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<A NAME="CHILD_LINKS"><STRONG>Subsections</STRONG></A>
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<LI><A NAME="tex2html1523"
HREF="Autochanger_Resource.html#SECTION002110000000000000000">Capabilities</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html1524"
HREF="Autochanger_Resource.html#SECTION002120000000000000000">Messages Resource</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html1525"
HREF="Autochanger_Resource.html#SECTION002130000000000000000">Sample Storage Daemon Configuration File</A>
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<HR>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION003200000000000000000">
Autochanger Resource</A>
</H1>
<A NAME="17113"></A>
<A NAME="17114"></A>
<P>
The Autochanger resource supports single or multiple drive
autochangers by grouping one or more Device resources
into one unit called an autochanger in Bacula (often referred to
as a "tape library" by autochanger manufacturers).
<P>
If you have an Autochanger, and you want it to function correctly,
you <B>must</B> have an Autochanger resource in your Storage
conf file, and your Director's Storage directives that want to
use an Autochanger <B>must</B> refer to the Autochanger resource name.
In previous versions of Bacula, the Director's Storage directives
referred directly to Device resources that were autochangers.
In version 1.38.0 and later, referring directly to Device resources
will not work for Autochangers.
<P>
<DL>
<DT><STRONG>Name = Autochanger-Name</STRONG></DT>
<DD><A NAME="17120"></A>
Specifies the Name of the Autochanger. This name is used in the
Director's Storage definition to refer to the autochanger. This
directive is required.
<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>Device = Device-name1, device-name2, ...</STRONG></DT>
<DD>Specifies the names of the Device resource or resources that correspond
to the autochanger drive. If you have a multiple drive autochanger, you
must specify multiple Device names, each one referring to a separate
Device resource that contains a Drive Index specification that
corresponds to the drive number base zero. You may specify multiple
device names on a single line separated by commas, and/or you may
specify multiple Device directives. This directive is required.
<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>Changer Device = <I>name-string</I></STRONG></DT>
<DD><A NAME="17124"></A>
The specified <B>name-string</B> gives the system file name of the autochanger
device name. If specified in this resource, the Changer Device name
is not needed in the Device resource. If it is specified in the Device
resource (see above), it will take precedence over one specified in
the Autochanger resource.
<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>Changer Command = <I>name-string</I></STRONG></DT>
<DD><A NAME="17127"></A>
The <B>name-string</B> specifies an external program to be called that will
automatically change volumes as required by <B>Bacula</B>. Most frequently,
you will specify the Bacula supplied <B>mtx-changer</B> script as follows.
If it is specified here, it need not be specified in the Device
resource. If it is also specified in the Device resource, it will take
precedence over the one specified in the Autochanger resource.
<P>
</DD>
</DL>
<P>
The following is an example of a valid Autochanger resource definition:
<P>
<PRE>
Autochanger {
Name = "DDS-4-changer"
Device = DDS-4-1, DDS-4-2, DDS-4-3
Changer Device = /dev/sg0
Changer Command = "/etc/bacula/mtx-changer %c %o %S %a %d"
}
Device {
Name = "DDS-4-1"
Drive Index = 0
Autochanger = yes
...
}
Device {
Name = "DDS-4-2"
Drive Index = 1
Autochanger = yes
...
Device {
Name = "DDS-4-3"
Drive Index = 2
Autochanger = yes
Autoselect = no
...
}
</PRE>
<P>
Please note that it is important to include the <B>Autochanger = yes</B> directive
in each Device definition that belongs to an Autochanger. A device definition
should not belong to more than one Autochanger resource. Also, your Device
directive in the Storage resource of the Director's conf file should have
the Autochanger's resource name rather than a name of one of the Devices.
<P>
If you have a drive that physically belongs to an Autochanger but you don't want
to have it automatically used when Bacula references the Autochanger for backups,
for example, you want to reserve it for restores, you can add the directive:
<P>
<PRE>
Autoselect = no
</PRE>
<P>
to the Device resource for that drive. In that case, Bacula will not automatically
select that drive when accessing the Autochanger. You can, still use the drive
by referencing it by the Device name directly rather than the Autochanger name. An example
of such a definition is shown above for the Device DDS-4-3, which will not be
selected when the name DDS-4-changer is used in a Storage definition, but will
be used if DDS-4-3 is used.
<P>
<A NAME="example"></A>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION003210000000000000000">
An Example Configuration File</A>
</H1>
<A NAME="17139"></A>
<A NAME="17140"></A>
<P>
The following two resources implement an autochanger:
<P>
<PRE>
Autochanger {
Name = "Autochanger"
Device = DDS-4
Changer Device = /dev/sg0
Changer Command = "/etc/bacula/mtx-changer %c %o %S %a %d"
}
Device {
Name = DDS-4
Media Type = DDS-4
Archive Device = /dev/nst0 # Normal archive device
Autochanger = yes
LabelMedia = no;
AutomaticMount = yes;
AlwaysOpen = yes;
}
</PRE>
<P>
where you will adapt the <B>Archive Device</B>, the <B>Changer Device</B>, and
the path to the <B>Changer Command</B> to correspond to the values used on your
system.
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION003220000000000000000">
A Multi-drive Example Configuration File</A>
</H1>
<A NAME="17147"></A>
<P>
The following resources implement a multi-drive autochanger:
<P>
<PRE>
Autochanger {
Name = "Autochanger"
Device = Drive-1, Drive-2
Changer Device = /dev/sg0
Changer Command = "/etc/bacula/mtx-changer %c %o %S %a %d"
}
Device {
Name = Drive-1
Drive Index = 0
Media Type = DDS-4
Archive Device = /dev/nst0 # Normal archive device
Autochanger = yes
LabelMedia = no;
AutomaticMount = yes;
AlwaysOpen = yes;
}
Device {
Name = Drive-2
Drive Index = 1
Media Type = DDS-4
Archive Device = /dev/nst1 # Normal archive device
Autochanger = yes
LabelMedia = no;
AutomaticMount = yes;
AlwaysOpen = yes;
}
</PRE>
<P>
where you will adapt the <B>Archive Device</B>, the <B>Changer Device</B>, and
the path to the <B>Changer Command</B> to correspond to the values used on your
system.
<P>
<A NAME="SpecifyingSlots"></A>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION003230000000000000000">
Specifying Slots When Labeling</A>
</H1>
<A NAME="17155"></A>
<A NAME="17156"></A>
<P>
If you add an <B>Autochanger = yes</B> record to the Storage resource in your
Director's configuration file, the Bacula Console will automatically prompt
you for the slot number when the Volume is in the changer when
you <B>add</B> or <B>label</B> tapes for that Storage device. If your
<B>mtx-changer</B> script is properly installed, Bacula will automatically
load the correct tape during the label command.
<P>
You must also set
<B>Autochanger = yes</B> in the Storage daemon's Device resource
as we have described above in
order for the autochanger to be used. Please see the
Storage ResourceAutochanger1 in the Director's chapter
and the
Device ResourceAutochanger in the Storage daemon
chapter for more details on these records.
<P>
Thus all stages of dealing with tapes can be totally automated. It is also
possible to set or change the Slot using the <B>update</B> command in the
Console and selecting <B>Volume Parameters</B> to update.
<P>
Even though all the above configuration statements are specified and correct,
Bacula will attempt to access the autochanger only if a <B>slot</B> is non-zero
in the catalog Volume record (with the Volume name).
<P>
If your autochanger has barcode labels, you can label all the Volumes in
your autochanger one after another by using the <B>label barcodes</B> command.
For each tape in the changer containing a barcode, Bacula will mount the tape
and then label it with the same name as the barcode. An appropriate Media
record will also be created in the catalog. Any barcode that begins with the
same characters as specified on the "CleaningPrefix=xxx" command, will be
treated as a cleaning tape, and will not be labeled. For example with:
<P>
Please note that Volumes must be pre-labeled to be automatically used in
the autochanger during a backup. If you do not have a barcode reader, this
is done manually (or via a script).
<P>
<PRE>
Pool {
Name ...
Cleaning Prefix = "CLN"
}
</PRE>
<P>
Any slot containing a barcode of CLNxxxx will be treated as a cleaning tape
and will not be mounted.
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION003240000000000000000">
Changing Cartridges</A>
</H1>
<A NAME="17173"></A>
If you wish to insert or remove cartridges in your autochanger or
you manually run the <B>mtx</B> program, you must first tell Bacula
to release the autochanger by doing:
<P>
<PRE>
unmount
(change cartridges and/or run mtx)
mount
</PRE>
<P>
If you do not do the unmount before making such a change, Bacula
will become completely confused about what is in the autochanger
and may stop function because it expects to have exclusive use
of the autochanger while it has the drive mounted.
<P>
<A NAME="Magazines"></A>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION003250000000000000000">
Dealing with Multiple Magazines</A>
</H1>
<A NAME="17179"></A>
<A NAME="17180"></A>
<P>
If you have several magazines or if you insert or remove cartridges from a
magazine, you should notify Bacula of this. By doing so, Bacula will as
a preference, use Volumes that it knows to be in the autochanger before
accessing Volumes that are not in the autochanger. This prevents unneeded
operator intervention.
<P>
If your autochanger has barcodes (machine readable tape labels), the task of
informing Bacula is simple. Every time, you change a magazine, or add or
remove a cartridge from the magazine, simply do
<P>
<PRE>
unmount
(remove magazine)
(insert new magazine)
update slots
mount
</PRE>
<P>
in the Console program. This will cause Bacula to request the autochanger to
return the current Volume names in the magazine. This will be done without
actually accessing or reading the Volumes because the barcode reader does this
during inventory when the autochanger is first turned on. Bacula will ensure
that any Volumes that are currently marked as being in the magazine are marked
as no longer in the magazine, and the new list of Volumes will be marked as
being in the magazine. In addition, the Slot numbers of the Volumes will be
corrected in Bacula's catalog if they are incorrect (added or moved).
<P>
If you do not have a barcode reader on your autochanger, you have several
alternatives.
<P>
<OL>
<LI>You can manually set the Slot and InChanger flag using the <B>update
volume</B> command in the Console (quite painful).
<P>
</LI>
<LI>You can issue a
<P>
<PRE>
update slots scan
</PRE>
<P>
command that will cause Bacula to read the label on each of the cartridges in
the magazine in turn and update the information (Slot, InChanger flag) in the
catalog. This is quite effective but does take time to load each cartridge
into the drive in turn and read the Volume label.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>You can modify the mtx-changer script so that it simulates an
autochanger with barcodes. See below for more details.
</LI>
</OL>
<P>
<A NAME="simulating"></A>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION003260000000000000000">
Simulating Barcodes in your Autochanger</A>
</H1>
<A NAME="17190"></A>
<A NAME="17191"></A>
<P>
You can simulate barcodes in your autochanger by making the <B>mtx-changer</B>
script return the same information that an autochanger with barcodes would do.
This is done by commenting out the one and only line in the <B>list)</B> case,
which is:
<P>
<PRE>
${MTX} -f $ctl status | grep " *Storage Element [0-9]*:.*Full" | awk "{print \$3 \$4}" | sed "s/Full *\(:VolumeTag=\)*//"
</PRE>
<P>
at approximately line 99 by putting a # in column one of that line, or by
simply deleting it. Then in its place add a new line that prints the contents
of a file. For example:
<P>
<PRE>
cat /etc/bacula/changer.volumes
</PRE>
<P>
Be sure to include a full path to the file, which can have any name. The
contents of the file must be of the following format:
<P>
<PRE>
1:Volume1
2:Volume2
3:Volume3
...
</PRE>
<P>
Where the 1, 2, 3 are the slot numbers and Volume1, Volume2, ... are the
Volume names in those slots. You can have multiple files that represent the
Volumes in different magazines, and when you change magazines, simply copy the
contents of the correct file into your <B>/etc/bacula/changer.volumes</B> file.
There is no need to stop and start Bacula when you change magazines, simply
put the correct data in the file, then run the <B>update slots</B> command, and
your autochanger will appear to Bacula to be an autochanger with barcodes.
<A NAME="updateslots"></A>
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION003270000000000000000">
The Full Form of the Update Slots Command</A>
</H1>
<A NAME="17204"></A>
<A NAME="17205"></A>
<P>
If you change only one cartridge in the magazine, you may not want to scan all
Volumes, so the <B>update slots</B> command (as well as the <B>update slots
scan</B> command) has the additional form:
<P>
<PRE>
update slots=n1,n2,n3-n4, ...
</PRE>
<P>
where the keyword <B>scan</B> can be appended or not. The n1,n2, ... represent
Slot numbers to be updated and the form n3-n4 represents a range of Slot
numbers to be updated (e.g. 4-7 will update Slots 4,5,6, and 7).
<P>
This form is particularly useful if you want to do a scan (time expensive) and
restrict the update to one or two slots.
<P>
For example, the command:
<P>
<PRE>
update slots=1,6 scan
</PRE>
<P>
will cause Bacula to load the Volume in Slot 1, read its Volume label and
update the Catalog. It will do the same for the Volume in Slot 6. The command:
<P>
<PRE>
update slots=1-3,6
</PRE>
<P>
will read the barcoded Volume names for slots 1,2,3 and 6 and make the
appropriate updates in the Catalog. If you don't have a barcode reader or have
not modified the mtx-changer script as described above, the above command will
not find any Volume names so will do nothing.
<A NAME="FreeBSD"></A>
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION003280000000000000000">
FreeBSD Issues</A>
</H1>
<A NAME="17217"></A>
<A NAME="17218"></A>
<P>
If you are having problems on FreeBSD when Bacula tries to select a tape, and
the message is <B>Device not configured</B>, this is because FreeBSD has made
the tape device <B>/dev/nsa1</B> disappear when there is no tape mounted in the
autochanger slot. As a consequence, Bacula is unable to open the device. The
solution to the problem is to make sure that some tape is loaded into the tape
drive before starting Bacula. This problem is corrected in Bacula versions
1.32f-5 and later.
<P>
Please see the
Tape TestingFreeBSDTapes chapter of this manual for
<B>important</B> information concerning your tape drive before doing the
autochanger testing.
<A NAME="AutochangerTesting"></A>
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION003290000000000000000">
Testing Autochanger and Adapting mtx-changer script</A>
</H1>
<A NAME="17226"></A>
<A NAME="17227"></A>
<P>
Before attempting to use the autochanger with Bacula, it is preferable to
"hand-test" that the changer works. To do so, we suggest you do the
following commands (assuming that the <B>mtx-changer</B> script is installed in
<B>/etc/bacula/mtx-changer</B>):
<P>
<DL>
<DT><STRONG>Make sure Bacula is not running.</STRONG></DT>
<DD><P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>/etc/bacula/mtx-changer /dev/sg0 list 0 /dev/nst0 0</STRONG></DT>
<DD><A NAME="17231"></A>
<P>
This command should print:
<P>
<PRE>
1:
2:
3:
...
</PRE>
<P>
or one number per line for each slot that is occupied in your changer, and
the number should be terminated by a colon (<B>:</B>). If your changer has
barcodes, the barcode will follow the colon. If an error message is printed,
you must resolve the problem (e.g. try a different SCSI control device name
if <B>/dev/sg0</B> is incorrect). For example, on FreeBSD systems, the
autochanger SCSI control device is generally <B>/dev/pass2</B>.
<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>/etc/bacula/mtx-changer /dev/sg0 slots </STRONG></DT>
<DD><A NAME="17237"></A>
<P>
This command should return the number of slots in your autochanger.
<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>/etc/bacula/mtx-changer /dev/sg0 unload 1 /dev/nst0 0 </STRONG></DT>
<DD><A NAME="17238"></A>
<P>
If a tape is loaded from slot 1, this should cause it to be unloaded.
<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>/etc/bacula/mtx-changer /dev/sg0 load 3 /dev/nst0 0 </STRONG></DT>
<DD><A NAME="17239"></A>
<P>
Assuming you have a tape in slot 3, it will be loaded into drive (0).
<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>/etc/bacula/mtx-changer /dev/sg0 loaded 0 /dev/nst0 0</STRONG></DT>
<DD><A NAME="17240"></A>
<P>
It should print "3"
Note, we have used an "illegal" slot number 0. In this case, it is simply
ignored because the slot number is not used. However, it must be specified
because the drive parameter at the end of the command is needed to select
the correct drive.
<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>/etc/bacula/mtx-changer /dev/sg0 unload 3 /dev/nst0 0</STRONG></DT>
<DD><P>
will unload the tape into slot 3.
<P>
</DD>
</DL>
<P>
Once all the above commands work correctly, assuming that you have the right
<B>Changer Command</B> in your configuration, Bacula should be able to operate
the changer. The only remaining area of problems will be if your autoloader
needs some time to get the tape loaded after issuing the command. After the
<B>mtx-changer</B> script returns, Bacula will immediately rewind and read the
tape. If Bacula gets rewind I/O errors after a tape change, you will probably
need to insert a <B>sleep 20</B> after the <B>mtx</B> command, but be careful to
exit the script with a zero status by adding <B>exit 0</B> after any additional
commands you add to the script. This is because Bacula checks the return
status of the script, which should be zero if all went well.
<P>
You can test whether or not you need a <B>sleep</B> by putting the following
commands into a file and running it as a script:
<P>
<PRE>
#!/bin/sh
/etc/bacula/mtx-changer /dev/sg0 unload 1 /dev/nst0 0
/etc/bacula/mtx-changer /dev/sg0 load 3 /dev/nst0 0
mt -f /dev/st0 rewind
mt -f /dev/st0 weof
</PRE>
<P>
If the above script runs, you probably have no timing problems. If it does not
run, start by putting a <B>sleep 30</B> or possibly a <B>sleep 60</B> in the
script just after the mtx-changer load command. If that works, then you should
move the sleep into the actual <B>mtx-changer</B> script so that it will be
effective when Bacula runs.
<P>
A second problem that comes up with a small number of autochangers is that
they need to have the cartridge ejected before it can be removed. If this is
the case, the <B>load 3</B> will never succeed regardless of how long you wait.
If this seems to be your problem, you can insert an eject just after the
unload so that the script looks like:
<P>
<PRE>
#!/bin/sh
/etc/bacula/mtx-changer /dev/sg0 unload 1 /dev/nst0 0
mt -f /dev/st0 offline
/etc/bacula/mtx-changer /dev/sg0 load 3 /dev/nst0 0
mt -f /dev/st0 rewind
mt -f /dev/st0 weof
</PRE>
<P>
Obviously, if you need the <B>offline</B> command, you should move it into the
mtx-changer script ensuring that you save the status of the <B>mtx</B> command
or always force an <B>exit 0</B> from the script, because Bacula checks the
return status of the script.
<P>
As noted earlier, there are several scripts in <B>bacula-source/examples/devices</B> that implement the above features,
so they may be a help to you in getting your script to work.
<P>
If Bacula complains "Rewind error on /dev/nst0. ERR=Input/output error." you
most likely need more sleep time in your <B>mtx-changer</B> before returning to
Bacula after a load command has been completed.
<P>
<A NAME="using"></A>
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION0032100000000000000000">
Using the Autochanger</A>
</H1>
<A NAME="17264"></A>
<A NAME="17265"></A>
<P>
Let's assume that you have properly defined the necessary Storage daemon
Device records, and you have added the <B>Autochanger = yes</B> record to the
Storage resource in your Director's configuration file.
<P>
Now you fill your autochanger with say six blank tapes.
<P>
What do you do to make Bacula access those tapes?
<P>
One strategy is to prelabel each of the tapes. Do so by starting Bacula, then
with the Console program, enter the <B>label</B> command:
<P>
<PRE>
./bconsole
Connecting to Director rufus:8101
1000 OK: rufus-dir Version: 1.26 (4 October 2002)
*label
</PRE>
<P>
it will then print something like:
<P>
<PRE>
Using default Catalog name=BackupDB DB=bacula
The defined Storage resources are:
1: Autochanger
2: File
Select Storage resource (1-2): 1
</PRE>
<P>
I select the autochanger (1), and it prints:
<P>
<PRE>
Enter new Volume name: TestVolume1
Enter slot (0 for none): 1
</PRE>
<P>
where I entered <B>TestVolume1</B> for the tape name, and slot <B>1</B> for the
slot. It then asks:
<P>
<PRE>
Defined Pools:
1: Default
2: File
Select the Pool (1-2): 1
</PRE>
<P>
I select the Default pool. This will be automatically done if you only have a
single pool, then Bacula will proceed to unload any loaded volume, load the
volume in slot 1 and label it. In this example, nothing was in the drive, so
it printed:
<P>
<PRE>
Connecting to Storage daemon Autochanger at localhost:9103 ...
Sending label command ...
3903 Issuing autochanger "load slot 1" command.
3000 OK label. Volume=TestVolume1 Device=/dev/nst0
Media record for Volume=TestVolume1 successfully created.
Requesting mount Autochanger ...
3001 Device /dev/nst0 is mounted with Volume TestVolume1
You have messages.
*
</PRE>
<P>
You may then proceed to label the other volumes. The messages will change
slightly because Bacula will unload the volume (just labeled TestVolume1)
before loading the next volume to be labeled.
<P>
Once all your Volumes are labeled, Bacula will automatically load them as they
are needed.
<P>
To "see" how you have labeled your Volumes, simply enter the <B>list
volumes</B> command from the Console program, which should print something like
the following:
<P>
<PRE>
*{\bf list volumes}
Using default Catalog name=BackupDB DB=bacula
Defined Pools:
1: Default
2: File
Select the Pool (1-2): 1
+-------+----------+--------+---------+-------+--------+----------+-------+------+
| MedId | VolName | MedTyp | VolStat | Bites | LstWrt | VolReten | Recyc | Slot |
+-------+----------+--------+---------+-------+--------+----------+-------+------+
| 1 | TestVol1 | DDS-4 | Append | 0 | 0 | 30672000 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | TestVol2 | DDS-4 | Append | 0 | 0 | 30672000 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | TestVol3 | DDS-4 | Append | 0 | 0 | 30672000 | 0 | 3 |
| ... |
+-------+----------+--------+---------+-------+--------+----------+-------+------+
</PRE>
<P>
<A NAME="Barcodes"></A>
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION0032110000000000000000">
Barcode Support</A>
</H1>
<A NAME="17285"></A>
<A NAME="17286"></A>
<P>
Bacula provides barcode support with two Console commands, <B>label
barcodes</B> and <B>update slots</B>.
<P>
The <B>label barcodes</B> will cause Bacula to read the barcodes of all the
cassettes that are currently installed in the magazine (cassette holder) using
the <B>mtx-changer</B> <B>list</B> command. Each cassette is mounted in turn and
labeled with the same Volume name as the barcode.
<P>
The <B>update slots</B> command will first obtain the list of cassettes and
their barcodes from <B>mtx-changer</B>. Then it will find each volume in turn
in the catalog database corresponding to the barcodes and set its Slot to
correspond to the value just read. If the Volume is not in the catalog, then
nothing will be done. This command is useful for synchronizing Bacula with the
current magazine in case you have changed magazines or in case you have moved
cassettes from one slot to another. If the autochanger is empty, nothing will
be done.
<P>
The <B>Cleaning Prefix</B> statement can be used in the Pool resource to define
a Volume name prefix, which if it matches that of the Volume (barcode) will
cause that Volume to be marked with a VolStatus of <B>Cleaning</B>. This will
prevent Bacula from attempting to write on the Volume.
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION0032120000000000000000">
Use bconsole to display Autochanger content</A>
</H1>
<P>
The <B>status slots storage=xxx</B> command displays autochanger content.
<P>
<PRE>
Slot | Volume Name | Status | Type | Pool | Loaded |
------+-----------------+----------+-------------------+----------------+---------|
1 | 00001 | Append | DiskChangerMedia | Default | 0 |
2 | 00002 | Append | DiskChangerMedia | Default | 0 |
3*| 00003 | Append | DiskChangerMedia | Scratch | 0 |
4 | | | | | 0 |
</PRE>
<P>
If you see a <B>*</B> near the slot number, you have to run <B>update slots</B>
command to synchronize autochanger content with your catalog.
<P>
<A NAME="interface"></A>
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION0032130000000000000000">
Bacula Autochanger Interface</A>
</H1>
<A NAME="17304"></A>
<A NAME="17305"></A>
<P>
Bacula calls the autochanger script that you specify on the <B>Changer
Command</B> statement. Normally this script will be the <B>mtx-changer</B> script
that we provide, but it can in fact be any program. The only requirement
for the script is that it must understand the commands that
Bacula uses, which are <B>loaded</B>, <B>load</B>, <B>unload</B>, <B>list</B>, and <B>slots</B>. In addition,
each of those commands must return the information in the precise format as
specified below:
<P>
<PRE>
- Currently the changer commands used are:
loaded -- returns number of the slot that is loaded, base 1,
in the drive or 0 if the drive is empty.
load -- loads a specified slot (note, some autochangers
require a 30 second pause after this command) into
the drive.
unload -- unloads the device (returns cassette to its slot).
list -- returns one line for each cassette in the autochanger
in the format <slot>:<barcode>. Where
the {\bf slot} is the non-zero integer representing
the slot number, and {\bf barcode} is the barcode
associated with the cassette if it exists and if you
autoloader supports barcodes. Otherwise the barcode
field is blank.
slots -- returns total number of slots in the autochanger.
</PRE>
<P>
Bacula checks the exit status of the program called, and if it is zero, the
data is accepted. If the exit status is non-zero, Bacula will print an
error message and request the tape be manually mounted on the drive.
<P>
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