Elastic Tape on Centre for Environmental Data Analysis

Tape services currently unavailable

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 08:17:30 +0000

Dear Users

Due to an issue with the tape library, the tape services including NLA, JDMA and ET are currency unavailable. We are working to fix this issue as soon as possible.

JASMIN Update on tape services - restored to service, 19th June 2023.

Mon, 19 Jun 2023 10:00:20 +0000

We are happy to announce that all tape services are now available.

The NLA, ET and JDMA services are again available and ready for users to submit requests after a period of extensive testing last week.

JASMIN Update on tape services and scheduled maintenance, June 2023.

Tue, 30 May 2023 13:08:56 +0000

Dear User,

As many users of the tape systems will know, we have recently experienced problems with the NLA, ET and JDMA services.

Update on JASMIN tape services and related issues

Thu, 11 May 2023 11:29:53 +0000

Please note the further updates below:

Although initially thought to be only a problem with ET/JDMA service itself, the current issues with slow throughput are now thought to be mainly due to a problem with the PFS storage from where the particular tape jobs are being ingested.
The issue with PFS storage is also affecting other volumes in that system, including XFC volumes /work/xfc/*, and /work/scratch-pw* and /gws/pw/j07/*.
These issues are being actively pursued with the storage vendor and the urgency has been escalated.
Further interventions to restore stability to the tape services are possible in due course.

We apologise for the disruption caused by these issues, but are working to understand and resolve them as soon as possible.JASMIN Team.

The Near-line archive is now available. Elastic Tape and JDMA are currently unavailable.

Wed, 10 May 2023 08:31:52 +0000

Dear Users

Below follows an update to the tape services, NLA and JDMA/ET.

The NLA is now available again for users.
JDMA and ET remain unavailable due to ongoing problems. We are working hard to remedy this and hope to have a resolution soon.

We apologise for the inconvenience and impact on user’s workflows that are dependent on the tape services.

JASMIN updates nx-login machines reboot and tape services status

Tue, 02 May 2023 09:34:15 +0000

Please note the following JASMIN service updates for your attention:

nx-login service update

The servers nx-login[123].jasmin.ac.uk will be rebooted tomorrow Wed 3 May between 08:30 - 09:30 to apply new licenses. This will result in the interruption to desktop sessions, so please log out of your NX desktop session by the end of today to avoid disruption.

Tape services unavailable 28th to 30th March 2023 - Postponed

Fri, 31 Mar 2023 08:22:30 +0000

Please note - regarding the following information:

This maintenance work on tape systems has now been postponed. A new date will be announced in due course.

Update Tape services maintenance 8-9 August 2022

Wed, 10 Aug 2022 10:05:00 +0000

Dear Users

Elastic Tape, JDMA Near-Line Archive (NLA) services are now re-enabled and should be running as usual.

With apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Reminder Tape services maintenance 8-9 August 2022

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 10:21:56 +0000

Dear Users

Tape services will be out of action from midday on Monday 8th August 2022 until the afternoon of Tuesday 9th August 2022, to enable updates to be applied to firmware and software components of the tape library and servers involved in the delivery of tape services.

Tape Maintenance 18th to 28th March

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 15:58:15 +0000

Dear Users,

Due to a Tape Library expansion and upgrade, the tape services offered by CEDA and JASMIN will be unavailable from midday on Friday 18th March until the morning of Monday 28th March 2022.

Further Tape Maintenance 18th to 22nd February

Thu, 17 Feb 2022 15:19:07 +0000

Dear Users,

Due to a network upgrade, the tape services offered by CEDA and JASMIN will be unavailable from midday on Friday 19th February until the morning of Tuesday 22nd February 2022. This will affect the NLA, JDMA and ET services.

Reminder Tape service maintenance 26/27 Oct

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 08:37:39 +0000

Dear users

There will be a downtime for tape services (affecting Elastic Tape, JDMA and the Near-Line Archive service) on Wednesday 27th October, to apply essential updates. All tape activity will need to be stopped during the work, so in order to drain the system, these services will be unavailable to users from Tuesday 26th October until the work is completed on Wednesday afternoon.

1) Cancelled Reboot of servers Tuesday 11 May 2021 2) Tape library maintenance

Tue, 11 May 2021 09:32:12 +0000

Dear all,

Apologies for the short notice but the reboot of servers planned for today announced in our recent update is cancelled. This is due to the imminent availability of a newer release which will be rolled out in due course instead, timing TBC.

Continuing Problems with Elastic Tape

Wed, 10 Mar 2021 11:32:30 +0000

Unfortunately we are still having recurring problems with the Elastic Tape system. This has resulted in further failures of both ingesting and retrieving data.
We are actively investigating this, in conjunction with our colleagues in the Scientific Computing Department (SCD). In particular our SCD colleagues have spent a lot of time trying to remedy this problem.

Problems with Elastic Tape

Wed, 10 Feb 2021 13:47:32 +0000

We have recently been having lots of problems with the Elastic Tape system. This has resulted in the failure of both ingesting and retrieving data.
We are actively investigating this, in conjunction with our colleagues in the Scientific Computing Department.

Reminder - Change of server for Elastic Tape service.

Wed, 20 Jan 2021 09:19:40 +0000

The server used to access the Elastic Tape service (et1.ceda.ac.uk) has reached its end of life and is due to be decommissioned.

Update on tape library maintenance 26-28 Oct

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 09:49:01 +0000

Dear Users,

Maintenance work to the tape library has now been completed including tests to check that all is operating as expected. The tape library, and hence all tape services: Elastic Tape (ET), Joint Data Migration App (JDMA), StorageD (SD) and Near Line Archive (NLA) are therefore ready for use again.

Reminder - Tape library maintenance 26-28 Oct

Mon, 26 Oct 2020 09:36:30 +0000

This is just a reminder that Tape library maintenance scheduled for Tuesday 27th October will mean that the Elastic Tape (ET) and Near-Line Archive (NLA) services are unavailable from lunchtime today, Monday 26th October until the morning of Wednesday 28th October.

Tape library maintenance 26-28 Oct

Fri, 23 Oct 2020 09:17:21 +0000

Tape library maintenance scheduled for Tuesday 27th October will mean that the Elastic Tape (ET) and Near-Line Archive (NLA) services are unavailable from lunchtime on Monday 26th October until the morning of Wednesday 28th October.

Tape library maintenance Tues 8 Sept 2020

Mon, 07 Sep 2020 08:26:29 +0000

Maintenance work on the Spectra tape library is now planned for tomorrow Tuesday 8th September, which may mean a delay to tape retrievals with Elastic Tape (ET) and Near-Line Archive (NLA) services.

Update on tape library maintenance 17/18 Aug

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 10:49:33 +0000

Dear users,

Reminder Tape library maintenance 17/18 Aug

Mon, 17 Aug 2020 09:32:42 +0000

Dear users,

This is a reminder to please be aware that further maintenance work on the tape library system used is now scheduled for Tuesday 18th August 2020 for one day, however it will be taken out of service from 17:00 today to clear any queued tasks first.
This will mean that the Elastic Tape (ET, whether accessed directly or via the JDMA interface) and Near-Line Archive services will be unavailable for this period.

Tape library maintenance 17/18 Aug

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 10:13:09 +0000

Dear users,

Please be aware that further maintenance work on the tape library system used is now scheduled for Tuesday 18th August 2020 for one day, however it will be taken out of service from 17:00 on Monday 17th August to clear any queued tasks first.
This will mean that the Elastic Tape (ET, whether accessed directly or via the JDMA interface) and Near-Line Archive services will be unavailable for this period.

Tape systems unavailable 22-24 July

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 08:22:11 +0000

Dear users,

Maintenance work is planned for 22-24 July 2020 to add additional capacity to the tape library shared by CEDA and JASMIN tape services. The tape library, and hence all tape services: Elastic Tape (ET) and StorageD (SD) and Near Line Archive (NLA) will be unavailable for this period

Low level of at risk for ET, JDMA, and NLA between 1400 and 1500 today

Thu, 19 Mar 2020 11:08:36 +0000

There is a very small risk of these services being affected by work being carried out in the machine room between these times.

Outage of ET, NLA, and JDMA - OVER

Fri, 06 Mar 2020 12:31:55 +0000

These services are now available again.

Ingestions in progress have been recommenced, but and retrievals will have to be restarted.

Outage of ET, NLA, and JDMA

Fri, 06 Mar 2020 11:41:18 +0000

There is a problem with the DB underlying these that is currently being investigated.

Data ingestions have been paused and will be restarted once the problem is dealt with; however current retrievals are likely to need restarting.

Elastic Tape, NLA, and JDMA now available

Tue, 11 Feb 2020 15:28:39 +0000

The work on patching etc has gone well, and these systems are now available.

Data ingestions that were paused have been re-enabled.

Elastic Tape, NLA, and JDMA not available 0800-1500 Tuesday 11th February

Mon, 03 Feb 2020 08:22:31 +0000

To allow security patching and upgrades in the tape back-end, these services will be unavailable from 08:00 until 15:00.

While any data ingestions in progress will be paused during this period, users are requested to have completed any retrievals by 17:00 on the evening of the 10th, as any which may still be in progress the next morning will risk being cancelled to allow work to progress.

Elastic Tape, JDMA, and NLA - end of at risk period - Wednesday 6th November 0900-1300

Wed, 06 Nov 2019 13:51:14 +0000

The update activity is now complete.

Elastic Tape, JDMA, and NLA - at risk Wednesday 6th November 0900-1300

Wed, 30 Oct 2019 10:44:37 +0000

The databases of the tape back-end to these systems are having security patches from 09:00 on Wednesday 6th November.

The process could take up to 4 hours.
While the process should be transparent, there is a small risk of individual retrievals being disrupted or delayed, so users are advised to check that any retrievals have completed properly during this period.