Tivoli Storage Manager for Windows Administrator's Guide


Overview of Selecting Device Drivers

Administrators managing a mixture of devices, some controlled by the TSM device driver and others controlled by the Windows device driver, must set up the appropriate device driver. The TSM device driver is recommended, because it allows TSM to maintain a volume inventory and to assist with some media management tasks. In some cases, when using Windows Removable Storage Manager (RSM) for example, the Windows device driver must be used and in these cases TSM continues to use the devices but with limited TSM media management.For devices not currently supported by the TSM device driver, the Windows device driver may be suitable.

When the operating system is started, the Windows device driver tries to acquire the devices it supports before the TSM device driver can acquire devices. To ensure that device drivers control devices in a predictable manner, see "Selecting the Appropriate Device Driver for Tivoli Storage Manager Devices".


Table 2. Device Types and Recommended Device Drivers

Device Type Recommended Device Driver
Automated Library Devices TSM Device Driver (required)

See Adding Automated Library Devices.

Manual Library Devices TSM Device Driver (preferred)

See Adding Manual Devices.

Manual Library Devices Windows Device Driver (must meet TSM requirements)

See Adding Devices Not Supported by the Tivoli Storage Manager Device Driver.

Optical Devices TSM Device Driver (required)

See Adding Removable Media Devices.

Removable Media Devices (attached as local file systems) Windows Device Driver (required)

See Adding Removable Media Devices.

The Tivoli Storage Manager Device Driver

TSM provides a device driver called ADSMSCSI. The TSM driver allows administrators to exclude devices that are reserved for other applications. Some automated library devices require the TSM device driver, and some manual devices can use the Windows device driver with TSM.

Windows Device Drivers

Windows device drivers provide basic connectivity for devices using native Windows backup tools using Remote Storage Manager (RSM) or native Windows backup tools. Occasionally, administrators can use devices that are not yet supported by the TSM device driver by using the Windows device drivers. TSM cannot use all of the devices that Windows device drivers support because some devices do not have all the functions that TSM requires. See Adding Devices Not Supported by the Tivoli Storage Manager Device Driver for more information.

When starting Windows, the Windows device driver tries to acquire the devices it supports before the TSM device driver can acquire devices. To ensure that device drivers control devices in a predictable manner, see "Selecting the Appropriate Device Driver for Tivoli Storage Manager Devices".

Limitations of Using Windows Device Drivers

Using Windows device drivers for TSM devices limits TSM functionality:

Controlling Windows Device Drivers

Windows device drivers can be manually started or automatically set to start when the operating system starts. Procedures for controlling the device drivers are described in Selecting the Appropriate Device Driver for Tivoli Storage Manager Devices.


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