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Virtual Tape Library User Guide

Automated Tape Caching


Overview
Automated Tape Caching enhances the functionality of VTL by acting as a cache to
your physical tape library, providing transparent access to data regardless of its
location.
With Automated Tape caching, tapes will always appear to be inside virtual libraries
and will be visible to the backup application regardless of whether the data is
actually on disk or tape. This means that the backup application will always have
direct access to data regardless of whether the data is on disk or on physical tape.
Automated Tape Caching also provides advanced flexibility that allows you to set up
policies that automatically trigger data migration to physical tapes based on criteria,
such as the number of days that data has been on disk or the amount of used disk
space.
With Automated Tape Caching, you can not only determine which events will
activate the action, but also when it will occur. For example, you can set the policy to
migrate the data immediately or at a specific time or day. This enables data to be
written to physical tapes as a background process without impacting production
servers.
You can also set up a reclamation policy that allows you to specify how and when
the data that has been migrated to physical tape can be deleted from the disk to
make space for new backups.
In order to use Automated Tape Caching, you must enable the feature for your
virtual library, set your migration and reclamation policies, and create a cache for
each of your physical tapes. You may have done this during the initial setup wizard
when you first launched VTL or when you first created a virtual tape library. If you
want to add Automated Tape Caching to an existing virtual tape library, follow the
instructions in the next section.

Note: You can use Automated Tape Caching or Auto Archive/Replication on a


virtual tape library, but not both. Enabling Tape Caching on a library for which you
previously selected Auto Archive/Replication will disable those features on all
tapes in the library.

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Tape caching policies


A tape caching policy contains the data migration triggers and reclamation triggers
for a virtual tape library. The tape caching policy affects how data will be read/written
from/to tapes.
Scenario 1: Data on virtual tape. Data not written to physical tape.
If the data has not been written to physical tape, reads will be from the virtual tape.
Writes will either append or rewrite the virtual tape.
Scenario 2: Data written to physical tape. Virtual tape not reclaimed.
If the data has been written to physical tape but is still retained on the virtual tape,
reads will be from the virtual tape. Writes to the tape will either append or rewrite the
virtual tape (and restarts the clock on the migration policy).
Scenario 3: Data written to physical tape. Virtual tape reclaimed.
If the data has been written to physical tape and the virtual tape has been reclaimed,
reads will be directly from the direct link tape. A direct link tape is not an actual tape
but a link to a physical tape. If you overwrite the beginning of the tape, VTL will
create a new virtual tape, which breaks the direct link tape and restarts the clock on
the migration policy. If you try to append to the tape, VTL will append data on the
physical tape.

Create/change a tape caching policy


To create or change a tape caching policy:

1. Right-click a virtual tape library and select Automated Tape Caching.

2. If necessary, select the Enable Automated Tape Caching check box.

3. On the Data Migration Triggers tab, select the type of data migration triggers that
you want to set.
Data migration triggers control when data in the cache will be copied to physical
tape.

Note: Regardless of which triggers you set, there must be at least 1 MB of


data on the tape in order to trigger data migration.

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For Time Based triggers, specify when data migration should actually occur.

Hourly Data Migration Schedule - Migration occurs every n hours.


Daily Data Migration Schedule - Migration occurs at a specific time of day. Type
the hour and minute (in 24-hour format) in the box. Note that if the trigger occurs
past the specified time, the migration will occur at that time on the next day.
Weekly Data Migration Schedule - Migration occurs on a specific day of the
week. Specify the day of the week from the list and type the hour and minute (in
24-hour format) in the text box. Note that if the trigger occurs past the specified
time, the migration will occur at the next scheduled day and time.
For Policy Based triggers, determine what criteria will trigger migration.

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If multiple triggers are set, select And if all the triggers must be met to initiate
data migration or select Or if meeting any one of them will initiate data migration.
For example, if you select both Migrate data after and Disk Capacity Based, and
you select And, data migration will occur only when both the specified number of
days/hours has elapsed and the specified disk capacity has been reached. If you
select Or, the occurrence of either one of those events will trigger the data
migration.
Migrate data after - Migration will occur when the data has been on the virtual
disk for a specified number of hours or days. Specify the desired number of
hours/days in the list box.
Disk Capacity Based - Migration will occur when the used disk space exceeds
the specified disk capacity. The actual percentage is a global variable which is
set for all virtual tape libraries. To change the number, right-click Virtual Tape
Library System in the tree, click Properties, and type the desired percentage in
the Tape Caching Policy Disk Capacity Migration Threshold box.

Note: The Tape Caching Policy Disk Capacity Threshold setting affects other
capacity-based actions as well.

When Tape is Ejected to Slot - Migration will occur when a backup has
completed and the virtual tape is ejected to a slot. If you select the option Only
When Tape is Full, migration will only occur if the tape is full.
Delay Migration Until - Migration will be delayed until the time you specify after
one of the above policies has been triggered. You may want to select a time
when system usage is very light. Type the hour and minute (in 24-hour format) in
the box.
4. Click the Reclamation Triggers tab and specify when the data that has been
migrated to physical tape can be deleted to free up cache disk space.

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Reclamation Reclaim by deleting cache - After the cache is deleted, tapes become direct link
methods tapes. A direct link tape is not an actual tape but a link to a physical tape. If your
backup application ever overwrites a direct link tape, VTL will automatically start
caching the physical tape. Direct link tapes are only deleted if you disable tape
caching on the library or if you delete the tape. If you unassign a physical library,
the direct link tape will not be deleted.
Reclaim by data deduplication - Deduplication is triggered and single instances
of unique data are copied to the deduplication repository. After deduplication, the
virtual tape is replaced with a virtual index tape (VIT) pointing to SIR storage. In
order to use this feature, you must have a deduplication cluster associated with
this VTL server. After selecting this option, you will be prompted to create a
deduplication policy. By default, this policy will have the same name as the tape
library and all tape caching tapes created under this library will automatically be
added to the policy. Regular virtual tapes will not be added to the policy and
cannot be added manually to this policy. Also note that SIR replication and
migration with replication are mutually exclusive. Therefore, migration with
replication will not be allowed.
Turn tape into direct link after n days - When used with the Reclaim by data
deduplication option, VIT tapes will become direct link tapes after the specified
number of days since the last successful migration. If the tape is in the middle of
being deduplicated, the system will wait until deduplication completes.

Note: A physical tape can be ejected to a mail slot by a backup application


only if it is associated with a direct link tape that was created using the
Reclaim by deleting cache method. If the physical tape is associated with a
tape reclaimed using the Reclaim by data deduplication method, it cannot be
ejected by the backup application.

Reclamation Immediate - Cache disk space is freed up as soon as the data migration is
triggers complete.
Used Space Reaches n% - Cache disk space is freed up when the used space
reaches this threshold. The actual percentage is a global variable which is set for
all virtual tape libraries. To change the number, right-click Virtual Tape Library
System in the tree, click Properties, and type the desired percentage in the Tape
Caching Policy Disk Capacity Reclamation Threshold box.
Retention Period - Cache disk space is freed up after a specified number of days
has elapsed. Specify the number of days that the data should be retained.
Never - Cache disk space is never freed up.

5. Click OK.
The policy takes effect immediately.

Note: When you move a tape from the virtual tape library to a vault, it retains
the Tape Caching policy associated with the original virtual tape library.

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Set global tape caching options


You can set global tape caching options for all virtual tape libraries. To do this:

1. Right-click Virtual Tape Library System and select Properties.


If the server is a member of a group, right-click the group and select VTL
Properties.

2. Set the global migration and reclamation thresholds.


Migration Threshold - Migration will occur when the used disk space exceeds the
specified disk capacity.
Reclamation Threshold - Cache disk space is freed up when the used space
reaches this threshold.

Disable a policy
When Automated Tape Caching is disabled for a library, all of the tapes in the library
with tape caching policies will be disabled.

Note: You cannot disable tape caching for a library if:

• The library has any direct link tapes (in a slot, drive, or the virtual vault). A
list of all direct link tapes will be displayed and you will need to manually
delete them before disabling tape caching.
• There is a caching export job running on a cached tape from the library.
• A cached tape is loaded in a drive.

To disable a tape caching policy:


1. Right-click a virtual tape library and click Automated Tape Caching.
2. Clear the Enable Automated Tape Caching check box.
All the options that you previously set are retained, but data migration will not
occur automatically until you select this check box again.

3. Click OK.

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Create a cache for your physical tapes


Automated Tape Caching stores data on disk before it is migrated to physical tape.
In order for this to happen, you must create a cache for each of your physical tapes.
This is typically done after you create a virtual tape library. If this has not been done,
you must sync the library to create a cache for your physical tapes. You also need to
sync the library if a direct link tape was deleted and the associated physical tape is
needed to recover data.

1. Right-click your virtual tape library and select Sync Library.

2. If you have multiple libraries, select the appropriate physical library.


A physical tape library can only be synchronized to one virtual tape library at a
time, unless the ACSLS or IBM 3494 option is being used.

3. Select the physical tape(s) for which you want to create a cache.

To display specific tapes, click the Filter button to select a single barcode or a
range of barcodes. If you want to specify a particular starting/ending range
number, select Start With or End With in the From/To fields. You can then type
the number in the box to the right.

Note: Make sure that you select physical tapes that use the same media type
as your virtual tapes.

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4. Select Create Cache and indicate if you want to use encryption.

Copy meta data - Copies the tape header from the physical tape to the cache.
Select this option if your backup application requires a tape header to identify a
tape.
Use encryption/decryption on tape(s) - Select if you want to encrypt the data on
the tape. You can select this option only if at least one key has been created. If
you select this option, you must select the key to use. All the data on the tape will
be indecipherable until is imported back to a virtual tape library and decrypted
using the same key. For more information about encryption, refer to ‘Encrypt
data when exporting to physical tapes’.
5. If applicable, specify how to create the cache.
6. If applicable, specify a prefix and size.
7. Confirm all information and click Finish.

Create uncached virtual tapes


Even though you are using Automated Tape Caching for your tape library, you can
still create uncached virtual tapes that will not be migrated to physical tapes. This
can be useful for a single backup that is not part of your normal backup routine. You
can create one or more virtual tapes by right-clicking a virtual tape library or on the
Tapes object and selecting New Tape(s).
Note that if you create virtual tapes, they cannot match the barcodes of your
physical tapes.

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Enable tape caching for existing virtual tapes


Tape caching can be enabled for existing uncached virtual tapes. This provides an
easy way to migrate data on existing uncached virtual tapes to physical tapes
without having to back up the data to new tapes.
Note that in order to migrate data to physical tapes, physical tape(s) with
corresponding barcodes must exist in the physical library.

1. Right-click your virtual tape library and select Enable Tape Caching on Tape(s).

2. Select the tapes you want and click OK.


A job will be kicked off to migrate the data to physical tape.

Manually migrate cached data to physical tape


You can manually cause data in a cache to be migrated to physical tape even if the
tape has been previously migrated. To do this, right-click a virtual tape cache and
select Migrate to Physical Tape.

Force migration of an entire tape to physical tape


You can migrate an entire tape to physical tape. To do this, right-click a virtual tape
cache and select Force Migrate to Tape.

Note: This will overwrite all data on the physical tape.

Reclaim disk space manually


You can manually cause the data that has been migrated to physical tape to be
deleted to free up cache disk space. To do this for a single cache, right-click a virtual
tape cache and select Reclaim Disk Space. Note that this will delete data to free up
cache disk space.
To do this for multiple tape caches, right-click the Virtual Tape Library System object
and select Reclaim Disk Space.

Renew cache for a direct link tape


If your backup application ever overwrites the direct link tape, VTL will automatically
start caching the physical tape.
You can also manually renew the cache for a direct link tape. To do this, right-click a
direct link tape and select Renew Cache.

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Recover data using Automated Tape Caching


In a cached environment, tapes are always visible to the backup application
regardless of whether the data is actually on disk or on a physical tape in the
physical tape library. When it comes time to restore data, your backup application
will seamlessly read the data from disk (if it is still there) or from the physical tape.
If the data is no longer on disk, when the direct link tape is to be mounted, the
corresponding physical tape also needs to be mounted. When loading the physical
tape, VTL will look for an available drive. If there are no free drives available, VTL
will cancel any import or export jobs in an attempt to free a tape drive.

Note: If a direct link tape was deleted and the associated physical tape is needed
to recover data, you will have to sync the library to create a direct link to the
physical tape.

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