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Veeam marks a Data tape as a Cleaning tape


Under specific circumstances, Veeam inadvertently marks a legitimate tape as a cleaning tape, removing it entirely from view in VBR console.


This appears to happen when there is an automatic cleaning process and the specified cleaning tape has expired. The next tape that enters the drive gets marked as a cleaning tape.

You will see the following entries in your logs:

:: TapeDrive alert: The tape drive is due for routine cleaning:.  Wait for the current operation to finish. Then use a cleaning cartridge. Check the tape drive user manual for device specific cleaning instructions.
:: TapeDrive alert: The last cleaning cartridge used in the tape drive has worn out:.  Discard the worn out cleaning cartridge. Wait for the current operation to finish. Then use a new cleaning cartridge.
:: Marking tape <TapeName> as a cleaning cartridge
You will notice a slot in your tape library has disappeared.
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Open SQL Server Management Studio and connect to the Veeam database. You will need the server name, database name & instance name.
You can find the server name, instance name and database name of VeeamBackup database on the Veeam backup server in the following registry key:
HKLM\Software\Veeam\Veeam Backup and Replication

To get a list of media marked as cleaning tapes, issue the following SQL statement:
SELECT [barcode], [name], [cleaner]
FROM [VeeamBackup].[dbo].[Tape.tape_mediums]
WHERE [cleaner] = 1;
This should give you results similar to the following. Note the first tape listed is an actual cleaning tape, and follows the naming convention specified by the LTO specification for a universal cleaning cartridge. The second result is our missing tape.
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A simple update to the cleaner property is all that's needed. You can use any property to select the appropriate tape; in this example we use barcode since they should be all unique.
UPDATE [VeeamBackup].[dbo].[Tape.tape_mediums]
SET [cleaner] = 0
WHERE [barcode] = 'S16023L5';

More information

Please note that this is intended as an emergency fix only. Modifying the Veeam database on your own is not a supported action.
Veeam Backup & Replication
8.x, 9.x
Last Modified:
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