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Managing remote storage media

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Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Managing remote storage media

Remote Storage supports all SCSI class optical disk or 4mm, 8mm, and DLT tape libraries. Using Remote Storage with Exabyte 8200 tape libraries is not recommended. Remote Storage does not support QIC tape libraries.

All tapes or magneto-optical disks used by Remote Storage exist in a single application media pool. This pool is automatically created at the completion of the Remote Storage Setup wizard. You must select the appropriate media type to be used for remote storage in the Remote Storage Setup wizard. The media type you specify cannot be changed later.

Verify that sufficient tapes or disks have been moved to a free media pool so that Remote Storage can use the tapes if needed. You cannot move media from the Remote Storage media pool to another application media pool.

Offline media are tapes or disks that are not currently inside a library and are therefore inaccessible by Remote Storage. Since these tapes or disks remain in the same media pool, Removable Storage is responsible for tracking their location. For information on Removable Storage, see Removable Storage.

If a file that has been copied to remote storage is currently on offline media, you will receive a message from Removable Storage to manually insert the applicable tape or disk. If you do not do so within a couple of minutes or so, the recall will fail.

Note

  • Remote Storage is optimized for copying large files. If a managed volume has many small files that are eligible for copying to remote storage, the data transfer rate may not match the rating given for the tape library.

Creating media copies

Remote Storage can back up the data on tapes or disks that it uses. The original tape or disk collection used to hold all files copied from local storage is called the media master set. Remote Storage can automatically create copies from the media master. The collection of copies for a media master is called a media copy set. You can specify up to three media copy sets. For information on how to set the number of media copy sets, see Set the number of media copies.

Notes

  • Files that are copied to remote storage are not protected by mirroring or striping. The only way to obtain redundancy for data in remote storage is to create copies of your media masters.

  • Media copies can be created only if two drives are available for use in a tape library.

Remote Storage will first use available tapes or disks in the Remote Storage media pool, then use tapes or disks from a free media pool, for media copies. The free media pool is a collection of unused media that can be used when there is not enough storage space available in the Remote Storage media pool.

Synchronizing media copies

You should update, or synchronize, media copies on a regular basis. This ensures that data on a media copy matches that on the media master. Synchronization updates media copies for all the media masters; however, you can only synchronize one media copy set at a time. Files cannot be managed or recalled while a media copy set is being synchronized, even if additional drives are available. For information on how to synchronize media copies, see Synchronize media copies.

Media copies can be synchronized later as needed if they are removed from a library.

Recreating the media master

When data on a media master becomes corrupted or is lost, Remote Storage can recreate the media master using data from a media copy. For information on how to recreate the media master, see Recreate the media master.