IBM AutoLoader TS2900 DPM 2012 setup tips

At the end of 2012 I received a new IBM TS2900 autoloader. I didn't have time to set it up, so for a couple of months it was being used as a glorified tape drive.

Last month I got around to configuring DPM 2012 to use the autoloader and hit a few speed bumps along the way. Hopefully the below information can help you setup your device quicker.

Just for reference my platform is Server 2008 R2 running DPM 2012 SP1 with Update Rollup 1.



I can't see the Autoloader in DPM or Device Manager

Hold on didn't I just buy an autoloader, so why can I only see the tape drive in device manager and DPM? This took me a while to work out, but its really easy to resolve.

The tape drive must be set to random mode, if you are using sequential mode your autoloader is essentially a manually controlled tape drive. As soon as you set random mode, the autoloader is presented to windows. You can set random mode by logging into your TS2900 front end and following the below steps.

1. Click on "Logical", located under the "Configure Library" menu.
2. Select "Random" from the "Library Mode:" drop down box.
3. Click submit.

If you are running sequential mode, you might see the below error messages when attempting to install the IBM driver. They are caused because random mode has not been selected and the autoloader is not being presented to windows, hence no device for the driver to install.

DBG:         install_exclusive.c, 1239: InstallVirtualBus: UpdateDriverForPlugAndPlayDevices failed - Update.
EXT: 0 -> -1: install_exclusive.c, 1249: InstallVirtualBus: status 0xe0000235.
DBG:         install_exclusive.c, 885: InstallVirtualBusByType: InstallVirtualBus failed

Program stopped prematurely due to error(s).If the debug flag was set, check debug.txt for details.

Driver Installion

Next you need to install the IBM driver from the IBM download centre. The one I am using at the time of writing this article is named "IBMTape.x64_w08_6233_WHQL_Cert.zip", but I have had success with non-WHQL versions aswell. There is a small tweak required to get the driver working with DPM, follow the below steps to install the driver correctly.

1. Extract the zip and install the driver by clicking on "install_exclusive.exe"
2. Wait for the driver installation to complete, then open up Control Panel > Device Manager
3. You should see the "IBM TotalStorage 3572 Tape Library" under "Medium Changer devices", this is your autoloader. If you don't see it, try uninstalling the driver, rebooting and re-installing the driver. Also ensure you followed the above steps to enable Random library mode on your autoloader.
4. Right click the "IBM ULTRIUM 5 HH 3580 TAPE DRIVE" (or your equivalent Tape driver), select "Update Driver Software".
5. Select "Browse my computer for driver software"
6. Select "Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer"
7. Select "LTO Tape Drive"
8. Install the driver and close device manager.

This process replaces the recently installed IBM LTO Tape driver with the default Microsoft driver. This is required as DPM (as of release 2012 SP1 Update Pack 1) doesn't work with the IBM provided tape driver. You still must install the IBM driver however, as the autoloader "IBM TotalStorage 3572 Tape Library" does require the IBM driver package to work.

Failure to replace the IBM drivers with the Microsoft drivers will result in the error message below.

The operation failed because of a protection agent failure. (ID 998 Details: The parameter is incorrect (0x80070057))

There you have it, a working TS2900 autoloader, be it with a few quirky work arounds, but since following the above steps mine hasn't missed a beat.