volume—A physical tape cartridge identified by a barcode for a given use.
• Tape volume group—A logical set of tape volumes configured for a specific purpose. Using SME, a tape volume group can be configured using a barcode range or a specified regular expression. In an auto-volume group, a tape volume group can be the volume pool name configured at the backup application.
SME provides the capability to export a volume group with an encryption password. This file could later be imported to a volume group. Also, volume group filtering options provide mechanisms to specify what type of information will be included in a specific volume group. For example, you could filter information in a volume group by specifying a barcode range.
Figure 1-4 shows the SME tape backup environment.
Figure 1-4 SME Tape Backup Environment and Configuration
The following concepts are used in tape management procedures:
Note If data is written to a partially non-SME encrypted tape, it is left in clear text. When a tape is recycled or relabeled, the tape will be encrypted by SME.