Option to Initialize Expired Media when Maintenance (STRMNTBRM) is Run

BRMS now offers the option to initialize media when it expires. The purpose of this function is to assist with storage management on Virtual Tape Libraries or IBM i Internal Tape. Once set up, BRMS will initialize the media when it expires and BRMS maintenance runs. When set up, the status of media will change from *ACT to *INZ and then once initialized, it will change to *EXP. Depending on the number of volumes expiring and the amount of time it takes to initialize the media, BRMS maintenance may take longer.

In releases IBM i 7.2 and later, the media class contains the Initialize media on expiration field which can be used to indicate whether to initialize media when it expires. Media will be initialized, if it is available in a tape drive or tape media library, when BRMS maintenance runs.

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NOTE: When BRMS for IBM i 7.2 or later is installed,  the Initialize media on expiration field in media classes will be set to an initial value based values that where previously set using the INZONEXP options defined below.

In releases IBM i 7.1 and earlier, an option has been added to the Start Maintenance for BRM (STRMNTBRM) command when *YES is specified for the Expire media (EXPMED) parameter to initialize BRMS media when it is expired. When the option is enabled, it will require media that is being expired to be mounted on a device. This option can be used to free disk storage sooner for virtual media technologies. These options may not work on IBM 7.2 and above if the option is changed in WRKCLSBRM

To enable this option, run the following command:

To disable this option, run the following command:

To display all media classes that have this option turned on, run the following command (These options may not work on IBM 7.2 and above if the option is changed in WRKCLSBRM) :

To disable this option for all media classes that have this option enabled, run the following command (These options may not work on IBM 7.2 and above if the option is changed in WRKCLSBRM) :

NOTES:

1. In releases IBM i 7.1 and earlier, there will be no synchronization of this behavior to other systems in the BRMS network. Each system wishing to use this new function will need to run the commands above.

2. The following PTFs or their superseding PTFs are required:

   • 7.1 - SI46340

   • 6.1 - SI46339

   • 5.4 - SI46335

NOTES:

1. When ProtecTIER virtual tape users initially begin using initialize on expire, they may see a large amount of data in the "pending" section on the main screen of the ProtecTIER Manager GUI.  This data will be cleaned up by the delete / defragmentation housekeeping function of ProtecTIER.  This process may take an extended period initially.  For assistance in planning for this process and/or tuning it to run more quickly, please contact ProtecTIER support.

2. For ProtecTIER libraries, if volumes are initialized when they expire, performance for operations using the library may be temporarily degraded as ProtecTIER frees the storage that was being used by the volume.

3. For native IBM i virtual tape, if volumes are initialized when they expire, system performance may be temporarily degraded as the system frees the storage that was being used by the volume.

4. For native IBM i virtual tape, if multiple virtual tape devices have been registered with BRMS, the STRMNTBRM job log may contain CPF41B0 messages. These messages should be ignored.

5. Media classes for physical media may indicate to initialize the media on expiration but the benefits are minimal.

6. When volumes are manually expired, they will change to a status of *INZ until BRMS maintenance runs

7. When a volume is in *INZ state, only the owning system in a BRMS network can remove the media from the BRMS inventory. A BRM004 RC7 will be posted if another system in the BRMS network tries to remove the media.

8. When manually expiring media using WRKMEDBRM Option 7 or CHGMEDBRM, media will change to *INZ status

9. If the cartridge is available in the tape library and the location in BRMS matches the location of the tape library and is owned by the system, the cartridge will be initialized when BRMS maintenance runs. The following will occur if the cartridge is not available:

   • If the cartridge is not in the tape library (WRKMLMBRM) or the storage location (WRKMEDBRM) does not match, the status will change to *INZ

   • Once the cartridge is found in the tape library in an AVAILABLE, INSERTED or MOUNTED status and the storage location matches the media library location, the next time BRMS maintenance runs (STRMNTBRM), the cartridge will be initialized and the status will change to *EXP