mc(1M)

NAME

mc — media changer manipulation utility

SYNOPSIS

mc [-p device] [-a num] [-q] [-c src_element_type dest_element_type]

mc [-p device] [-b 0|1] [-l 0|1] [-e element_type]

mc [-p device] [-n drive_number] [-r element_type]

mc [-p device] -s element_type num -d element_type num

mc [-h |-?]

DESCRIPTION

The mc utility provides users with a command-line interface to send media manipulation commands to an autoloader or media changer device. It takes "element types" as arguments to most of the options. The valid element types (element_types) are:

D: Specifies a Data Transfer (DT) element.
I: Specifies an Import/Export (IE) element.
M: Specifies a Medium Transport (MT) element.
S: Specifies a Storage (ST) element.

An example of a Data Transfer element is the embedded tape drive(s) of the autoloader. An example of an Import/Export element is the slot(s) by which an item of the media may be inserted or removed from the autoloader. An example of a Medium Transport element is the robotic picker assembly of the autoloader. An example of a Storage element is the media slot(s) of the autoloader.

Please see examples below for usage.

Options

mc recognizes the following options and arguments:

-a num: Prints the SCSI bus address of the drive slot specified by num.
-b 0|1: Issue a Reserve (1) or Release (0) SCSI command to the device.
-c src_element_type dest_element_type: Determines whether a move from source to destination is valid. Uses device capabilities mode page and will return TRUE or FALSE. There should be no spaces in the source and destination element type values. For example, -c DS specifies a Data Transfer element as the source and a Storage element as the destination.
-e element_type: Prints out the number of elements of element type. See element types above. Multiple types can be specified. For example, -e IDSM specifies all the valid element types.
-h|-?: Prints out usage description.
-l 0|1: Allow (0) or prevent (1) media removal.
-n num: Prints the serial number of the drive in the slot specified by num (if information is available).
-p device: Specifies the pass-through device file to the library device. If the LIBRARY environment variable is set then the -p option may be omitted.
-q: Prints out Vendor ID, Product ID and Product Rev standard inquiry information.
-r element_type: Prints out the status (FULL/EMPTY/NONE) of element slots of element type(s). See element types above. If barcode information is supported by the device, this will be appended to the status. Multiple types can be specified. For example, -r IDSM specifies all the valid element types.
-s element_type num: Specifies the element type and slot number (num) for the move medium source. There should be no space between the element type and the slot number. For example, -sS1 specifies a Storage element in slot number 1. This option cannot be specified more than twice per invocation.
-d element_type num: Specifies the element type and slot number for the move medium destination. There should be no space between the element type and the slot number. For example, -dD3 specifies a Data Transfer element in slot number 3. This option cannot be specified more than twice per invocation.

RETURN VALUE

mc returns 0 upon successful completion and -1 otherwise.

DIAGNOSTICS

ERROR: 0x5 Illegal Request: 0x3b0d Medium Destination element full

The above error message could be a result of the command mc -s S2 -d D1 that was used to move media to an embedded drive that is already full.

ERROR: No such file or directory

If the LIBRARY environment variable is not set and no other device file is specified, then the above error message will be printed.

EXAMPLES

Using a DDS-2 autoloader with a six-cartridge magazine as an example:

To see the status of the autoloader's Data Transfer and Storage element types:

mc -r DS 

The following shows an example of output from the above command. The output indicates that there is an item of media in slot 2 (ST_slot_2), an item of media in the embedded drive (DT_slot_1), and all the other slots are empty.

DT_slot_1 FULL
ST_slot_1 EMPTY
ST_slot_2 FULL
ST_slot_3 EMPTY
ST_slot_4 EMPTY
ST_slot_5 EMPTY
ST_slot_6 EMPTY

To move media from an embedded drive to slot 5 and then move media from slot 2 to an embedded drive:

mc -s D1 -d S5 -s S2 -d D1 

To check if a move from a Data Transfer element to a Storage element is possible:

mc -c DS 

The following shows an example of output from the above command. The output indicates that moves from Data Transfer element types to Storage element types are valid.

DT->ST: TRUE 

WARNINGS

Note for all HP DDS autoloaders: After the mc command has been used for the first time, the autoloader will enter into random mode. Once in random mode, all front panel button features are disabled except for the Eject Button. To go back to stacker mode, the magazine must be ejected and then reinserted.

Note for some autoloaders or libraries: The media must be unloaded using the mt offline command prior to using the mc command.

DEPENDENCIES

The mc command supports all HP-supported devices that comply with the SCSI-2 Medium Changer command specification.

Either the stape, estape, or sctl passthrough driver must be configured. See scsi_tape(7) and scsi_ctl(7).

AUTHOR

mc was developed by Hewlett-Packard.