Veeam Tape Backup Coexistence with Data Protector

[burtzz]

Hi

Along with backup and replication jobs;

I have the following tape backup scenario, let me explain it:

Blade01 - Veeam Server.
Blade02 (Data protector server) - Added as a Veeam tape server (transport)

HP Autoloader MSL4048 with 2 drives (fiber connection to the SAN switch)
HP D2D VTL (virtual tape library)- both installed and in use by Data Protector.

Despite I have both devices showing on Tape Infrastructure, I don't plan to use the D2D.
So, on Veeam, I went to the drive proprieties of the D2D and disable it.

After removing a few tapes from Data protector, I created a Media Pool for those tapes in Veeam. Left all other tapes untouched an unknown to Veeam.
I formatted them and added them to this new media pool.

I even disabled one of the MSL drives, as I plan to use one on Data Protector and the other one on Veeam.
I don't plan to use both softwares at the same time, so that will not be a potential problem.

After a few tests on Veeam, just a small backup to this new media pool, I was convinced everything was ok but it seems not.

During this weekend all of my DataProtector backups failed, even those to the D2D, despite the D2D was not even used on Veeam.
All with very strange errors, errors that relate to hardware problems on both devices (I/O errors, "cannot write to device", "cannot load exchanger medium - invalid device file type"), seeming both add stuck tapes and the softwae wasn't capable of moving the tape on the drive back to the slot.

I left Veeam tape jobs unscheduled, there's no chance both run at the same time during the weekend.
During this problems, I went to Veeam and both devices were also unavailable.

Only by rebooting data protector server and both devices everything went back to normal.

I believe this problem may be related to the fact Veeam keeps doing a device scan every _____ time.

My plan:
- stop auto scan for devices (how? and consequences)
- remove eject option from the Veeam backup job.
- Enable Autoloader Random Access Mode (read somewhere it may help, need to find where to active this)
- Add a scan device on Data protector to start before the actual tape backup.

Any other advices, or is this scenario with both softwares even supported?

ty

[veremin]

You can disable tape rescan via registry (DisableTapeSubsystem). Nevertheless, that will exclude VB&R from tape backup picture completely.

Having periodic rescan will result in devices being locked to one software, on the other hand. That's the typical problem with multiple tape solutions coexistence.

Splitting available devices between different tape servers and using those by different software independently might be a preferable option.

Thanks.

[burtzz]

By removing the "enable" option from one of the drives, will it stop the rescan?

Or does the rescan locks the library and not the drive itself?

[veremin]

It works on a higher level (library), indeed.