Media Operations - How To

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Load Media

• Load a Media to a Drive

Export Media

• Export a Specific Media

View Contents

• View the Contents of a Media

Move Media

• Move a Media From One Scratch Pool to Another
• Move Media in Bulk From One Scratch Pool to Another

Delete Media

• Delete a Media

Delete Contents

• Delete the Contents of a Media

Erase Media

• Erase Spare Media

Discover Media

• Discover Media from the CommCell Console

Mark Media Bad

• Mark a Media Bad

Mark Media Good

• Mark a Bad Media Good

Mark Media Full

• Mark a Media Full

Mark Media Appendable

• Marking a Media as Appendable
• Reuse Media Marked as Appendable

Mark Media Reusable

• Mark Media Reusable

Prevent Reuse

• Prevent an Assigned Media From Being Reused
• Reuse an Assigned Media that was Prevented From Being Reused

Load a Media to a Drive

Required Capability: Capabilities and Permitted Actions

To load a media to a drive:

1. In the left pane of the CommCell Browser, click the Media in Library node.

   All the media available in the library are displayed in the right-pane.

2. From the right pane of the CommCell Browser, right-click the media that you want to load into a drive, and then click Load Media.

   The Load Media option will be displayed only for those media that are available in the library.

3. From the Load Media dialog box specify the resources that must be used to load media into a drive.
4. Click OK.

   The system will attempt to load the media into the specified drive. A event message is displayed in the Event Viewer after the successful completion of the operation.

Export a Specific Media

Required Capability: Library Management

To export a specific media:

1. From the CommCell Console select the media you wish to export from one of the following pools or dialog boxes:
   • Media in Library (discovered and undiscovered media) pool
   • Scratch pools
   • Cleaning Media pool
   • Retired Media pool
   • Assigned Media pool
   • Media List dialog box which appears when you select the View Media option that appears when you right-click a Storage Policy copy.
   • Media List dialog box which appears when you select the Change Data Path option that appears when you right-click a Storage Policy copy.
   • Media Used By Job ID dialog box which appears when you select the View Media option from the Data Protections Job History, Backup Job History, or Data Migration History windows.
2. Right-click the media that you want to export, and then click Export.
3. In the Export Media dialog box, enter an optional description of the location outside the library where the media will be stored.
4. Click OK.

   The location field is for display purposes only, to help you keep track of exported media. The MediaAgent has no control over media once they leave the library; it is your responsibility to ensure that exported media are stored in the location entered.

5. An Export Media prompt appears, prompting you remove the media. Do one of the following:
   • If you are exporting through a mail slot, click OK, wait for the media to be moved to the mail slot, and then remove them from the library.
   • If you are removing media directly, click OK, open the library door, remove the media that you want to export, and then close the door.

View the Contents of a Media

Required Capability: Capabilities and Permitted Actions

To view the contents of a media

1. From the CommCell Browser, in the Media in Library pool or the Assigned Media pool, right-click the media for which you wish to view the content, and then click View Contents.

   or

   From the Media Used By Job ID dialog box right-click the media for which you wish to view the content, and then click View Contents.

2. Click Yes in the prompt which displays that the operation may take a few minutes.
3. The Contents of Media dialog box displays the details of jobs available in the media.

Move a Media From One Scratch Pool to Another

Required Capability: See Capabilities and Permitted Actions

To move a media from one scratch pool to another:

1. In the left pane of the CommCell Browser, select the scratch pool containing the media that you want to move. The contents of the scratch pool are displayed in the right pane of the Browser.
2. From the right pane of the CommCell Browser, right-click the media that you want to move, and then click Move.
3. In the Move Media dialog box, select the scratch pool to which you want to move the media. If it is cleaning media, select Cleaning Media pool.
4. Click OK to complete the transfer.

   The selected media is reassigned to the destination scratch pool.

Move Media in Bulk From One Scratch Pool to Another

Required Capability: See Capabilities and Permitted Actions

To move a number of unspecified media from one scratch pool to another:

1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click the scratch pool from which you want to move media (i.e., the source pool), and then click Move Media from the short-cut menu.
2. In the Move Media dialog box, enter the number of media to be moved in the No. of Media to be moved field. Select the scratch pool into which you want to move the media from the Destination Scratch Pool list.
3. Click OK to complete the transfer.

   The selected media is reassigned to the destination scratch pool.

Delete a Media

Required Capability: Capabilities and Permitted Actions

To delete a media

1. In the CommCell Browser, right-click the media you wish to delete, and then click Delete Media.
2. Click Yes in the prompt asking you to confirm whether you wish to delete the media.
3. From the Delete Contents and Move Media dialog box, select the scratch pool to which you wish to move the media.
4. Click OK to save the information.

   The media information is deleted in the CommServe database and moved to the specified scratch pool.

Delete the Contents of a Media

Required Capability: Capabilities and Permitted Actions

1. In the left pane of the CommCell Browser, select the Assigned Media node.

   All the assigned media are displayed in the right-pane.

2. From the right pane of the CommCell Browser, right-click the desired media and select Delete Contents.

   NOTES

   The Delete Contents option will be displayed only for those media that are available in the library.

3. Click Yes to confim. The Enter Confirmation Text dialog displays.
4. Type "erase and reuse media" in the field, and click OK.
5. Select the name of the scratch pool to which the media must be moved, after the contents are deleted.
6. Click OK.
7. Click OK in the warning prompt to continue with the operation.

   The media information is deleted from the CommServe database and the media is moved to the specified scratch pool.

   The operation is recorded in the Audit Trail.

Erase Spare Media

To erase spare media:

1. Mark the media to be erased as described in Mark Spare Media for Media Erase Operation.
2. Run the Erase Spare Media operation. This can be done in one of the following ways:
   • Run the Erase Spare Media operation, immediately from the library level, as described in Run a Erase Spare Media Operation Immediately.
   • Schedule an Erase Spare Media operation from the library level, as described in Schedule an Erase Spare Media Operation.
   • Erase a specific spare or retired media, as described in Erase a Specific Spare or Retired Media.

Discover Media from the CommCell Console

You can use the following procedure to:

• Discover all media within a library
• Discover a partial set of media within a library

Required Capability: Capabilities and Permitted Actions

To discover media within a library:

1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click the library whose media you want to discover, and then click Discover Media.
2. If one or more new media are discovered, the system displays the Discover New Media dialog box and prompts you for media information.
3. Select the hardware type of the new media from the New Media Type list and the scratch pool to which you want the media assigned from the Destination Scratch Pool list.
4. The total number of undiscovered media available in the library is displayed in the No. of media in Free Media Pool field. Specify the number of media you would like to discover in the No. of media to be discovered field.
5. Click OK.

You can also discover the media from the Library and Drive Configuration window. See Discover Media from the Library and Drive Configuration Window for more information.

Mark a Media Bad

Required Capability: Capabilities and Permitted Actions

To mark a media as bad:

1. In the CommCell Browser, right-click the media you wish to mark as bad, and then click Mark Media Bad.
2. Click Yes in the prompt asking you to confirm whether you wish to mark the media bad.

   The media status is changed to bad. (Media status can be viewed in the <Media ID> tab of the Media Properties dialog box.)

Mark a Bad Media Good

Required Capability: Capabilities and Permitted Actions

To mark a bad media as good:

1. In the CommCell Browser, from the Retired Media Pool, right-click the bad media you wish to mark as good, and then click Mark Media Good.
2. Click Yes in the prompt asking you to confirm whether you wish to mark the media good.

   The media status is changed to good and the media is moved to the Default Scratch pool. (Media status can be viewed in the <Media ID> tab of the Media Properties dialog box.)

Mark a Media Full

Required Capability: Capabilities and Permitted Actions

To mark a media as full:

1. In the CommCell Browser, from the Media in Library pool or Assigned Media pool, right-click the active media you wish to mark as full, and then click Mark Media Full.

   or

   From the Media Used By Job ID dialog box right-click the media you wish to mark as full, and then click Mark Media Full.

2. Click Yes in the prompt asking you to confirm whether you wish to mark active media full.

   The media status is changed to full. (Media status can be viewed in the <Media ID> tab of the Media Properties dialog box.)

Mark a Media as Appendable

Required Capability: Capabilities and Permitted Actions

To mark a media as appendable:

1. In the CommCell Browser, from the Media in Library pool or Assigned Media pool, right-click the exported media you wish to mark as appendable, and then click Mark Appendable

   or

   From the Media Used By Job ID dialog box right-click the media you wish to mark as appendable, and then click Mark Appendable.

2. Click Yes in the prompt asking you to confirm whether you wish to mark the media as appendable.

   The media status is changed to Appendable with the reason stating User marked appendable. (Media status can be viewed in the <Media ID> tab of the Media Properties dialog box.)

Reuse Media Marked as Appendable

Required Capability: See Capabilities and Permitted Actions

To reuse media marked as appendable:

1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click the library for which you wish to reuse media marked as appendable,  and then click Properties.
2. Click the Media tab.
3. Click Use Appendable Media within n Day (s) of its last write time.
4. Type the number of days that the media can be used after it was marked as appendable.
5. Click OK to save the changes.

Mark Media Reusable

Required Capability: Capabilities and Permitted Actions

To mark media reusable:

1. In the CommCell Browser, right-click the migrated media you wish to mark as reusable.

   If you wish to reuse more than one migrated media, select all the migrated media you wish to reuse, and then right-click. Hold the Control key down to select more than one media.

2. Click Mark Media Reusable.
3. Click Yes in the prompt asking you to confirm whether you wish to mark the media reusable.
4. The media will be marked reusable.

Prevent an Assigned Media From Being Reused

Required Capability: See Capabilities and Permitted Actions

To prevent an assigned media from being reused:

1. In the CommCell Browser, navigate to the Assigned Media Pool. The contents of the Assigned Media pool are displayed in the right pane of the Browser.
2. From the right pane, right-click the media that you want to prevent reuse, and then click Prevent Reuse.

   Note that this option will be available only if the media was previously NOT prevented from being reused.

3. In the Overwrite Protect Media Group Selection dialog box, select the specific Overwrite Protect Media pool to which you want to move the media when the media is recycled.
4. Click OK to save the information.

Reuse an Assigned Media that was Prevented From Being Reused

Required Capability: See Capabilities and Permitted Actions

To Reuse an Assigned Media that was Prevented From Being Reused:

1. In the CommCell Browser, navigate to the Assigned Media Pool. The contents of the Assigned Media pool are displayed in the right pane of the Browser.
2. From the right pane, right-click the media that you want to reuse, and then click Allow Reuse.

   Note that this option will be available only if the media was previously prevented from being reused.

3. In the Scratch Media Group Selection dialog box, select the scratch pool to which you want to move the media when the media is recycled.
4. Click OK to save the information.