Verify tape library compatibility
Updated: May 13, 2016
Applies To: System Center 2012 R2 Data Protection Manager
To verify tape library compatibility do the following:
If the tape is listed in the Windows Server Catalog in the Hardware, Storage section, and is shown as compatible with Windows 2008 64-bit, or Windows 2008 R2 64-bit it will probably work with DPM. Note that any driver incompatibilities with Windows 2012 would need to be addressed by the vendor.
If you already have a tape you can run the DPM Tape Library Compatibility Test tool.
Run the compatibility tool
To check tape libraries with DPM 2012, run the tool as follows:
Download the Download DPM Tape Library Compatibility Test Tool.
Extract the files in the compressed folder to a folder on your computer.
Before you run the tool, do the following:
Check your target tape library and tape drives are visible in Device Manager.
Insert a read/write data tape in slot 0. The contents of this tape will be overwritten.
Insert a cleaning tape in slot 1. The tapes must be in consecutive slots, failing which there should be no tapes in the slots between the tapes. The data tape is in a slot preceding the cleaning tape.
Open an elevated command prompt, and navigate to the folder to which you extracted the tool.
To check that the tape is visible to the tool, type
DPMLibraryTest.exe /CERTIFY /LL. Then certify as follows:To certify a tape library, type
DPMLibraryTest.exe /CERTIFY /TL <tape library name> /ATTo certify a standalone tape drive, type
DPMLibraryTest.exe /CERTIFY /TL <device name> /SA
The tool runs the following tests:
Test 1: Basic configuration—Scans the system for attached devices, and identifies standalone tape drives and tape libraries. The tool provides a summary at the end of the test. For each device you’ll see a Device Name, Serial Number, Vendor Name, Product Name, Firmware Revision, and SCSI properties. You should verify that the summary information is correct. If it isn’t:
Check all devices are listed in Device Manager.
Ensure that device drivers are up-to-date.
If the drive mappings are incorrect, use the DPMDriveMapping.exe tool in the <DPM installation folder>/bin folder to correct the mappings. If you don’t have DPM installed on the computer, copy the DPMLA.xml that DPMDriveMapping.exe creates to the folder to which you extracted the Tape Library Certification tool.
Test 2: Mount/dismount—This test selects a tape from the first available slot and performs a mount///dismount of the tape to and from a drive.
Test 3: Drive cleaning—This test performs a cleaning test using the cleaning tape. If you are using Firestreamer to a VTL where you can’t remove or change tapes, use the /ST flag syntax to skip this test.
Test 4: I/E media—This test selects the first available tape and moves it to the I/E port and back. If your library/VTL doesn’t have I/E ports, the tool will automatically skip the test.
Test 5: I/O—This test selects the first writable tape, writes a few buffers to it, and then attempts to read what’s been written. This test only checks read/write capabilities. Any specific errors in the drive should be inspected using the advanced mode.
After the tool completes the test, log information will be provided in the LibraryTestTool-*Curr.errlog files located in the folder from which you ran the tool. If the tests complete successful you can assume your tape library should work with DPM 2012.
Run the compatibility tool for Hyper-V Fibre Channel
Update 3 for DPM 2012 R2 introduced support for the Hyper-V Virtual Fibre Channel for backup to tape. If you’re using this check compatibility as follows:
Prepare two Hyper-V hosts running Windows Server 2012 R2 with DPM 2012 R2 with Update Rollup 3 installed.
Enable live migration on both the servers. A clustered deployment isn’t required.
Run the compatibility tool on the first host server, as described in the section above, and verify that tests complete successfully.
Initiate live migration to the second host server and wait for it to complete.
After DPM is running virtually on the second host server, run the compatibility tool on that host server, as described above, and verify that tests complete successfully. If the tests pass you can assume that the tape library will work with DPM 2012 R2 running updated rollup 3.
Tool syntax and examples
The syntax for the tool is:
DPMLibraryTest.exe /CERTIFY /<switch_1> [/switch_2]
| Switch | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| /LL | List available tape libraries and drives. | List all available libraries: DPMLibraryTest.exe /CERTIFY /LL |
| /LT | List all test cases. | |
| /TL | Test a particular library. | |
| /AT | Run all test cases. | Run all tests on the physical library: DPMLibraryTest.exe /CERTIFY /TL \\.\Changer0 /AT |
| /ST | Run specific tests. | Run tests 3 and 4 on a physical library: DPMLibraryTest.exe /CERTIFY /TL \\.\Changer0 /ST 3 4Run all tests except cleaner test: DPMLibraryTest.exe /CERTIFY /TL \\.\Changer0 /ST 1 2 4 5 |
| /SA | Run standalone drive test cases. | Run standalone drive test: DPMLibraryTest.exe /CERTIFY /TL \\.\Tape21745678 /SA |
| /EX | Show examples. | |
| /Help or /? | Show help. |