                        Robot Inventory and Update

The following operations assist the management of volumes in a robot:
       - Show Robot Contents
       - Compare Contents with Volume Configuration
       - Update Barcodes for a Robot
       - Update Volume Configuration
       - Configure Barcode Rules

Show Robot Contents
  Inventory a selected robot and display a report indicating the robot's
  usable contents.  For most robot types, this is on a slot-by-slot basis.
  For the ACS, TLH, and TLM robot types, it is a list of volume serial
  numbers and their associated vendor media types.

Compare Contents with Volume Configuration
  Inventory a selected robot and display a report showing differences
  between the contents of the robot and the volume database.

Update Barcodes for a Robot
  Checks the barcodes of selected volumes and updates the volume database,
  if necessary.  Use this selection (from the Actions menu) only for 
  filling in barcodes that are missing from the volume configuration.

Update Volume Configuration
  Inventory a selected robot and update the contents of the volume database
  to match the robot's contents.  See below for a detailed overview. 

Configure Barcode Rules
  Create, change, delete, or list barcode rules.  Barcode rules are used
  for defining certain characteristics of new media when updating the robot
  volume configuration.  See the Barcode Rules dialog and associated help
  information from the Barcode Rules selection on the Robots menu.


                     Inventory and Update Robot Selection

  When "Use Inventory to Update Volume Configuration" is selected from the
  Robots menu, a new dialog will appear, entitled "Robot Inventory".  When
  "Robot Inventory" is selected from the Reports menu, a new dialog will
  appear, entitled "Robot Inventory Report".  For both of these dialogs,
  when any existing inventory-capable robots (appearing in the volume 
  configuration), will be presented in a list.  For each robot in the list,
  the robot number, robot type, and robot host are displayed.  For robots
  under the sole direct control of robot vendor software packages (including
  ACS and TLM) which allow connections from multiple servers, the robot host
  will appear as NONE since the robot is controlled through the network.  To 
  choose one of these robots, make the appropriate selection and choose one 
  of the inventory operations.  (For TLH robot types, there is still a specific
  robot host, since library control is limited to a few platforms.)

  If an ACS robot is chosen, a dialog will appear prompting you to enter
  the robot host name.  Enter the host on which the robot is configured in
  Media Manager-- do not enter the ACSLS host name (unless they are the same).
  Similarly, if a TLM robot is chosen, you will be prompted for the robot
  host name.  Enter the host on which the robot is configured in Media Manager--
  do not enter the DAS server name.

  If you want to perform an inventory operation on a new robot, select 
  "Robot on Host" and enter the name of the host on which the robot has been
  configured, followed by a carriage return.  Then, select the robot.

  If you are selecting a robot from a specific host for initial population
  of media in the volume database, any new robots selected must have a unique
  robot number, since robot number uniqueness is enforced when media is added
  to the volume configuration.  If the robot number is already used for another
  robot, you will need to reconfigure one of the robots (Delete Robot, Add 
  Robot) in the device configuration (xdevadm) on the robot's host.

  To return to the list of robots already appearing in the volume 
  configuration, select "Existing Robots".


                           Robot Inventory Dialog

  The "Use Inventory to Update Volume Configuration" selection from the Robots
  menu of xvmadm will bring up the "Robot Inventory" dialog, with all robot
  inventory operations enabled, including:
        - Show Robot Contents
        - Compare Contents with Volume Configuration
        - Update Volume Configuration
  In addition, the "Robot Inventory" dialog can be brought up by selecting
  "New -> Use Robot Inventory" from the Actions menu.  Alternatively, the 
  "Robot Inventory" selection from the Reports menu of xvmadm will bring up 
  the "Robot Inventory Report" dialog, in which only the "Show" and "Compare"
  selections are enabled.

  The "Robot Inventory" dialog also includes a button which will bring up
  the "Update Options" dialog, which is used to set and display specific 
  options for updating the volume configuration.  For more information, see
  below in the section "Update Options".

  To take advantage of barcodes with "Update Volume Configuration", you may
  want to configure barcode rules before initiating the update.  See the 
  Barcode Rules dialog off the Robots menu and its associated help for more
  information.

  By default, the "Update Volume Configuration" is interactive.  This mode 
  allows you to accept or reject proposed changes to the volume configuration
  when the inventory is complete, before any database updates are made.  You
  will be prompted only one time to accept or reject changes, since individual
  changes have dependencies (for instance, moving media to non-robotic before
  trying to add new media to the same robot slot).  Deselect the "Interactive"
  toggle if you want the changes to be made without being prompted.

  Results from the robot inventory operations appear in the main section of
  the "Robot Inventory" dialog.  The results can be saved to a file, or
  cleared by using the buttons provided.


                       Update Volume Configuration Overview

  The "Update Volume Configuration" operation is used for performing an 
  inventory of a robot, and updating the contents of the volume database to
  match the robot's contents.

  The database update is based on the use of a robot's inventory capability.
  Robots with or without barcode capabilities and media with or without
  readable barcodes are supported, though certain assumptions must be made
  for media with missing or unreadable barcodes.  The Update Volume 
  Configuration operation handles the following situations:

     (1)  Existing media has been removed from the robot.
     (2)  Existing media has been moved into the robot.
     (3)  Existing media has been moved within the robot.
     (4)  New media has been added to the robot.

  These situations will lead to the following actions:

     (1)  The media's residence will be updated to reflect the new 
	  non-robotic location.  The new volume group is that which was
	  supplied in the box labeled "Assign to Volume Group" under
	  the "Media which have been removed from the robot" section of 
	  the "Update Options" dialog.

     (2)  The media's residence will be updated to reflect the new robotic
	  location, including robot host, number, type, and slot location.
	  The new volume group is that which was specified in the box 
	  labeled "Assign to Volume Group" under the "New Media and Media
	  which have been moved into or within the robot" section of the
	  "Update Options" dialog.  The Update Volume Configuration 
	  operation acts upon a single robot's volume configuration, so 
	  volumes configured in different robots are ignored.

     (3)  The media's residence will be updated to reflect the new robotic
	  location, including robot host, number, type, and slot location.
	  The new volume group is that which was specified in the box 
	  labeled "Assign to Volume Group" under the "New Media and Media
          which have been moved into or within the robot" section of the 
	  "Update Options" dialog.  For robots that do not support barcodes
	  and for media with missing or unreadable barcodes, the media entry
	  in the database is updated to reflect the new non-robotic location,
	  AND a new media entry is created.  Both actions (change to non-
	  robotic and new media creation) are necessary because without the
	  barcode, there is no efficient way to differentiate between the 
	  replacement of media and moved media.

     (4)  A new media entry is created.  The new media ID is generated from
	  the last six characters of the barcode, if one exists.  For robots
	  that do not support barcodes and for media with missing or
	  unreadable barcodes, the media ID may be generated from a seed,
	  based on the "Media ID Prefix".  The new media ID is assigned to
          the Volume Pool specified in the "Update Options" dialog, or to
          the NetBackup pool as the default. 


                               Update Options

  The "Update Options" dialog is used for selecting options for an "Update
  Volume Configuration operation.  Bring up the options dialog by selecting
  the Update Options button from the "Robot Inventory" dialog.

  Options pertaining to media which have been removed from the robot:

	Assign to Volume Group

		This selection brings up a list of volume groups that are 
		valid for the media type that was selected, in addition to 
		entries for no volume group, specification of a new volume 
		group name, and auto-generation of a new volume group name.
		This volume group is used for media moved out of a robot.
  		If the media type is DEFAULT, a media type compatible with
		the robot's type is used to obtain a list of current volume
		group names.  If the volume group is DEFAULT, auto-generation
		will be used to create the new volume group name.

  Options pertaining to new media and media which have been moved into or within
  the robot:

	Assign to Volume Group

  		This selection brings up a list of volume groups that are 
		valid for the media type that was selected, in addition to 
		entries for specification of a new volume group name, and 
		auto-generation of a new volume group name.  This volume 
		group is used for new media and media moved within the robot.
		If the media type is DEFAULT, a media type compatible with 
		the robot's type is used to obtain a list of current volume
		group names.  If the volume group is DEFAULT, auto-generation
		will be used to create the new volume group name.

	Media ID Prefix

  		The update may require use of a prefix for generation of 
		new media ID's, for cases where the robot does not support 
		barcodes, or for media with missing or unreadable barcodes.
		This selection brings up a list of media ID prefixes to 
		choose from, in addition to entries for use of an internal 
		default, use of no prefix, and specification of a new media 
		ID prefix to use.  The list of prefixes comes from 
		MEDIA_ID_PREFIX entries in the Media Manager configuration 
		file, /usr/openv/volmgr/vm.conf, on the current host.  If the
                Media ID Prefix is NOT USED, the update may fail, depending
                on specific situations including non-barcode-capable robots
                and movements involving media with missing or unreadable
                barcodes.  The "Use Platter Side in Media ID" and "Label 
                Optical Media" selections are not applicable when the Media
                ID Prefix is not used, and only apply to robots which support
                optical media. 

	Media Type Mappings

		For some types of robots (ACS, TLH, and TLM), the robotic 
		inventory returns a media type for each volume serial number
		indicating the volume media type according to vendor software.
		For ACS robots, ACSLS (Automated Cartridge System Library
		Software) media types are returned.  For TLH robots, IBMATL
		(IBM Automated Tape Library) media types are returned.  For
		TLM robots, EMASS DAS (Distributed AML Server) media types
		are returned.  These various vendor media types need to be
		mapped into Media Manager media types.  This is accomplished
		through the use of media type mappings.

		Default media type mappings can be established in the Media 
		Manager configuration file (vm.conf) on the current host. 
		(See the Media Manager System Administrator's Guide for more 
		information.)  If the Change button is selected, the current 
		media type mappings will be displayed in a new dialog. From this
		dialog, you can determine which Media Manager media type should 
		be used for each vendor media type. Select Close when the 
		changes are complete. The selected mappings will be retained 
		while a single robot remains selected.

	Use Platter Side in Media ID

		Media ID's generated for optical media have associated media 
		ID partners.  If "Use Platter Side in Media ID" is set to YES,
		media ID's will be generated in the format "xxxxxA" and 
		"xxxxxB", representing the two sides on an optical platter,
		where "xxxxx" consists of the Media ID Prefix and auto-generated
		numbers.  If set to NO, the platter side will not be coded into 
		the media ID.

	Label Optical Media

		This option is used only for robots with optical media. Before
		new optical media can be used, it must be formatted, or labeled.
		There are three options for labeling optical media:
			- Yes, but do not overwrite the old labels
			- Yes, overwrite as needed
			- No

	Use Barcode Rules

  		The Update Volume Configuration operation may use barcode
                rules or ignore them.  The "Use Barcode Rules" choices are 
                YES and NO.  If set to YES, barcode rules previously defined
                will be searched in the event media are added or moved.
                Barcode rules serve as a method to differentiate new media 
                added through the update process.  Any new media added to a
                robot matching a defined barcode tag will get assigned a media
                type, volume pool, maximum number of mounts (or cleaning 
                count), and description.  If set to NO, the barcode rules will
                be ignored.  Barcode rules are not used when moving existing
                media into a robot.

	Media Type

		This selection brings up a list of media types that are valid
                for the robot.  If the media type is DEFAULT, the robot's type
                will be used to determine a default media type.  If a specific,
                non-cleaning, media type is selected and Barcode Rules specify
                to assign a cleaning media type, the rule's media type will be
                used.  Otherwise, the media type from the Update Options will
                override media types contained in barcode rules.  For ACS, TLH,
		and TLM robots the DEFAULT media type should be used, so that
		vendor media types can be mapped into Media Manager media types
		according to media mappings.

	Volume Pool

		This selection brings up a list of Volume Pools to which any
                new media added to a robot will get assigned.  If the Volume
                Pool is DEFAULT, media will be added to the "NetBackup" volume
                pool.  If a Volume Pool is specified, it will override any
                Volume Pool information in the Barcode Rules.  The volume pool
                that existing media is assigned will be affected by this option.

