Network Administration: Backup Exec 9.1, Dell Ultrium LTO 2 issue

This past weekend I added an external Dell PowerVault 110T tape drive (Certance Ultrium LTO 2) to a server, in order to replace an aging drive. The new server is a Dell PowerEdge 2850, with an Adaptec 39160/3960D – Ultra 160 card cabled to the external tape drive.

After getting the machine built, installing Veritas Backup Exec 9.1, including the latest firmware for the tape drive, I ran into an interesting problem. The tape drive appeared to be recognized by Backup Exec; it came up under the devices tab and was identified as “CERTANCE 1”. However, when a tape was inserted, Backup Exec 9.1 acted as though there was no media, displaying a message of .

Test backup jobs would just fail with a status of “failed”, having no error code or additional explanation. Running an inventory on the tape would result in the following error message: “a0008101 - Invalid Physical Volume Library Argument.”

I found a number of references to running “tapeinst.exe”, but this really didn’t apply to a new installation – though I did go through the recommended steps. Considering this is a new model drive, and that backup exec 9.1 isn’t the latest version available, this was leading me to believe that the latest driver I was using from the manufacturer wasn’t something that Backup Exec liked, as BE9.1 really prefers you use Backup Exec provided drivers.

Fortunately, Veritas does provide a driver update pack, which I found here. Worth noting is that it doesn’t specifically say my drive is supported; though on installing the driver pack, it does detect the drive and installs a new driver, which seems to resolve the issue.