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IBM TS4300 With HH FC drives not connecting directly an HPE server

  • 1.  IBM TS4300 With HH FC drives not connecting directly an HPE server

    Posted Mon April 03, 2023 10:06 AM


    Hello, Team

    So, I am currently on this deployment it is an IBM TS4300 tape library with HH FC drives.

    The OS is windows server 2019 installed on HPE ProLiant gen 9 server. I have a fiber card with 2 Ports on the server. These ports are meant to connect directly to the tape drives, so, I can view the tape drives or tape devices on my device manager on the server, so, I can make use of it for backup with commvault.

    The card on the HPE does not blink when connected to the tape drives with fiber cables, but blinks when connected to a switch. The tape drive blinks when plugged to the switch, too.

    I just want the server to be able to connect directly to the tape drives on the library and allow server discover them locally on device manager.

    The drives are HH FC and are supposed to connect directly to the server via fiber cable.



    ------------------------------
    Mubaraq Opeyemi Kolawole
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: IBM TS4300 With HH FC drives not connecting directly an HPE server

    Posted Mon April 03, 2023 10:00 PM

    The support matrix at IBM SSIC web page, at https://www-50.ibm.com/systems/support/storage/ssic/interoperability, shows that TS4300 with LTO HH drive supports the direct attachment by specifying;

    "IBM System Storage LTO Ultrium Tape" in Storage Family field
    "Fibre Channel" in the Protocol field
    "Direct Connection" in SAN or Networking field
    "TS4300 (3555) with Ultrium 9 HH Drives" in Storage Model field  ... pick the tape drive generation which you have.

    I believe you need either Emulex or QLogic HBAs.



    ------------------------------
    TAKESHI ISHIMOTO
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: IBM TS4300 With HH FC drives not connecting directly an HPE server

    Posted 3 days ago

    Hello Team,

    I'm working on a similar setup for one of our clients who wants to connect an IBM TS4300 Tape Library directly to the server.

    We have a Dell R660 server equipped with two FC slots, each with two ports. The adapters are Emulex LPe35002-M2-D 2-Port 32Gb Fibre Channel adapters.

    I was trying to locate the support matrix link to confirm whether an additional card is required, or if we can use the existing adapters for this setup.

    Additionally, could you please confirm if any utility or software needs to be installed on the Windows Server for the tape library to be detected?

    Would appreciate your guidance and any documentation you can share on this.

    Best regards,
    Ankur



    ------------------------------
    Ankur Bhargava
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: IBM TS4300 With HH FC drives not connecting directly an HPE server

    Posted yesterday

    Hello Ankur,

    from a discovery perspective, there is no need for an additional utility or software. 

    From an opoerational perspective i would suggest to install the according IBM Tape Device Driver

    How does the port configuration for the tape drives within the TS4300 look like? (Speed / Port Type)

    I assume there is a missmatch between the tape drives and the FC ports within your server.



    ------------------------------
    Uwe Schreiber
    System Engineer / Solution Architect
    SVA System Vertrieb Alexander
    Wiesbaden
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: IBM TS4300 With HH FC drives not connecting directly an HPE server

    Posted 15 hours ago
    Edited by Gustavo Padilla 15 hours ago

    Hello Ankur,

    This is the link for the supported configurations IBM System Storage Interoperation Center (SSIC) 

    I used TS4300 with LTO 9 just to confirm the Emulex LPe35002 was supported, and indeed it is supported.

    You forcefully need the IBM Tape Driver for Windows for the Library to be detected and used, which can be downloaded from Fix Central IBM Support: Fix Central - Select fixes

    And you may need the Emulex HBA driver as well.



    ------------------------------
    Gustavo Padilla
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: IBM TS4300 With HH FC drives not connecting directly an HPE server

    Posted 12 hours ago

    @Ankur Bhargava All drives prior to LTO-10 operate at 8GFC. Also, all 32 GFC does not support Loop (NL-port or L-port). Make sure the drive ports are configured for N-Port connectivity. That would be the most likely issue.



    ------------------------------
    Kevin Butt
    IBM, Tape Development Ecosystem
    Tape SCSI Architect, T10 Representative
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: IBM TS4300 With HH FC drives not connecting directly an HPE server

    Posted 11 hours ago

    @Kevin Butt Thank you!

    I had to change the drive's settings from Automatic to Fabric, and that's when it got detected in Windows Server. Now I need my Windows server to talk back up the VLAN, which would need connectivity for this. I need additional HBAs for those servers to talk to the switch, which is the next steps. 

    Regards 

    Ankur



    ------------------------------
    Ankur Bhargava
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: IBM TS4300 With HH FC drives not connecting directly an HPE server

    Posted Tue April 04, 2023 01:59 AM

    Please provide the generation of the drives. Also, what is the configuration of the HBAs? Not just the manufacture and product name, but the HBA settings as well.



    ------------------------------
    -----------------------------------
    Kevin Butt
    IBM, Tape Development Ecosystem
    Tape SCSI Architect, T10 Representative
    ------------------------------------
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: IBM TS4300 With HH FC drives not connecting directly an HPE server

    Posted Tue April 04, 2023 03:04 AM

    Hello, @kevin_butt

    Thank you for your response.

    It is a CNA (HPE FlexFabric 10Gb 2-port FLR-SFP+ 57810S Adapter) and the drives are Ultirium 7 HH FC.



    ------------------------------
    Mubaraq Opeyemi Kolawole
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: IBM TS4300 With HH FC drives not connecting directly an HPE server

    Posted Tue April 04, 2023 11:11 AM

    Hi,

    I'm not an HP expert, but the adapter you have stated appears to be a TCP/IP network adapter not a Fibre Channel HBA. It can use fibre cables but for the TCP/IP protocol not FCP. You will need to install a dedicated FC HBA to connect to the tape drives in the TS4300.

    Hope this helps.

    Regards
    Darren



    ------------------------------
    Darren Sanders
    Technical Architect - Data Protection & Storage
    Celerity Ltd

    http://www.celerity-uk.com
    www.linkedin.com/in/darren-sanders-a8770a4
    #ibmchampion storage
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: IBM TS4300 With HH FC drives not connecting directly an HPE server

    Posted Tue April 04, 2023 11:26 AM

    @Mubaraq Opeyemi Kolawole Please follow the instructions related to searching the SSIC that @TAKESHI ISHIMOTO provided. As @Darren Sanders stated, you are attempting to connect an Ethernet network adapter to a Fibre Channel port on the drive.



    ------------------------------
    -----------------------------------
    Kevin Butt
    IBM, Tape Development Ecosystem
    Tape SCSI Architect, T10 Representative
    ------------------------------------
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 12.  RE: IBM TS4300 With HH FC drives not connecting directly an HPE server

    Posted Tue April 04, 2023 03:04 AM

    Do you use a 1 to 1 cable or a crossed one?



    ------------------------------
    Martin Haussmann
    SE
    TD SYNNEX
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 13.  RE: IBM TS4300 With HH FC drives not connecting directly an HPE server

    Posted 23 hours ago

    Hi Mubaraq,

    The Switch you mention it's a SAN Switch or a LAN Switch? If it's a SAN switch, have you try connect the Tape Library to the Server trough the SAN Switch?



    ------------------------------
    Alexandre Figueiredo
    IBM Power Solution Architect
    ARROW ECS
    Lisboa
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 14.  RE: IBM TS4300 With HH FC drives not connecting directly an HPE server

    Posted 22 hours ago

    Hello Alexandre,
    I think this issue was resolved within the last two years.



    ------------------------------
    Nezih Boyacioglu
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 15.  RE: IBM TS4300 With HH FC drives not connecting directly an HPE server

    Posted 22 hours ago

    Hello Nezih,

    two days ago, Ankur Bhargava posted a question, because he has some problems with a similar setup.

    This is the cause we received a notification for this thread.



    ------------------------------
    Uwe Schreiber
    System Engineer / Solution Architect
    SVA System Vertrieb Alexander GmbH
    Wiesbaden
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 16.  RE: IBM TS4300 With HH FC drives not connecting directly an HPE server

    Posted 20 hours ago
    Edited by Nezih Boyacioglu 20 hours ago

    Oh, I thought it was another "bounced-back topic" too. :)



    ------------------------------
    Nezih Boyacioglu
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


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