System and method for archive verification

Abstract

Embodiments provide systems and methods for archive verification of media in a library. A method of archive verification may comprise loading a specified media into a drive at intervals, sending one or more commands to the drive, wherein the drive attempts to read the specified media or data on the specified media in accordance with the one or more commands, collecting data associated with the specified media from the drive and determining the readability of the specified media or data on the specified media.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An appliance for archive verification, comprising:
 a network interface operable to send commands over a network and receive data from the network;   a processor coupled to the network interface; and   a computer readable media storing computer instructions executable by the processor to:
 access a verification policy specifying criteria for media to be verified according to the verification policy; 
 determine a set of media to be verified according to the verification policy; 
 for each of the media in the set of media:
 load the media into a drive of a media library; 
 send one or more commands to the drive to instruct the drive to read the media in accordance with the one or more commands; 
 collect data associated with the media from the drive; and 
 determine a readability of the media based on the collected data and the verification policy. 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the media library is a tape library. 
     
     
         3 . The appliance of  claim 1 , wherein sending one or more commands to the drive comprises:
 sending a Read Attribute command to the drive; and   sending a Read command to the drive.   
     
     
         4 . The appliance of  claim 1 , wherein sending one or more commands to the drive comprises:
 sending a Read Attribute command to the drive; and   sending a Verify command to the drive.   
     
     
         5 . The appliance of  claim 1 , wherein collecting data associated with the media comprises sending a LS command to the drive. 
     
     
         6 . The appliance of  claim 1 , wherein determining the readability of the media comprises an analysis of read errors associated with the media. 
     
     
         7 . The appliance of  claim 1 , wherein loading the media comprises sending a command to a library controller of the media library to move the media from a storage slot to the drive. 
     
     
         8 . A method of archive verification, comprising:
 determining a set of media of a media library to be verified according to a verification policy;   for each of the set of media performing a verification process further comprising;
 loading the media into a drive of the media library; 
 sending one or more commands to the drive instructing the drive to read the media in accordance with the one or more commands; 
 collecting data associated with the media generated by the drive; and 
 determining a readability of the media based on the collected data and the policy. 
   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the media library is a tape library. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein sending one or more commands to the drive comprises:
 sending a Read Attribute command to the drive; and   sending a Read command to the drive.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein sending one or more commands to the drive comprises:
 sending a Read Attribute command to the drive; and   sending a Verify command to the drive.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein collecting data associated with the media comprises sending a LS command to the drive. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 determining if the media is exhibiting decreased reliability; and   in response to determining that the media is exhibiting decreased reliability, issuing an alert based on the decreased reliability.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 determining if the media is exhibiting decreased reliability; and   in response to determining that the media is exhibiting decreased reliability, transferring the data from the media to a different media based on the decreased reliability.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein determining the readability of the media comprises an analysis of read errors associated with the media. 
     
     
         16 . A system for archive verification comprising:
 a media library storing a plurality of media, the media library comprising a drive and a library controller;   a monitoring appliance in communication with the media library, the monitoring appliance is configured to:
 access a verification policy specifying criteria for media to be verified according to the verification policy; 
 determine a set of media from the plurality of media to be verified according to the verification policy; 
 for each of the media in the set of media:
 load the media into the drive of the media library; 
 send one or more commands to the drive to instruct the drive to read the media in accordance with the one or more commands; 
 collect data associated with the media from the drive; and 
 determine a readability of the media based on the collected data and the verification policy. 
 
   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the media library is a tape library. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein sending one or more commands to the drive comprises:
 sending a Read Attribute command to the drive; and   sending a Read command to the drive.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein sending one or more commands to the drive comprises:
 sending a Read Attribute command to the drive; and   sending a Verify command to the drive.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein collecting data associated with the media comprises sending a LS command to the drive. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein determining the readability of the media comprises an analysis of read errors associated with the media. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 16 , further comprising computer instructions executable to:
 determine that the media is exhibiting decreased reliability; and   issue an alert based on the decreased reliability.   
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 16 , further comprising computer instructions executable to:
 determine that the media is exhibiting decreased reliability; and   transfer the data from the media to a different media based on the decreased reliability.