A Tape Coordinator machine is a machine on which backup and restore operations are physically conducted. To qualify as a Tape Coordinator machine, a machine
· Should be in a physically secure location
· Must have one or more tape drives attached
· Must be configured as at least a DCE client machine (fewer configuration steps are required if the machine is also configured as some type of DFS server machine)
· Must be properly configured as a Tape Coordinator machine (for example, it must house the required configuration file, and it must have the necessary entries in the Backup Database)
· If you are using automated backup equipment (such as a stacker or jukebox), the Tape Coordinator machine must house the user-defined configuration file (which has the necessary parameters to control the specialized backup equipment).
· Must run one instance of the butc (BackUp Tape Coordinator or just Tape Coordinator) process for each tape drive
The butc program must be active when you issue a bak command that involves either a tape drive or an operation being performed by a tape drive. For optimum efficiency, run several tape drives (and their Tape Coordinators). Start one butc process on a Tape Coordinator machine for each tape drive attached to the machine. Each Tape Coordinator controls the behavior of its associated drive and accepts service requests from the bak program.
A Tape Coordinator ID (TCID) identifies a Tape Coordinator; each TCID must be unique in the Backup System of the local cell. When you issue bak commands, specify a Tape Coordinator by specifying its TCID with the -tcid option. Depending on the command, the bak or butc program contacts one or more of the following: the Backup Database (by way of the Backup Server), the FLDB, or Fileset Server processes.