Date: 06/07
Affected NV Version: ALL up to 7.4.5
OS Version: N/A
Plugin version: N/A
Application version: N/A
Description: How to configure tape drive block sizes
Netvault software allows you the ability to change the Tape Devices Block size. This in turn allows you to write data at a larger block size than the default Netvault block size of 32Kb.
In order to change the Block size for your tape drive, follow the procedure below:
In the Netvault GUI, open up the Device manager screen. Locate the drive that you wish to change the block size on, right click this drive, and choose 'Configure'. The next screen that appears will be the 'Edit Drive' screen. From this screen you will want to open the tab called 'Configuration', and then you can change your block size in the 'Media Block size field'.
If you are using the MAC NVadmin you will need to click on the 'Devices' pane and then the same principles apply; right click your drive and choose 'Configure', next screen that appears and you will choose 'Configuration', and then you can change your block size in the 'Media Block size field'.
NOTE: If you had previously run backups to media that was 32kb or some other size, the Media will reflect this when browsing it in Media manager.
Simply changing the block size in the Tape drives configuration tab does not change already existing media that has previously been written to in another block size format.
In order to go forward using your new changed block size, you will need to set the size you want, then blank all the current media. This will then prepare the new media to be written in the new block size format.
From here forward jobs will run and be written on media with that new block size.
Netvault Support does not normally recommend changing the block size of media. We simply recommend using the default of 32kb.
