Managing tapes and disks

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Managing tapes and disks

After you create and configure your media pools, you can move media to a specific media pool. It is important that you have a sufficient amount of media in a free media pool so that applications can use media in this pool when needed. For information on how to move media to a free media pool, see Move media to another media pool.

Next, you can use a data management application such as Backup to allocate media to the application media pool created for (or by) that application. Allocating media to an application media pool reserves all media in that media pool for exclusive use by that application. See the documentation for your particular data management application for information on how to reserve media for that application.

Removable Storage provides comprehensive control of tapes or disks in your library. You can enable or disable specific media in your library, insert and eject media, and mount and dismount media.

A tape or disk can be inserted in or ejected from an automated library using either a library door or an inject/eject port. A library door allows unrestricted access to the media inside. You can add or remove media directly from a storage slot using a door access. An inject/eject port allows controlled access to the media inside. You insert a tape or disk in the port and then the library uses the drive bay to move the media to a storage slot.

A tape or disk can be mounted in or dismounted from a particular drive in a library. You can use the same media many times before dismounting them. You can also mount and dismount the same media many times before deallocating them.

For information on how to perform a specific task, click:

Notes

  • Removable Storage requires compact discs to be formatted with the CDFS file system, and rewritable optical media (such as MO disks) to be formatted with either the FAT, FAT32, or NTFS file system.

  • Windows does not directly support the use of media that can be written to only once, such as WORM, CD-R, and DVD-R disks. If you plan to use these, you must acquire other software that supports these technologies.