Spectra T950 - Using a Global Spare Drive

Chapter 13 — Drive Troubleshooting Using a Global Spare Drive
November 2016 User Guide—Spectra T950 Library
396
USING A GLOBAL SPARE DRIVE
Overview TheGlobalSpareoptionletsyouremotelyreplaceafaileddrive
usingadrivethatisalreadyinstalledinthelibrary.UsingaGlobalSpare
allowsyoutocontinueyourbackupoperationsandreplacethefaileddrive
thenexttimeyouarephysicallypresentatthelibrary.
Usage Requirements BeforeyoucanusetheGlobalSpareoption,the
followingrequirementsmustbemet.
 OneormoreGlobalSparedrivesmustalreadybeconfiguredinthe
partitionwherethefaileddriveislocated(seeAssignGlobalSpare
Drivesonpage195).
 Thefaileddrivemustbeidle,withnopendingbackuporrestore
operations.Backupstotheotherdrivesinthepartitioncancontinue.
Note: YoucannotuseaGlobalSparedrivetoreplaceafaileddrive
whilethelibraryisactivelyrunningtheDriveFirmwareUpdate
wizardinthepartition.
Cartridge Inventory Ifthefaileddrivecontainsacartridgewhenitis
replacedbytheGlobalSpare,thatcartridgeisremovedfromthepartition’s
inventory.Ifyouareabletoremovethecartridgefromthefaileddriveafter
youremoveitfromthelibrary,reimportthecartridge(seeImportingintoa
StorageorCleaningPartition).
PostScan Requirements IfapartitionisconfiguredtouseeitherFullScan
orQuickScanusingGlobalSpares,keepinmindthatthePostScanprocess
“owns”theGlobalSparedriveitisusinguntilitprocessesallofthe
cartridgesinthePostScanqueueforthepartition.Asaresult,aGlobal
SparedrivethatisbeingusedforPostScanisnotavailableforuseasa
spare.
IfalloftheGlobalSparedrivesassignedtothepartitionareinusebythe
MLMPostScanprocess,youmustpausePostScantomakeaGlobalSpare
driveavailable,asdescribedin
PausethePostScanProcessonpage307.
Important
The drives that are configured as Global Spares must be connected to the same
Fibre Channel arbitrated loop or fabric (SAN) as the drives they replace. If they are
not connected to the SAN, they are not accessible to the application software.
After the Global Spare is activated, you may need to reconfigure your switch to
access the spare drive.