Spectra T200 - Exporting Controllers

Chapter 1 — Library Overview Library Features
December 2019 User Guide—Spectra T200, T380, and T680 Libraries
41
Exporting Controllers
Either a direct-attached LTO drive, an F-QIP, or a RIM is required to
provide the control path for the library’s robotics. When configuring a
storage partition, the device you select to provide the robotic control path
is referred to as the “exporting controller” for the partition.
Note: Unless otherwise specified, the features of both RIM and RIM2
are the same and “RIM” is used to refer to both.
The controller is the bridge between an external Fibre Channel or SAS
connection from the host and the internal interface used by the library. It
provides the control path for the media changer commands sent from the
host to the library. The controller relays the commands to the LCM, which
processes the commands and uses them to control the robotics in the
library.
A minimum of one controller is required to connect the library’s robotics to
the host network. To learn more about the role the controller plays in the
library, see Robotic Controller Connectivity on page 59.
Notes:  An LTO tape drive can only provide the control path for one
partition. A RIM or F-QIP can provide the robotic control
path for up to eight partitions. A RIM2 can provide the
robotic control path for up to 8 partitions for a T200 or up to
12 partitions for a T380 or T680.
 The maximum number of exporting controllers (drives and
RIMs) supported by the library is six.
 A TS11xx technology drive cannot provide the robotic
control path. TS11xx technology partitions must use a RIM.
 RIMs and F-QIPs can be configured for controller failover.
RIMs and F-QIPs can be mixed in a failover pair; a RIM2 can
only be in a failover pair with another RIM2.
 If desired, you can configure multiple exporting controllers
(drives or RIMs) for a partition, and export the same changer
interface over the drives to provide redundancy, as long as
your backup software can support this. These multiple paths
cannot be used at the same time.
 The RIM replaces the F-QIP and the E-QIP, which are no
longer available for purchase.
 F-QIPs can provide encryption capability using BlueScale
encryption. See the Spectra Tape Libraries Encryption User
Guide for more information.
 In addition to providing the connectivity for the robotics, the
F-QIP can also provide Fibre Channel connectivity for SCSI
drives. The drives and F-QIP must be in the same DBA.
 The RIM does not provide connectivity for SCSI drives, nor
does it provide any encryption capability.