Manually Creating Partitions

You can manually create partitions any time after the initial configuration of the library. The maximum number of partitions that you can create is equal to the number of tape drives in the library.

You can mix tape drive interface types and media types in partitions that you create manually.

The library must contain at least one unallocated tape drive and one unallocated slot to manually create a partition. If no unallocated tape drives or slots exist, you must modify or delete partitions to free resources. For information on modifying partitions, see Modifying Partitions. For information on how to delete a partition, see Deleting Partitions.

The first SCSI or Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) tape drive assigned to a partition is designated as the control path tape drive by default. If the partition contains only Fibre Channel (FC) tape drives, a control path tape drive is automatically selected only if FC I/O blades are not installed in the library. If FC I/O blades are installed in the library and the partition contains FC tape drives that are directly connected to host applications, you must manually select a drive control path for that partition. Do not select a drive control path for partitions that are connected to an FC I/O blade. For more information about control paths, see About Control Paths.

Before creating a partition, verify that all tape drives are unloaded and all cartridges are in their appropriate storage slot locations. For information on unloading tape drives, see Unloading Tape Drives.

NOTE: This operation should not be performed concurrently by multiple administrators logged in from different locations. You can access the appropriate screens, but you cannot apply changes while another administrator is performing the same operation.

Administrators can manually create partitions. Users cannot manually create partitions.

1. From the Setup menu, select Partitions.

   The Setup - Partitions screen displays.

2. Click Manual.

   The Create Partition screen displays.

3. Type a name to describe the new partition into the Enter Name text box.
   
   

   NOTE: Partition names are limited to 12 lower-case alphanumeric characters and underscores (_).

4. Type the number of slots to assign to the new partition into the Enter Number of Slots text box.
   
   

   NOTE: The library supports barcodes up to 16 characters on tape cartridge labels. However, a 16-character barcode label length may not be printable according to the Code 39 label specifications for the tape cartridge area to which the label is attached. The effective tape cartridge barcode label length, including any media ID, may be limited to a maximum of 12 characters.

5. Library-Initiated Cleaning — Select the options for Automatic Cleaning for the partition as follows:

   • Number of Cleaning Slots — Displays the number of configured cleaning slots. If the number of cleaning slots needs to be modified, you must change the number of cleaning slots in Setup Cleaning Slot Configuration. See Configuring Cleaning Slots.
   • Automatic Cleaning — Select the check box to enable library-initiated automatic cleaning. If host-based cleaning is enabled, clear the check box.
6. From the table, assign one or more available tape drives to the partition by selecting the check box located to the left of the tape drive.
7. Click Apply.
   
   The Progress Window displays. The Progress Window contains information on the action, elapsed time, and status of the requested operation.
   • If Success displays in the Progress Window, the partition was successfully created. Click Close to close the Progress Window.
   • If Failure displays in the Progress Window, the partition was not created.
8. Save the library configuration.

   For instructions on how to save the library configuration, see Saving the Configuration.

See also: