Looking for Export/Import Recommendations 1

[mikehiland]

We are transitioning from ArcServe to BE 11d. We use a StorageTek SL500 library with two LTO3 drives in our BE system.

I am looking for advice/recommendations on how others are managing tapes each day. I know we need to export the tapes to go offsite, and then import the new ones to be used.

In ArcServe, the user interface was actually pretty easy to use for this process. The tapes were easily identifiable and the export was simple. Likewise, after placing tapes in the mail slot of the old ADIC library, you would simply Import and that was it.

In BE, I am not sure how to easily identify the tapes to be exported. It seems that we have to gather the tape numbers from the job logs, then select and export them. As the number of jobs grows to nearly ten, that is going to get ugly!

As for importing, it seems that we need to place the new tapes in the mail slots, select a few empty slots and Import. I guess that is not so bad, but it is not as simple as right-clicking the library and telling it to import. Why should I have to pick slots to import into? I don't care what slots are used - right?

Is this correct? I have to create documentation and train the operators and this does not seem as simple as ArcServe. Anyone have other ideas? Am I missing the obvious process?

Thanks in advance for your great ideas!

 

[RobbieD111]

Mike - have to assmue you are using barcodes on your tapes? If so, the library will scan the barcodes & update auto.
There is also a feature in BE called Vaulting, with which you can plan the rotations in & out. It is a little cumbersome to set up but you can do a lot with it.
Rgds
R111

 

[mikehiland]

Thanks R111 - I will look into the Vaulting features!