IBM Linear Tape File System Installation and Configuration

IBM Linear Tape File System Installation and Configuration

by Larry Coyne, Sandor Alavari, Simon Browne, Chris Hoffmann, Leticia Munoz, Markus Schaefer
Released February 2013
Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
ISBN: None

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Book description

The IBM® Linear Tape File System™ (LTFS) is the first file system that works in conjunction with Linear Tape-Open (LTO) tape technology to set a new standard for ease of use and portability for open systems tape storage. In 2011, LTFS won an Engineering Emmy Award for Innovation from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

This IBM Redbooks® publication helps you install, tailor, and configure the new IBM Linear Tape File System Single Drive Edition (LTFS SDE), Library Edition (LTFS LE), and Storage Manager (LTFS SM). LTFS is a file system that is implemented on dual-partition linear tape (IBM LTO Ultrium 5 tape drives (LTO-5), IBM LTO Ultrium 6 tape drives (LTO-6), and IBM TS1140 tape drives). LTFS makes tape look and work like any removable media, for example, a USB drive. Files and directories appear on the desktop as a directory listing. It is now simple to drag files to and from tape. Any application that is written to use disk files works with the same files on tape. LTFS SDE supports stand-alone drives only. LTFS LE supports tape libraries. LTFS LE presents each cartridge in the library as a subdirectory in the LTFS file system. With LTFS LE, you can list the contents and search all of the volumes in the library without mounting the volumes by using an in-memory index.

The LTFS SM software solution provides storage lifecycle management of archive files. Although both the LTFS SDE and the LTFS LE can write data on tape, LTFS SM provides the interface to manage files of all types in a file system structure. This file system structure makes the control of the tape library transparent to the user.
LTFS SM also provides policy-based management, job scheduling, and automated file management. It provides an integrated solution to tape library users that is designed to easily manage archives at a reduced cost. It provides the tools to manage the archived files on the LTFS tapes, to group tapes into pools, and to use multiple LTFS LE nodes to scale out the LTFS archive. Metadata can be used to arrange, search, and manage the files at convenience of the users according to the policies that they choose.

This publication is intended for anyone who wants to understand more about IBM Linear Tape System products and their implementation. This book is suitable for IBM clients, IBM Business Partners, IBM specialist sales representatives, and technical specialists.

Table of contents

  1. Front cover
  2. Notices
    1. Trademarks
  3. Preface
    1. The team who wrote this book
    2. Now you can become a published author, too!
    3. Comments welcome
    4. Stay connected to IBM Redbooks
  4. Chapter 1. IBM Linear Tape File System Single Drive Edition
    1. 1.1 Introduction to LTFS
      1. 1.1.1 Downloading LTFS
      2. 1.1.2 Tape format compatibility
      3. 1.1.3 Tape partitions
      4. 1.1.4 Index
      5. 1.1.5 Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE)
      6. 1.1.6 XML schema
      7. 1.1.7 Recent enhancements
    2. 1.2 Installation on Linux
      1. 1.2.1 Hardware and software requirements
      2. 1.2.2 Prerequisites
      3. 1.2.3 Installing the HBA and HBA device driver
      4. 1.2.4 Installation procedure
      5. 1.2.5 Uninstallation procedure
    3. 1.3 Installation on Mac OS X
      1. 1.3.1 Hardware and software requirements
      2. 1.3.2 Prerequisites
      3. 1.3.3 Installing the HBA and HBA device driver
      4. 1.3.4 Installation procedure
      5. 1.3.5 Uninstallation procedure
    4. 1.4 Installation on Windows
      1. 1.4.1 Hardware and software requirements
      2. 1.4.2 Prerequisites
      3. 1.4.3 Installing the HBA and HBA device driver
      4. 1.4.4 Installation procedure
      5. 1.4.5 Uninstallation procedure
    5. 1.5 Managing LTFS SDE
      1. 1.5.1 Managing LTFS SDE for Linux
      2. 1.5.2 Managing LTFS SDE for Mac OS X
      3. 1.5.3 Managing LTFS SDE for Windows
    6. 1.6 Troubleshooting
      1. 1.6.1 Formatting errors
      2. 1.6.2 Errors starting LTFS
      3. 1.6.3 IBM Tape Device Driver errors
      4. 1.6.4 Tape drive errors
      5. 1.6.5 Tape volume errors
      6. 1.6.6 Unmount errors
    7. 1.7 Command reference
      1. 1.7.1 Mounting a tape with the ltfs command
      2. 1.7.2 Formatting a tape with the mkltfs command
      3. 1.7.3 Checking or recovering a tape with the ltfsck command
    8. 1.8 Tools
      1. 1.8.1 IBM LTFS Format Verifier
      2. 1.8.2 IBM Tape Diagnostic Tool
      3. 1.8.3 IBM LTFS Copy Tool
      4. 1.8.4 IBM LTFS Extended Attribute Access Program
  5. Chapter 2. IBM Linear Tape File System Library Edition
    1. 2.1 Introduction
      1. 2.1.1 LTO media partitioning
      2. 2.1.2 Interoperability
      3. 2.1.3 Applications that use partitioning
      4. 2.1.4 LTFS tape format specification
      5. 2.1.5 Index and data partitions
      6. 2.1.6 Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE)
      7. 2.1.7 XML schema
      8. 2.1.8 Recording the LTFS XML schemas
      9. 2.1.9 Reserved extended attribute definitions
    2. 2.2 Installation
      1. 2.2.1 Hardware and software requirements
      2. 2.2.2 Unsupported Windows features, drivers, and commands
      3. 2.2.3 Installation on Windows
      4. 2.2.4 Installation on Linux
    3. 2.3 Managing LTFS LE
      1. 2.3.1 Typical user scenario on a Windows system
      2. 2.3.2 Typical user scenario on a Linux system
      3. 2.3.3 Adding and removing tape drives
      4. 2.3.4 Turning on and off a tape drive while mounting LTFS
      5. 2.3.5 Adding and removing cartridges
      6. 2.3.6 Managing a library by using the ltfsadmintool command
    4. 2.4 Command reference
      1. 2.4.1 Mounting a medium by using the ltfs command
      2. 2.4.2 Formatting a medium by using the ltfsadmintool command
      3. 2.4.3 Checking or recovering a medium by using the ltfsadmintool command
    5. 2.5 Hints and tips
      1. 2.5.1 Sharing a mounted tape library among multiple users
      2. 2.5.2 Performance considerations
      3. 2.5.3 Accessing volumes from Windows by using CIFS
      4. 2.5.4 Data placement policy
      5. 2.5.5 Extended attributes
      6. 2.5.6 Samba Network File Sharing
  6. Chapter 3. IBM Linear Tape File System Storage Manager
    1. 3.1 Introduction
      1. 3.1.1 Background
      2. 3.1.2 Overview
      3. 3.1.3 Functions
      4. 3.1.4 Resource management
      5. 3.1.5 Single-library, multiple-node access
      6. 3.1.6 Hardware and software requirements
    2. 3.2 Installation
      1. 3.2.1 Procedure
      2. 3.2.2 Initial configuration
      3. 3.2.3 Further configuration
      4. 3.2.4 Uninstalling LTFS SM
    3. 3.3 Managing LTFS SM
      1. 3.3.1 Cartridge import and export
      2. 3.3.2 Archiving and restoring files
      3. 3.3.3 Duplicating a file to another cartridge
      4. 3.3.4 Watchdog folder
      5. 3.3.5 Job template examples
      6. 3.3.6 Customizing job templates
    4. 3.4 Agents
    5. 3.5 WebClients
      1. 3.5.1 3.5.1 Java Web Start
      2. 3.5.2 Essence Viewer
      3. 3.5.3 System Administration Client
      4. 3.5.4 Job Monitor Client
      5. 3.5.5 Watchdog Client
    6. 3.6 Log collection for failure analysis
  7. Related publications
    1. IBM Redbooks
    2. Online resources
    3. Help from IBM
  8. Back cover

Product information

  • Title: IBM Linear Tape File System Installation and Configuration
  • Author(s): Larry Coyne, Sandor Alavari, Simon Browne, Chris Hoffmann, Leticia Munoz, Markus Schaefer
  • Release date: February 2013
  • Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
  • ISBN: None