User`s guide

Chapter 4 Configuring Your Library
Working With Partitions
Scalar i6000 User’s Guide 113
A Library Managed Partition is like any other partition, except it is not
visible to any backup applications or hosts. The LMP allows the library to
be able to manage the partition, rather than the backup application
managing the partition. The library uses the LMP to facilitate value-
added features like MeDIA (automated data integrity checking routine).
There can be only one LMP in the library.
Each partition contains the following components of the physical library:
• Accessor — the robotic assembly that moves media within the
library. The accessor includes the picker and reach assemblies.
• I/E station magazine — a magazine, consisting of slots for cartridges,
that enables media to be moved into or removed from the physical
library. The type of media determines the number of slots in the
magazine. For example, an LTO magazine has six slots.
• Storage magazine — a static column location within a section of the
physical library rack that holds removable media. For more about
location coordinates, see
Understanding Location Coordinates on
page 288.
• Drive — the read/write device for removable media.
For more information about the library’s physical components, see the
Scalar i2000/i6000 Maintenance Guide. For help with planning before you
configure your system, see the Scalar i6000 Planning Guide.
A partition consists of, at a minimum, one storage magazine and one
drive. Neither the storage magazine nor the drive can be shared with
another partition. Each partition is specific to a media type (for example,
LTO-1, LTO-2) and a drive interface (for example, SCSI or Fibre). One 24
slot I/E station can be used by up to four partitions. One 72 slot I/E station
can be used by up to twelve partitions. The maximum number of I/E
station slots per partition is 240. The maximum number of partitions is
determined by the lesser of the number of drives available in the physical
library (assuming there are at least as many storage slots) or 16.
lthough the physical library can contain more than one media domain or
drive domain, you cannot have a mix of domain types within a partition
(for example, LTO and DLT). A single partition can have a mixture of
drive types and interface types within the same domain (for example,
LTO-1 and LTO-2 with SCSI or Fibre Channel interfaces).