Dear Community members,

I am new to the tape environment, so requesting you all to clarify my ridiculous position.

So, I have a Lenovo Server with a FlashSystem already attached through Direct FC and its working very well.

Now, I am trying to add an existing IBM tape library (TS3100 - 3573) to the same server using HP P212 external SAS adapter. Adapter is showing up, cables connected, non-exclusive latest windows drivers installed and still I can only see 2 tape drives in device management. I cannot see the media changer. I have tried multiple driver packages and its still the same. What am I doing wrong here? Kindly assist.

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Mohamed Marzook
Sr. System Administrator
Regency Technology
Al Sadd
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@Regency Group

Please provide some additional information. What generation LTO drives are in the library? Are you installing both the tape device driver and the media changer device driver? Have you referenced the IBM TS3100 Tape Library and TS3200 Tape Library Setup, Operator, and Service Guide Machine Type 3573 found at https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/system/files/support/ssg/ssgdocs.nsf/0/b6f3d826c87723da85258283006c7059/$FILE/GA32-0545-17.pdf?

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Kevin Butt
IBM, Tape Development Ecosystem
Tape SCSI Architect, T10 Representative
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The library may not show up if you have not defined a logical library in the TS3100 yet. The tape drive that controls the 'robot' will have a control path on it, but it would not be there if there was no library defined.

You should be able to use ITDT tape tools to 'discover' and 'run diagnostics' but of course if there is only tape drives with no tape library in device manager, it still won't be there for ITDT. 

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craig scott
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...and in addition to that: Without logical librarie/s configured you will not be able to perform cartridge management by your backup software because the changer and control path are missing.

Also please make sure that you have the appropriate firmware for library and drives installed before putting it into production.

Many thanks and best regards

Andreas

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Andreas Jochum
Professional Service Teamleiter IBM Storage Südwest
SVA Systemvertrieb Alexander GmbH
Ulm
00491759375891
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Original Message:
Sent: Wed November 06, 2024 09:44 AM
From: craig scott
Subject: TS3100 3573 Tape driver installation in Windows Server 2019

The library may not show up if you have not defined a logical library in the TS3100 yet. The tape drive that controls the 'robot' will have a control path on it, but it would not be there if there was no library defined.

You should be able to use ITDT tape tools to 'discover' and 'run diagnostics' but of course if there is only tape drives with no tape library in device manager, it still won't be there for ITDT. 

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craig scott
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Hi there,

It sounds like you've done a thorough setup! If the tape drives are visible but the media changer isn't, this could be due to the driver compatibility with the media changer component. Here are a few things to try:

1. Check Device Manager: Ensure there are no hidden devices under "Unknown Devices" that might be the media changer. Sometimes it shows up there when drivers don't fully install.

2. Update SAS Adapter Firmware: Make sure the HP P212 firmware is up to date, as outdated firmware can sometimes cause detection issues.

3. IBM-Specific Drivers: Some users have had success using IBM's specific media changer drivers rather than generic ones, as compatibility can vary.

Hopefully, one of these helps-let us know how it goes!

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Hary Stan
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Dear All,

Thanks for all the responses, I have eventually fixed it by uninstalling all the drivers and re installed. now the media changer is getting recognized, and all is good. Thanks.

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Regency Group
Sr. System Administrator
Regency Technology
Al Sadd
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