Backup Exec for Windows Servers includes support for a wide array of robotic libraries (also referred to as an autoloader or changer) and tape drives. Prior to proceeding with the rest of this document, confirm that the tape hardware is listed on the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) for the version of Backup Exec which is installed per the following link:

 http://www.symantec.com/business/support/documentation.jsp?language=english&view=comp&pid=15047

Note:  Tape Hardware which is not listed on the HCL may be detected by or function with Backup Exec, but may not have been tested and is not officially supported by Symantec.  

Occasionally, hardware which has been officially tested and is supported by Symantec may not be displayed or may appear offline in the Backup Exec Interface (i.e.: Devices Tab), may not function correctly, or may report specific errors in the job log or Windows Event Viewer Log. This document has several suggestions on how to potentially resolve these issues.


Please note:  Some hardware manufacturers may have implementation and troubleshooting documentation available that have more detailed information for particular device than what is listed below. The following are examples of this:

HP StorageWorks Enterprise Backup Solution with Symantec Backup Exec implementation guide
 http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00097075/c00097075.pdf

 http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/tree?c=us&dl=false&l=en&s=gen&treeid=A4C561C1260D4DA2B6C853D8E5EBD267&doclang=en&cs=

Please make sure to review the hardware manufacturer's documentation and if there are still issues after doing so and performing the steps below, open a support case with the hardware manufacturer to confirm that the tape hardware is functioning properly.

Basic Configuration and Troubleshooting Procedures:

I. Verify the hardware is detected properly by the Operating System and not being managed by another third party application

a. Open the Device Manager in Windows and verify the hardware is present. Verify the controller, tape drive(s), and robotic library (if applicable, will need to show as an Unknown Medium Changer) are present in Windows Device Manager:

In Windows 2003, right click My Computer and choose Manage. From the Computer Management snap-in, click on Device Manager (Figure 1).

 

In Windows 2008, right-click Computer and choose Manage. From the Server Management snap-in, expand Diagnostics and click on Device Manager (Figure 2).

 

b. Confirm that the Removable Storage Management (<RSM>) service is stopped and disabled.  If a Removable Storage Service Error (RSM cannot manage library or tape device. The database is corrupt.) shows afterward in the System Event Viewer Log, this error can usually be ignored and will stop occurring after one or more reboots of the server have been performed.

c. Check the installed programs in the Windows Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs Applet.  If there are any other third party backup applications, tape tools, etc...  un-install them.  Backup Exec may not be able properly communicate with tape hardware if another vendor's backup application is installed, even if the services for that application are disabled.  Tape Diagnostic Tools should only be installed to test the tape hardware when the Backup Exec Services are not running and then should be removed once the diagnostic tests have been completed.

II. Verify Robotic Library Support is enabled and the latest Backup Exec Tape Device Drivers have been installed

a. In the Backup Exec console click on Tools > Serial Numbers and Installation.  In the installation wizard go past the serial numbers screen and verify that the Enable Robotic Library Support option is selected and installed.

 

If the option is not selected, select the option and proceed with the installation.

b. Ensure that the latest drivers and firmware have been installed for the tape drive, robotic library, and for the SCSI controller. Symantec drivers should be loaded for the tape drive for best performance. Symantec does not test performance or compatibility with Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) drivers, unless noted on the Hardware Compatibility List. Backup Exec tape drivers can be downloaded from the Symantec Support Web site at:    http://www.symantec.com/business/support/downloads.jsp?pid=15047

Select the appropriate Backup Exec version number in the Product Version drop-down box, and select Driver as the File Type. Contact the hardware manufacturer for the latest firmware for the robotic library, tape drive, and SCSI controller. To verify that the Symantec Drivers have been loaded for the tape drive, return to Device Manager in Windows and open the properties of the Tape Drive. Verify that the Driver Provider is Symantec.

III. Confirm the tape hardware is properly configured, powered on, detected, & initialized prior to the Windows Operating System booting up

a. If the tape hardware is external to the server, power down the robotic library, tape drive, and server.  

For robotic libraries, verify that the addressing scheme is set properly between the drives and the robotic library:

For more information on verifying the addressing scheme for the hardware, see the Related Documents or consult your hardware documentation.

d. Power on the robotic library and/or tape drive. Once the autoloader or tape drive has fully initialized, power the server back on.  

Note 1:  Anytime Backup Exec goes from being to able to properly detect or communicate with externally connected tape hardware to not being able to manage it, the procedure above should be repeated.  Even if the Windows Device Manager detects the hardware after hard reboots, warm reboots, or because the library is disconnected or the power is cycled to the device, Backup Exec still may have communication issues with it.  It is also recommended that the tape hardware be plugged into a backup power supply with surge suppression, just as the server or workstation it is connected to should be.

Note 2:  Additional power on procedure steps may be required for tape hardware which is in a SAN (Storage Area Network) Environment because of switch, bridge, etc... equipment which is also involved.

Note 3:  If the tape drive, medium changer, or controller is listed with an error or is not listed in Device Manager after performing the steps listed above, then consult the hardware documentation to verify the hardware is connected/terminated to the server properly. Verify also the controller can detect the device properly POST Bios Screen on boot-up and by booting into the controller BIOS. For further support contact the hardware vendor.

IV. Review the System Event Logs for hardware errors.  

While in the Computer Management or the Server Management console, review the System Event Logs and see if there are any hardware errors being reported from the tape drive, robotic library, or controller cards.  This is recommended even if the tape hardware is detected by Backup Exec/Windows and appears to be functioning properly.

The following are examples of hardware errors that might be present in the System Event Logs:

If the device is presenting itself properly to the operating system, then it should be supplying the operating system with an inquiry string.

In order for the device to work properly within Backup Exec, the inquiry string the device provides must match exactly with what is documented on the HCL:  http://entsupport.symantec.com/carveout_PID_15047_view_CL.htm

The inquiry string can be found in two different places:

The adamm.log file is located in x:\Program Files\Symantec\Backup Exec\. Open this log file using a text editor such as Notepad, and scroll to the end of the log file.  The adamm.log file is appended to each time the Backup Exec services are started, and the detailed information for each device is outputted to this log during a process called Device Discovery.

Below is example output from a Device Discovery (Figure 3):

 

The above shows a single tape drive (Tape0) and a robotic library (MediumChanger0). The Inquiry String for the tape drive is QUANTUM SDLT320, and it is using firmware version 2E2E. The robotic library has an inquiry string of QUANTUM UHDL and is using firmware version 0016.  

The Inquiry String, as well as most of the Device Discovery information, can also be found in the DEVICEMAP portion of the SCSI Registry:

The SCSI Port, SCSI Bus, SCSI ID (TAR), and LUN Number can be found under the SCSI Address in Device Discovery in the adamm.log file (highlighted in Figure3).

Below is the DEVICEMAP registry hive from the tape drive from the above example (Figure 4):

 

NOTE: The registry settings under DEVICEMAP should not be edited, under any circumstances. These keys should be automatically populated if the hardware is configured and functioning properly.

Locate the drive and/or library on the HCL. Compare the Inquiry String found in the Step 1 or Step 2 to that what is in the HCL. The inquiry string must match exactly between the HCL and what is being reported to the server by the device.

NOTE: The ^ character in the Inquiry Strings on the HCL represents the number of spaces that are expected in the actual Inquiry String.

The following is from the HCL for the above device (Figure 5):

 

NOTE: The above (Figure 5) represents a single entry on the HCL, and would be found in a single line and not on two entries.

In addition to verifying the inquiry string, also verify that the method which the hardware is connected to the server matches what is on the HCL (SCSI, Fibre, SAS, IDE, SATA). In addition, tape drives should not be connected to RAID controllers.

Using the above example (Figure 5), this device is supported when connected via SCSI.

NOTE: There are many devices that support multiple connection methods. In such examples, the device would be listed twice on the HCL. If the device supports a connection method that is not listed on the HCL, then it is possible that the device has not been tested for such a connection and therefore support will be given a limited basis. It is also possible that Symantec is in the process of qualifying the particular device for that connection method. In these cases, please open a support case with Symantec.

VI. Use tracer.exe to perform a SCSI trace while restarting the Backup Exec services.

a. Stop the Backup Exec services and launch tracer.exe from the x:\Program Files\Symantec\Backup Exec\ directory. With tracer capturing SCSI information, restart the Backup Exec services using x:\Program Files\Symantec\Backup Exec\Servicesmgr.exe. Once the services have been restarted, review the tracer log for any hardware errors or reservation conflicts.
 
Please see the following document for more information on capturing and reading tracer logs:

Troubleshooting hardware with the Backup Exec for Windows Servers using the SCSI Trace Utility (tracer.exe).
 http://support.veritas.com/docs/285630

If the option is not selected, select the option and proceed with the installation.

If the library is not detected, and robotic library support is enabled, verify that the SCSIChanger service has been started. Click on Start > Run and type msinfo32 and hit enter. Expand out Software Environment and the click on System Drivers. Scroll down and find the SCSIChanger service and verify that it is started (Figure 6):

 

If the SCSIChanger service is not started, or listed, then uninstall the Enable Robotic Library support option and then reinstall it.

VII. Orphaned Devices in Windows Device Manager and/or devices no longer detected or offline in Backup Exec  

Please see the following document for how to check for orphaned devices in Windows Device Manager:

How to remove old tape drivers from Windows that are no longer needed or in use.
 http://support.veritas.com/docs/308914

It is quite possible that an orphaned devices may be present in Device Manager, especially after replacing hardware, or performing a firmware or driver update. Verify that there are no orphaned tape drives, medium changers, or controllers.

Remove any orphaned device(s) to eliminate any potential conflict.

VIII. Disable, delete and re-enable the device in Backup Exec

From the devices tab in Backup Exec, right-click the device and select Enable. This should remove the check mark next to the device and disable it. After disabling the device, right-click the device again, this time choosing delete.

NOTE:  During the delete process you may be prompted to re-target your backup jobs to other devices or device pools. Please be mindful of the jobs to be re-targeted and remember to change the jobs back after resolving the hardware issue.

After deleting the device(s), stop the Backup Exec services. With the services stopped, run Tapeinst.exe from x:\Program Files\Symantec\Backup Exec\. Choose the following options (Figure 8):

 

Tracer.exe should also be running at this time as indicated in step #4 to review for any SCSI errors. Restart the Backup Exec services, and see if the devices are detected properly.

IX. Verify that the Device and Media Service is running under a Domain Admin account and/or built-in Administrator Account

If the media server is part of a domain, the Backup Exec Device and Media Service, in addition to all the Backup Exec Services (except the Remote Agent Service) should be using an account with Domain Admin privileges and/or built in Administrator Rights. Please see the Backup Exec Administrator's Guide for further information regarding the required rights for the Backup Exec services account.

For additional troubleshooting information, please refer to the TechNotes in the Related Documents Section below.

This document is also available in the following languages:

French:

 http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/INTER/intl-on-technology.nsf/fr_docid/20080604143802975


German:

 http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/INTER/intl-on-technology.nsf/de_docid/20080604143854975


Italian:

 http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/INTER/intl-on-technology.nsf/it_docid/20080604143921975