HP StoreEver ESL G3 Tape Libraries - Manual (Page 34)

For more information, see Working With Partitions .
Working With Partitions
A partition is an abstraction of a single underlying physical library that presents the appearance of
multiple, separate libraries for purposes of file management, access by multiple users, or dedication
to one or more host applications. For example, you can choose to run one software application in
one partition, and a different software application in a second partition.
A Library Managed Partition (LMP) is like any other partition, except that it is not visible to any backup
applications or hosts. The LMP allows the library to manage the partition, rather than the backup
application managing the partition.
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 .
• Drive — the read/write device for removable media.
For more information about the physical components of the library, see the HP Enterprise Systems
Library (ESL) G3 Tape Library Service 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-4, LTO-5). 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 either the
number of drives available in the physical library (assuming there are at least as many storage slots),
or 16.
NOTE:
The library is licensed for either one partition or the maximum number of partitions, which is 16. For
more information about partition licensing, see
Generating the Events Report .
Using the Secure Manager feature, multiple hosts can share a single partition, or a partition can be
restricted to one exclusive host.
Each host application can have a partition assigned to it. Each application uses its partition as if it
were a dedicated physical library.
Understanding Partition Media Policy Settings
The partition Media Type Checking Policy and Return Media Identifier settings help determine how
the library handles differing media types within the same library. Configure media policy settings
when you manually create or modify a partition.
Modifying the Library Configuration 34