Troubleshooting offline devices in the SAN Shared Storage Option

If a device in your SAN has gone offline, follow these steps to determine the source of the problem.

Before you begin troubleshooting, verify that your devices are on the Backup Exec supported device list.

You can find a list of compatible operating systems, platforms, and applications at the following URL:

http://entsupport.symantec.com/umi/V-269-1

Also verify that all hardware drivers are up to date and started. If you find errors with your hardware, contact your hardware vendor for specific instructions.

Table: Troubleshooting offline devices in the SAN Shared Storage Option

Step

Action

Step 1

Use the Windows Device Manager to verify that the operating system recognizes the device.

If the device is not recognized, you may need to troubleshoot the device.

See Finding hardware errors for the SAN Shared Storage Option.

Step 2

For robotic libraries, verify that robotic library support is installed.

Step 3

Check the system event log for the following errors, which indicate SAN communication errors: SCSI errors 9, 11, and 15, or timeout errors relating to storage. Check the application event log for multiple events 33152. These events indicate SAN communication errors.

See Finding hardware errors for the SAN Shared Storage Option.

You may need to contact your hardware vendor.

Step 4

If the library is online, but some or all of the drives are offline, use Backup Exec to initialize the library.

To initialize the library, do the following in the order listed:

  • On the navigation bar, click Devices.

  • Select the library, and then under Device Tasks, click Initialize.

Step 5

If initializing the library does not bring the devices online, check the library for an error display on the front panel, mechanical problems, or tapes inappropriately in the drives. Correct any errors that you find.

Step 6

If no errors exist on the library or if you corrected the errors and the devices are still offline, stop Backup Exec services and then restart them when all Backup Exec jobs are inactive in the SAN.

Step 7

If restarting the services does not bring the devices online, restart the operating system. Be sure that no Backup Exec jobs are running when you restart.

Step 8

If restarting the operating system does not bring the devices online, reset the SAN to help identify problem tape devices. Recycling the SAN may also resolve fibre problems.

See Resetting the SAN in the SAN Shared Storage Option.

Troubleshooting offline devices in the SAN Shared Storage Option