V-275-441 - Event ID 58053: "Library Expansion Option Violation!" is reported when starting Backup Exec

Problem

Event ID 58053: "Library Expansion Option Violation!" is reported when starting Backup Exec.

Error Message

This server is licensed to support 0 tape drives in robotic libraries.

However, the number of tape drives currently in use exceeds the license. You must purchase additional Library Expansion Options, or disable 1 tape drive. Please refer to product documentation for more information. 

 Alerts tab of Backup Exec

 

The following Windows event indicates there are not enough Backup Exec (tm) Library Expansion Option (LEO) licenses for the number of drives in the computer's robotic library.

Event Type: Error
Event Source: Backup Exec
Event Category: None
Event ID: 58053
Date:
Time:
User: N/A
Computer: BE-SERVER
Description:
Backup Exec Alert: Device Error
(Server: "BE-SERVER") Library Expansion Option Violation.

UMI: v-275-441

Cause

Cause 1:

Support for a single robotic library drive is included with Backup Exec for Windows Servers, one license each is required for all additional drives. If the license is not added, a Library expansion option violation is displayed.

Cause 2:

Backup Exec installed on a server connected to a SAN  through more than one HBA and two  SCSI path configured in the switches (Microsoft Multipath I/O (MPIO)) and not configured correctly.

Solution

• Review the Window's Event Logs for hardware related error messages
• Uninstall and reinstall the LEO license for the backup exec to fix this issue.

This issue can also occurs if there is a single Robotic Library with one drive and Partitioning feature is enabled on it.

• Partitioning is an enhanced feature of The Library. It is a way to allow the single library to be logically partitioned, so it will appear to a host as if it were multiple independent physical libraries. Each logical library (partition) can be independently controlled as though it were different libraries.
• This feature creates multiple entries for the medium changer. 
• Same can be confirmed in the Windows Device Manager.
• Backup Exec looks it as multiple Robotic Libraries and hence takes it as a licensing violation.
• The Library partitions are created and modified through the LIBRARY CONTROL PANEL or Web Console ( refer vendors manual for more details) 
• It can be simply deleted or modified from the web interface of the library.( Power cycle is needed to make the changes effective)
   
  The same issue can also be seen if the tape library had 2 fiber connections so the media server thought there were 2 libraries. To have this issue resolved disabled one fiber interface and the event id and Alert in the Backup Exec will stop displaying the error message.

Solution 2:

This issue may have many causes but one of them could well be a misconfiguration of absence of the MPIO driver in the server which leads to Windows interpreting there are two (or more) independent devices instead of one as it should.  It is reflected in the HKLM\HARDWARE\DEVICEMAP\SCSI  where one can see the same tape devices connected to different targets..

The bediag.txt will reflect this situation and will show the same devices multiple times (two or more, depending on the paths defined).  One can look for the keywords "Tapeperipheral" and "MediumChangerPeripheral" and there will be several  matches in different targets for the same tape device or robotic arm.

The issue with the MPIO driver and the SAN should be fixed.  The hardware provider or integrator should be alerted about this issue.