Tape Backup Problems

[wreded]

i searched the archives and couldn't find an answer to this every odd question. i have a Dell 2600 server with 5 18GB drives setup with RAID 5. Along with this system comes a Python Tape B/U unit. i installed Win2003 Server and got most everything configured and tried to back it up to the tape; it wouldn't work. New tape; again, no workie. Looked in Device Manager and there are 8 of the darned things. Back to the manual, BIOS settings: Channel 0 = RAID, Channel 1 = SCSI. Reboot, same thing. Reload, everything's fine, i got a good backup, etc. Proceeded to reconfigure and put DNS, AD, etc. on it (it's a toy at this point, but a learning toy) and try to back it up; 8 darned tape backup units! Anyone have any ideas for this?
Thanks,
Dave

 

[smah]

The first place that I'd look is on Dell's website for updated drivers & firmware for both the controller & the tape drive. It sounds like some confusion between the scsi controller & Windows. Is this tape drive connected to the same controller as the raid array (probably not)?

 

[rjs]

If the tape drive is actually on the RAID controller, then you have much bigger problems in store. I would never, ever put a tape drive on the same controller as my HDs. Even if they are separate channels and even if you get around your current problem, you are headed for disaster.

Just my 2 cents, though it may be worth nothing or a million.

R.Sobelman

http://www.tracklogins.com

 

[jkupski]

I would never, ever put a tape drive on the same controller as my HDs. Even if they are separate channels and even if you get around your current problem, you are headed for disaster.

Just curious, but why do you feel this way? Dell seems to do this all the time if you have an internal TBU and a non-split backplane, and I haven't heard of any problems related to this.

I can see claims of possible performance problems, but "disaster?

 

[LawnBoy]

The Dell servers I buy come with the deck hooked up to a separate SCSI controller. I think rjs meant to never hook a tape deck to a RAID array, and this is what I've always been told.

 

[jkupski]

LawnBoy,

Yeah, having a TBU on the same channel as a RAID array seems like a short path to problemville... but a different channel on the same controller shouldn't be an issue.

By the way, Dell will ship it both ways--if you want a separate controller, they will happily sell you one (take a look at their config tools, and you'll see that every internal TBU has two config options, "with controller" and "without controller") but otherwise they'll just hang the tape off the built in controller whether or not it has a RAID key.

 

[LawnBoy]

Perhaps I'm not understanding something... I thought that the Dell PERCs are stand-alone SCSI controllers with RAID built-in and that they did not occupy a SCSI channel on any controller (since they provide their own for the RAID).

If this is true, do you mean that Dell will hook the disks to one channel of the PERC and the deck to the other PERC channel? That would indeed be running a deck with a RAID controller...

 

[jkupski]

do you mean that Dell will hook the disks to one channel of the PERC and the deck to the other PERC channel?

That's exactly what I'm saying. Dell is perfectly happy to hang a tape drive off the second PERC channel (unless you have a split backplane, obviously.)

 

[rjs]

I still wouldn't put the TBU on the same controller as the hard drive even if it is a separate channel. Doesn't mean you can't, but the cost of a separate controller is minimal. If the same controller is working to read data off the HD and write to the TBU, then you may run into performance issues with both.

Just my humble opinion though.

R.Sobelman

http://www.tracklogins.com