Add an iBlade to an Existing Library

 

i2 firmware must be installed on your library before you can install the iBlade. Download the i2 firmware.

iBlade Installation

Your iBlade may have been shipped with new power supplies. If new power supplies came with your iBlade, you must replace your current power supplies with the new ones before installing your iBlade.

  1. To verify that you have the correct power supplies for the iBlade, select Status from the Navigation panel.

    • If your library has the correct power supply, the Name column will show 440W Power Supply.
    • If your library does not have the correct power supply, the Name column will show 315W Power Supply.

  2. Do the following:

    If you have 440W power supplies installed Proceed to Step 2: Drives.
    If you have 315W power supplies installed Remove the 315W power supplies and replace them with 440W power supplies. Go to the Remove and Replace the Power Supply procedure. Proceed to Step 2: Drives after you have replaced your power supplies.
  1. Identify the drive(s) you want to assign to your iBlade. If you purchased new drives, install them now. Return to this procedure when you’ve added your new drive(s).

  2. If you want to assign an existing drive to the iBlade, you must first remove the drive from the partition it is assigned to.

    1. Log in to the WebGUI.
    2. From the Navigation panel, select Partitions.
    3. From the North Panel, select the partition with the drive(s) you want to assign to the iBlade.

    4. From the Operations panel, click Resources.

    5. Deselect the check box next to the drive(s) you wish to remove from the partition.
    6. Click Apply and then Close.
    7. From the Navigation panel, select Drives.
    8. From the North Panel, select the check box next to the drive(s) that you’re going to assign to the iBlade.

    9. From the Operation panel, click Modify.

    10. Select Point-to-Point from the Topology drop-down menu.
    11. Click Apply and then Close.

When you initialize an Scalar LTFS iBlade in a later step, the library will create an Scalar LTFS partition and automatically assign any drives that are connected to the iBlade. The library will also select a control path drive from the connected drives. You will need to assign storage elements to the Scalar LTFS partition during configuration.

Note: You cannot assign a control path drive to the Scalar LTFS.

Important Information

  • Before installing the iBlade, attach an ESD strap to your wrist and to an unpainted surface on the library.
  • The iBlade can only be installed in the CM.

  1. Remove the cover plate from the iBlade slot.

  2. Slide the iBlade approximately 3/4 of the way into the CM.

    Caution: Inserting the iBlade completely into the slot will start the library creating the LTFS partition.

  3. Your iBlade will have Fibre or SAS connectors. Fibre connectors connect to fibre tape drives, SAS connectors connect to SAS drives. Connect the iBlade to the drive(s) you removed from partitions in Step 1.
  4. Connect a network cable to the Ethernet port 1 on the iBlade.
  5. Slide the iBlade in until you feel the iBlade connector slip into the library connector.
  6. Tighten the iBlade thumbscrew.
  1. Log in to the WebGUI.
  2. Select Devices from the Navigation panel.

  3. Wait 10 minutes while firmware loads. After 10 minutes, select Devices to refresh the WebGUI display. When the iBlade is ready to be configured, it will show Online and Ready.

    Note: You must click Devices to refresh the WebGUI display to see the Online and Ready indication.

iBlade Configuration

Once you have installed your SLTFS iBlade, you need to configure it for access.

  1. From the Navigation panel, select Network.
  2. From the North Panel, expand the + next to your iBlade.
  3. Select the checkbox for Interface 1.

  4. From the Operations panel, click IPv4.

  5. Complete the fields. See Setting up IPv4 settings for specific instructions.
  1. From the Navigation panel, select Library.
  2. From the Operations panel, select I/E Area.

  3. From the drop-down, select the number of slots you want assigned as I/E slots.

  4. Click Apply and then click Close.
  1. From the Navigation panel, select Library.

  2. From the Operations panel, select Cleaning Slots.

  3. Assign cleaning slots. See Library Cleaning Slots for specific instructions.
  4. Add cleaning media. See Import Cleaning Media for specific instructions.
  1. From the Navigation panel, select Partitions.
  2. From the North Panel, select the SLTFS partition.

  3. From the Operations panel, select Cleaning.

  4. Select Library-initiated Automatic Cleaning.
  5. Click Apply and then click Close.
  1. From the Navigation panel, select Partitions.
  2. From the North Panel, select the SLTFS partition.

  3. From the Operations panel, select Resources.

  4. Select which slots you want to add to the SLTFS partition. See Partition Resources for specific instructions.
  1. From the Navigation panel, select Partitions.
  2. From the North Panel, select the LTFS partition.
  3. From the Operations panel, select Online.
  1. From the Navigation panel, select Devices.
  2. From the North Panel, expand the + next to the LTFS Blade.
  3. Select the check box next to the iBlade.

  4. From the Operations panel, select Settings.

  5. Change the LTFS blade settings as desired. See Devices Settings for specific instructions.

  1. From the Navigation panel, select Media.

  2. In the North Panel, you will see all the partitions listed and any media that is currently unassigned to any partition. Click the + next to a partition name or the Unassigned media. The + will expand and all media assigned to that partition or unassigned will display.
  3. Select the check box next to the media you want to import. You can select multiple tapes to import but the media must be in an I/E slot before it can be imported.

  4. In the Operations panel, click Import.

  5. Click Apply to import the selected media to the correct partition. The North Panel is updated with the new location information for the media.

  6. Click Close to exit the Import window.
  1. From the Navigation panel, select NAS - iBlade.
  2. From the North Panel, select the tapes you want to assign to the LTFS partition in Discovered Media.

  3. From the Operations panel, select Format. For more information, see Format Media.

  1. From the Navigation panel, select NAS - iBlade.

  2. From the Operations panel, select Add.

  3. Create a volume group(s) as desired. See Add a Volume Group for specific instructions.
  1. From the Navigation panel, select NAS - iBlade.
  2. From the North Panel, click the + next to Scratch Media.
  3. Select the check box next to the scratch media you want to add to a volume group.

  4. From the Operations panel, select Assignment.

  5. Select the volume group from the drop-down menu. See Media Assignment for specific instructions.
  1. From a host computer, click the Map Network Drive button.
  2. Type in the following in the address Folder field: \\[IP Address of SLTFS Blade]\ScalarLTFS

Once you have configured your Scalar LTFS iBlade, review the Best Practices and FAQ pages for more details on how to use Scalar LTFS.

 

Once you have installed your Veeam Tape Server iBlade, you need to configure it for access.

Additional Information

  • If Microsoft Hyper-V or any other hypervisor is installed on the Veeam Tape Server iBlade, the Virtual Machine (VM) Operating System (OS) will not be able to see the blade FC/SAS controller. This will cause the Scalar i3 drives to no longer be visible to the VM OS.
  • Bridging interfaces on the Veeam Tape Server iBlade is not supported and can cause network card issues.
  • You must have the iBlade network ports plugged-in to successfully configure them.
  1. From the Navigation panel, select Network.
  2. From the North Panel, expand the + next to your iBlade.

  3. Select the checkbox for Interface 1.

  4. From the Operations panel, click IPv4. The IPv4 screen is displayed.

  5. Complete the fields. See Setting up IPv4 settings for specific instructions.

  1. In the Windows search bar, type remote desktop connection.

  2. In the Remote Desktop Connection window, enter the iBlade IP address.

  3. Enter User Name and Password.

    • User Name: administrator
    • Password: password

  4. Click Yes.

  1. From the Navigation panel, select System.

  2. From the Operations panel, click Save/Restore.

  3. Complete the fields. See Save and Restore for specific instructions.

Note: This step is for libraries with SAS LTO drives only. If your library does not have SAS drives, go to Step 5.

If your library contains SAS LTO drives, you must install the ATTO driver to allow the iBlade to communicate with the drives and Veeam.

  1. Add the ATTO driver into the following directory on the iBlade:

    C:\Quantum\packages\atto\

  2. Install the ATTO driver.

To install and configure Veeam tape server software, access your Veeam master server and run the Launch New Tape Server Wizard.

Veeam help center support for adding tape servers can be accessed at https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backup/vsphere/adding_tape_server.html?ver=95u4.

Quantum recommends creating a system state backup for the Veeam Tape Server. This system state backup can be utilized to resolve configuration issues with Windows Server 2016 if Remote Desk Protocol (RDP) is not available.

  1. Log in to the Veeam Tape Server via RDP as an Administrator.

  2. Double-click on the Backup icon.

    A command window opens and will start the backup. If a backup has already been completed, then a dialog box pops up indicating this. A backup can take 60-90 minutes.

  3. Once the backup has completed successfully the Backup icon remove.

  4. To run a backup from the command line, run the following command from an Administrator command shell: C:\Quantum\scripts\backup.cmd