Backup Exec's Advanced Device and Media Management (ADAMM) feature provides powerful functionality for robotic libraries. With typical robotic library modules, you divide slots in the robotic library into defined groups, and then target backups to those groups. This arrangement works as long as there is enough media in the group to process the jobs targeted there. Problems occur when the data exceeds the available media in the group, because operations cannot continue until overwritable media is physically added, and you create an import media job to insert media into your robotic library. This situation can take place even though slots in the robotic library assigned to other groups contain usable media.

Backup Exec's Device and Media Management feature solves the problems associated with typical robotic library modules. Rather than targeting a backup job to a specific group of slots with a finite number of media, Backup Exec accesses all of the media in the robotic library and uses media that belongs to the job's targeted media set. If the backup job exceeds the capacity of one piece of media, Backup Exec searches all media contained in the robotic library, finds a suitable media, and uses it for the job.

For example, an operator has a robotic library with six slots. The operator inserts six blank tapes and targets backup jobs to various media sets within the robotic library. Depending on whether the backups are overwrite or append jobs, Backup Exec automatically allocates available tapes in the robotic library. If a job exceeds the capacity of one tape and another overwritable tape is available in the robotic library, the job will automatically continue on that tape. When Backup Exec runs out of tapes, it prompts the operator to add overwritable media.

In a robotic library, Backup Exec selects the oldest recyclable media in the library to use first. If more than one media meeting the requirements is found, Backup Exec then selects the media in the lowest-numbered slot; for example, media in slot 2 would be selected before equivalent media in slot 4.

If a job requiring overwritable media is targeted to a robotic library and no overwritable media is available, the job is skipped and the next job targeted to the robotic library is queued. When overwritable media becomes available either by the addition of media to the robotic library or by the overwrite protection period expiring for a media currently in the robotic library, the skipped job will run.