Tape libraries can help you perform unattended save and restore operations, archival and retrieval operations, spool archiving, and other tape related tasks.
Tape libraries are often used with some form of automation software, and are capable of supporting multiple systems across different platforms and large quantities of cartridges. In these environments, a media management application often maintains the cartridge inventory and handles most of the tape library tasks. However, you can also use tape libraries without a media management application. In these environments the tape library can still support some automated tape functions.
The following topics introduce the major elements of a tape library and the related information required for implementing a tape library solution.