## Exporting Volume Groups

Exporting tape volume groups can be advantageous when tapes are moved to a different cluster. In that scenario, you will need the keys if you have to restore those tapes. If the source cluster is online, follow the steps in this section.

Detailed Steps

To export volume groups from an online cluster, follow these steps:

1. Select a volume group to display the volume groups in the cluster.

2. Select a volume group.

3. Click Export.

4. Enter the volume group file password. Click Next.

5. Click Download to download the volume group file.

6. A dialog box appears asking you if you want to save this file. Save the .dat file.

Note The exported volume group file can be used by the Offline Data Restore Tool (ODRT) software to convert the SME encrypted tape back to clear-text when the SME line card or the Cisco MDS switch is unavailable.