Media sets and ejecting tapes

[Doridian]

I have configured a Backup Files to Tape job and it works reasonably well so far. (I am using a standalone LTO-6 drive)
The only problem I have is when I pick "Eject tape upon completion".
First of all, it does not load the tape when it tries to begin a backup. However, I can get around this with the tape drive tools and use the "load tape" option (could integrate that as a "before" script to make it automatic)
But the problem I cannot get around is the fact that as soon as the backup job starts again, after the tape has been ejected, it no longer allows me to write any more backups to the tape that was just ejected.
Looking at the diagnostic logs, it seems to start a new "media set" in this case, and as the old tape of course is in the old media set, it doesn't want to write to it.
This means I have to keep the tape in the drive and cannot eject it.

So, my questions are:
- Is this intentional? Is there anything that can be done to work around this issue?
- Is it bad for my tape drive to just keep the tape loaded for days or weeks? Or is that not an issue?

[lyapkost]

Hi Mark.

That's a known issue. To work it around you need to inventory the tape after inserting it to drive before starting the job. So it's not necessary to keep the tape in drive.

[matrox65]

It's possible to use the inventory function with an batch script? Why i search a solution that works automated.
best regards, Juerg

[Dima P.]

Hello Juerg,

Yes, tape inventory is covered by PowerShell - Tape Libraries. Cheers!