[This is preliminary documentation and subject to change.]
RSM uses the following media identification methods to gather information about media.
[This is preliminary documentation and subject to change.]
On-media identifiers (OMIDs) are labels that are electronically recorded on each piece of new media in an RSM system. RSM uses OMIDs to track media in the RSM database. When media is moved from a foreign media pool to a scratch media pool, RSM assigns a scratch OMID and electronically records it at the beginning of the media. When the media is moved to an application media pool and allocated by an application, the application overwrites the scratch OMID with a media label. RSM uses a subset of the information in the media label to create the application OMID, which RSM uses to track the piece of media.
After the first time a piece of media is inserted into a media library unit in an RSM system, RSM uses the OMID to recognize the piece of media. RSM stores and maintains information about OMIDs in the RSM database. All media managed by RSM have OMIDs.
OMIDs have two important parts: a label type and a label ID. The label type identifies a media format, such as Microsoft tape format (MTF). The label ID is a unique identifier for the medium. If RSM does not recognize the medium's label type, RSM puts the medium in the foreign media pool. If RSM recognizes the label type but does not recognize the label ID, RSM puts the medium in the import media pool. If RSM recognizes the label type and the label ID, RSM updates the database to show that the medium is online and does not alter its current media state.
RSM does not record OMIDs on read-only or write-once media. RSM uses volume and serial number information that is already associated with the media.
RSM assigns sequence numbers to media so that the administrator can visually identify media during insertion, ejection, and offline tracking. The sole purpose of sequence numbers is to help the administrator visually identify physical media. When a library does not support bar codes, the administrator must label all the media in that library with the sequence numbers assigned by RSM when the media are ejected for the first time.
In online libraries that support bar codes, RSM uses bar codes to accelerate media inventories and as visual identification for the administrator. Media that have a bar code also have OMIDs and sequence numbers.
Bar codes are most useful to RSM when they are unique.