Network and Storage Protocols

NDMP Backups with Symantec Backup Exec and HP MSL4048 Tape Library

CJSCOLTRINITY
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I am doing NDMP backups using Symantec Backup Exec to a HP MSL4048 Tape Library connected to my NetApp Filers directly via FC.

Most evenings the backup jobs fail with an error of 0xe0008f4 - An unknown error has occurred.  If I rerun the job it sometime works.  I have always managed to get the job to work but it can take up to about half a dozen tries to get it to work.

I can see that a tape is loaded into the drive but then the job fails.  Sometimes it will leave the tape in the drive and sets the drive to prevent removal of the tape from the drive.  Once this has happened to all of the drives connected to the filer the only way I have found to unload the tapes from the drives is to reboot the tape library which resets the prevent tape removal flag from the drive so that I can either manually move the tape out using the Remote Management Interface of the tape library or let Backup Exec unload the tape when it tries to load a different one.

Anyone have any suggestions as to why these jobs are failing or some hints on where I can look to investigate the issue, e.g. are there some ndmp logs somewhere on the filer?  I am not sure if this is an issue with Backup Exec, ndmp (or something else on the filer) or a problem with the tape library.

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